Product Info

A company registered or incorporated under the Business Corporations Act is called a BC Company. It is  recognized as a separate entity from its owners for legal and tax purposes.

Corporations can generally conduct any lawful business as well as the actions necessary to conduct the business, like entering into contracts, owning assets, borrowing money, hiring employees and setting up a bank account of its own.

It is the right choice if you want a business structure with a limited liability.

Other Names:

  • BC Limited Company
  • BC Corporation
  • BC Limited Liability Company
  • BC Standard Company

Checklist

Who can incorporate:

  • One or more individuals who are 18 or up can incorporate a BC company.
  • Currently there is no citizenship or residency requirement for people who can be the directors, officers, and shareholders.

What is required to incorporate a BC Company:

  • A named corporation requires a name approval number from BC government (not required for a numbered company).
  • A physical address or street address in the Province of British Columbia.
  • For incorporation process, a minimum of one Director, one Incorporator and one contact person is required. The same person can fill in all three roles.
  • For operations purposes and to fully comply, a minimum of one officer and one shareholders are also required.

What you get

After registering the BC Standard Company, you will receive the following as pdf documents by email:

Articles Sample Docs
Certificate of Registration
Sample Document
Notice of Articles
Sample Document
Incorporation Agreement
Sample Document
Incorporation Application
Sample Document
Business Number
Sample Document
Minute Book (if included)
Sample Document
Share Certificate (if included)
Sample Document
Corporation seal (if included)
Sample Document
Securities Register (if included)
Sample Document
CRA Program Accounts (Business Number, Corporate Tax ID, GST, Payroll, Export-Import)
Sample Document
PST Program Account
Sample Document
The Workers’ Compensation Board of BC (WorkSafeBC) registration (if included)
Sample Document
Annual Returns Reminder (if included)
Sample Document

Timeline

BC Numbered Company: For a BC numbered company, we have 3 processing queues:

  • Regular Queue: A BC numbered company can be ready in 10 business days.
  • Express Queue: A BC numbered company can be ready 2 business days.
  • Super-Express Queue: A BC numbered company can be ready 2 business HOURS.

BC Named Company: For a BC named company processing time depends on the name approval queue with the government of BC.

      • Without a Name Approval: If you Do Not have a valid name approval from the BC Registries, we will submit for approval on your behalf, in which case, your corporation will be processed in two steps:
        • Step 1: Obtaining name approval.Sample
        • Step 2: Registering with the Government System.

    These two steps are combinedly offered in 3 service queues:

      • Regular Queue: A BC named company can be ready in 4 weeks.
      • Express Queue: A BC named company can be ready in 2 weeks.
      • Super-Express Queue: A BC named company can be ready in 1 business day.
    • With a Name Approval: If you have already obtained a valid name approval from the government of BC, we offer the following service queues.
      • Regular Queue: A BC numbered company can be ready in 10 business days.
      • Express Queue: A BC numbered company can be ready 2 business days.
      • Super-Express Queue: A BC numbered company can be ready 2 business HOURS.

FAQs

Is company registration (incorporation) right for you?

The decision to incorporate depends on the purpose of the company registration and needs of the individuals involved.

What are the advantages of registering a BC company?
  • Incorporated businesses are perceived as being more stable than unincorporated businesses. It is the right form of business if you are a sub-contractor or work with contracts.
  • Limited Liability to owners / shareholders for business risks.
  • Ownership is transferable
  • Continuous existence
  • There are many tax benefits and advantages for a corporation.
Federal vs Provincial Registration – are there any advantages / disadvantages
  • A Federal corporation name is protected all over Canada while a provincial corporation’s name, in most cases, is protected in the home province only. This may or may not be a consideration based upon your requirement and the nature of business.
  • If you plan to operate a business on a local level and have no plans of expanding across provinces it may make more sense to incorporate within your province. However, if your company regularly conducts business in other provinces or with international partners then federal incorporation may be the right choice.
Why choosing the right package is important for you?

Because it involves with two major benefits:

  • Tax claimable: cost that occurs during business set up, is called Business Development Expenses, is tax claimable. Costs that occurs after business already registered, is called operational cost, is not tax claimable. These costs will occur at any way, since these are mandatory filing, therefore, it’s wise to include in package.
  • The default process is, these filing to be done together with corporation; hence, it’s cheaper in package. To do this services later; there are manual forms and process; hence, costs more money and takes longer processing time