Hot answers tagged canada
9
Nothing can stop you from getting sued. Companies get sued for idiotic reasons all the time, no matter what the contract said.
That said... something someone told me when I started Fog Creek Software was very helpful: "Deep pockets don't sue shallow pockets." Nobody's going to sue you if you don't have money, with the possible exception of the RIAA. It's ...
5
hey there: there are lots of resources in Toronto.
StartupDrinks happens here every month as well: our last Toronto startup drinks just happened in June
Check out: http://startupnorth.ca/ for startup info about Toronto startups and events. Startupnorth also has a calendar of events
5
For the moment, let's put aside the issue of saving taxes. Incorporating in a tax friendly country sounds great on paper, but IMHO it normally doesn't make sense for a startup.
First, if you are just starting out, odds are your business won't be generating a ton of income, so any money that you might save by incorporating off-shore will likely be very ...
4
There is no company structure that is going to guarantee that your personal assets will be 100% safe in the event you are sued. Otherwise that would lead to unscrupulous people taking advantage of it to harm good citizens such as ourselves. You can't protect yourself 100%, but that shouldn't be a reason for you not to "get in the game". As a business and an ...
4
DemoCamp started in Toronto, and while it's a bit less regular than it used to be, it's still the biggest more-than-annual gathering of tech/entrepreneur types in TO. The Entrepreneurship 101 course at MaRS should start up again in September; it's a great place to learn and network.
4
In my experience, governments aren't always known for being the most flexible entities. Unlike the startup, where rules haven't yet been formed, governments have a long history of bureaucracy, and the people who work in these organizations may not be in positions to overlook certain oversights once you've been introduced to their legal or criminal systems.
...
3
Neat idea, but if you are serious about this ask a tax accountant with cross-border taxation experience.
I think 3,5,6 are possible.
You'll unfortunately miss the capital gains advantages of being a Canadian Controlled Private Corporation (CCPC) (<50 shareholders, Canadian controlled) if you sell the company.
There's also a slot on the Revenue Canada ...
3
Jeffery is right - there is a limited liability partnership in Canada, but you have to look at your options on a province by province basis.
The documentation for an incorporated company really isn't that bad, especially if there are a limited number of shareholder / owners.
One thing to consider is the cost of switching from a a sole prop / partnership ...
3
Canada does have a Limited Partnership - which is not restricted to only attorneys and accountants (Mark: I'm not sure where that fits into your scheme listed.). However, that will likely not work for you as the limitation of liability regards the involvement in the business (for example, as a Limited Partner, you can invest money, but not participate in ...
3
Unless you're expecting an instant huge success I'd worry less about the tax issues, and figure out which country is
The cheapest starting out.
The lowest costs for bookkeeping.
The simplest rules for reporting.
The time and cost spent on those three will be way larger than your tax (in most western countries).
You can always reincorporate into ...
3
Most of our clients out of the country pay by wire transfer.
Depending on their size they may or may not be familiar with this but it's not too bad of a process. They need some information about your bank, some routing numbers etc. and they can then wire money to you.
Depending on your invoice amounts, if they are lower and don't mind paying the ~2.5% - ...
3
No, an accountant is not required. I've done my Ontario Provincial T2-Short my self every year since 2006, it is not even that complicated. You only really need an accountant if you start getting in to a lot of accounting tricks etc.
You can also buy off-the-shelf software to do your T2 Corporate tax return for a few $100 from Quickbooks or the like, but it ...
2
Big red flag on the Pricing page:
Note: Some groups charge their own fees; these are not Angelsoft fees.
Since when do Angel Investors and VCs charge fees?
Do you absolutely need VCs? Can you get a loan from a bank if you need capital (banks are a lot cheaper)? Can you bootstrap past the prototype to the product stage? If after the soul searching you ...
2
You've got a lot of different questions here. Hopefully I can help with some.
The first thing that jumps out at me is that your dad's company is a sole prop. I could be wrong, but I'm not entirely sure you can have a sole prop as an umbrella company. And if you could, I would guess that you would also have to register your company as a sole prop. That means ...
2
I have a sole proprietorship company in US. Things might be different in Canada, but your question strikes me as odd.
IN US, there is no such notion as "umbrella" sole proprietorship company or registering your company under someone else's sole proprietorship business.
The "sole" in "sole proprietorship" means "one" i.e. there's only one person owning that ...
2
Short answer: Yes. I would, and I do.
Long answer:
We're using Freshbooks for a couple of different projects, and have had nothing but good things said to us from our bookkeepers and accountants.
If you're using Xero, you may also want to check out http://waveaccounting.com/ - it's based out of Toronto (as is Freshbooks) and they're doing some ...
2
I'm not a lawyer, and my advice relates to US laws. Canadian laws may differ.
In the US there is something in the law that states that if you continue to work with someone after the original terms of a contract have been modified (or have been broken), you are in essence agreeing to those new terms.
It's unclear from your question how the change from 25% ...
2
In order to create the legal entity, you need to incorporate as a non-profit. This is not a lot different than creating a for profit, but there are a couple of differences.
First, you need to decide if it is a federal corporation or a provincial one. Usually, this depends if you operate only in one province (which could suggest a provincial corporation), or ...
2
I have not found any credit card service that doesnt have a monthly fee. If you are doing a lot of check transactions then look into ACH processing. It wont allow you to do credit cards but the fees are very low, and not based on the amount of the transaction.
Unfortunately if you only do credit card transactions every once in a while then you are stuck ...
2
Freshbooks.com can automate your invoicing and mail invoices
getcashboard.com is also a invoicing system it integrates with:
postalmethods.com which you can use outside of cashboard to send snail mail
sendoutcards.com is an online site to send out notices / cards
Should get you started.
2
Things I would think about are:
Which location is the most tax effective?
Which location has better legal protection?
I expect UK and Canada would be quite similar in these respects so I would also look at who will be doing the financials. It might be most convenient to locate in their locality.
You might also like to consider where you expect your ...
2
Get General Liability Insurance if you incorporate.
As others mention, your corporation might protect your personal assets, yet liability insurance helps cover legal and other expenses regardless of the outcome. Liability insurance for at least $2 million is not too expensive (certainly far less expensive than legal fees) and your corporation can claim the ...
2
Make your terms of service clear and fair. Offer reasonable but explicitly limited credits if people have issues with your software.
Treat your customers fairly and listen to them. Malpractice insurance companies are now sending doctors to school to learn how to listen - it turns out that a big driver in malpractice suits is "the doctor never listened to ...
2
Democamp is probably the best place to meet the most people in one evening. Start there and get some introductions. A few other suggestions...
Ryerson Digital Media Zone - http://digitalmediazone.ryerson.ca/ - open to more than just Ryerson students and alumni. They have space for promising projects.
http://www.Davidcrow.ca - read back through his blog ...
2
There is no process for explicitly authorizing this, besides legally classifying her as an employee or business partner. That said, it looks like you don't have to.
http://www.inc.com/articles/1999/10/14677.html:
For tax purposes, your spouse is allowed to work for your sole proprietorship without being classified as an employee or as a business ...
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