

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

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

