Ask HN: Incorporating in Ontario - Advice? Recommendations? Experience?

Posted by DanHulton on Monday January 05, 2009 @12:53PM
from the ask-hn dept.

I'm working on a hosted billing app (in a nutshell) that looks like it might see the light of day. Since the application deals with actual cashdollars, I'm thinking a limited corporation makes sense (looks more professional, can't be personally sued, etc.). I've trolled around the internet looking for advice on how to do this, if I should do this, that kind of thing, but it is precious scarce.

Actually, most of the "advice" out there comes from companies offering the service, which doesn't fill me with tremendous confidence.

HN, have any of you incorporated a small business in Ontario or Canada? Why? What issues and pitfalls did you experience? Can I trust these companies whose services cost half as much as the others? Can I trust these companies whose services cost twice as much as the others?

Bonus question: I plan on dealing with Americans as well as Canadians. What challenges does this pose to a Canadian business?

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Re:Ask HN: Incorporating in Ontario - Advice? Recommendation... by thehickmans on Monday January 05, 2009 @06:28PM (#421313)

I've incorporated a number of companies in BC and the process has been simple enough to do on a self-serve basis. After a quick search, I found the following site for incorporation in Ontario, http://is.gd/eDJP - it looks the same as what I went through in BC. The big thing you'll have to deal with in Canada is the GST as you'll likely have to remit on a quarterly basis, so you'll need to watch your cashflow carefully.

Dealing with American customers is largely a matter of choosing whether to accept payments in US dollars directly or do a currency conversion with each payment before it hits your bank. I'd recommend caution with this one as some banks will hit you with a currency conversion fee and give you a crappy rate, so a good payment provider may help in this area.

PM me if you have any other questions.

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