HOW TO START A SMALL BUSINESS IN ALBERTA

HOW TO START A SMALL BUSINESS IN ALBERTA

So you want to start a small business now what. First decide if you want to be a sole proprietor, have a partnership, or a corporation. You may not be familiar with the terms and the legal relationship so I will discuss each briefly in the following document:

HOW TO START A SMALL BUSINESS IN ALBERTA – PART 1 – LEGAL SETUP OF A BUSINESS

If you have a corporation you need to register the corporation for a business number but not necessarily for GST. Even a sole proprietor or partnership may need a business number. The following document provides some explanation:

PART 2 – REGISTRATION WITH CRA AND GST

When you hire employees you have additional obligations. First you need a payroll account with CRA (Canada Revenue Agency). See Part 2 for details of registration. There is a potential trap with hiring subcontractors. The following document provides additional information:

PART 3 – WHAT TO DO WHEN I HIRE EMPLOYEES OR SUBCONTRACTORS

The next part discusses how to keep records and how long they need to be kept and in what format:

PART 4 – RECORD KEEPING

How do you pay yourself is a question I get quite often. There are tax and other consequences. The following document describes some the of basics:

PART 5 – PAYING YOURSELF