Government fees
These are the fees paid to registries and are the same for everyone. They change from time to time, so treat them as approximate.
| Item | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| Business name registration (sole proprietorship or partnership) | About $60 to $100, depending on the province |
| Provincial incorporation | Roughly $250 to $450 depending on the province (Ontario about $300 online; British Columbia about $350; Alberta about $275 plus the registry agent’s fee) |
| Federal incorporation | About $200 online, plus provincial extra-provincial registration where you operate (free to a few hundred dollars by province) |
| Name search (NUANS or provincial name request) | About $15 to $75 |
| CRA Business Number and GST/HST, payroll accounts | Free |
| Annual return | Free to about $50 per year, by jurisdiction |
| Municipal business licence | Typically $50 to $500 per year; food, trades and personal services are higher |
| Workers’ compensation | Premiums as a percentage of payroll, by industry; no registration fee |
Professional and set-up costs
These vary with what you choose to do yourself.
- Registration service: from a few hundred dollars for a complete incorporation with minute book, CRA accounts and licences compiled
- Business plan: a short bank plan costs less than an immigration plan; immigration and investor plans with full financial models typically run into the low thousands
- Logo and basic identity: a few hundred to a few thousand dollars; signage is quoted by the sign maker by size and material
- Domain and business email: roughly $20 per year for the domain and $8 to $15 per user per month for email
- Website: from a template build at a few hundred dollars to several thousand for a custom site or online store
- Bookkeeping: monthly fees scale with transaction volume; year-end T2 preparation is priced separately
- Insurance: general liability for a small business often starts in the hundreds per year
Two sample first-year budgets
| Line | Lean start (sole proprietorship, home-based) | Full launch (corporation, storefront) |
|---|---|---|
| Registration and name search | $75 to $175 | $350 to $600 |
| Business plan | Optional | $1,500 to $5,000+ (immigration or bank plan) |
| Bank account | $0 to $20 per month (newcomer and small business packages) | $10 to $40 per month plus merchant fees |
| Branding and signage | $0 to $500 | $1,500 to $8,000 |
| Website, domain, email | $100 to $500 | $1,500 to $6,000 |
| Licences and permits | $0 to $300 | $200 to $1,500 |
| Bookkeeping and tax (year one) | $600 to $1,500 | $2,400 to $6,000 |
| Insurance | $300 to $800 | $1,000 to $3,000 |
| Indicative total (before rent, inventory and payroll) | About $1,000 to $3,500 | About $9,000 to $30,000 |
Where to save and where not to
- Save on: incorporating as a numbered company if the name does not matter yet; a template website at launch; a simple logo you can grow into.
- Do not save on: the business plan if a bank or immigration program will read it; bookkeeping from month one (catch-up work costs more than steady work); registering for sales tax and payroll at the right time.
- Government fees are the same whoever files; what you pay a service for is getting the structure, accounts and timing right the first time.