Meeting business compliance requirements in Ontario can seem overwhelming. In addition to requirements related to your specific business and operations, there are ongoing business compliance requirements related to your corporation to keep it in good standing.

Compliance issues range from preparing annual resolutions, ensuring the government has the most up-to-date information related to your corporation, filing your corporate and other tax returns, employee remittances and making sure you have the necessary permits and licenses to operate your business.

That’s a lot to think about, so we’re going to try and give you some ideas and resources to help manage this. Understanding your obligations and where to go for information will make things a little bit easier.

To incorporate or not to incorporate in Ontario, that is the question. It’s an important one indeed, and what you do is likely to have a significant impact on your business and even your personal life. As far as the benefits of incorporation go, running a simple internet search brings up a tantalizing array of advantages such as the ability to raise capital, access to government grants, protecting your personal assets with limited liability, tax benefits, perpetual existence and the ability to bring on multiple owners.

Accounting can seem like a black-and-white profession. Numbers are numbers. Ten accountants should be able to assess the same financial records and come up with duplicate figures for cash flow, net income, profit and loss, sales and so on. Ditto for dealing with tax returns. Not so fast. There are “right accountants” and “wrong accountants” for your business. Here are some ideas for finding the “right” accountant for your business.

 

The business that may have started as a germ of an idea has grown by leaps and bounds, and you’re ready to incorporate in Ontario. There are two main paths to incorporation that you can take. One is to go it yourself, maybe with help from a do-it-yourself online service. The other path is to enlist a lawyer to help. All things considered, the second path is better. Here’s a look at why.