Registering your new business in Canada is actually a lot easier than people think. While there are separate permits and such that you may need — a liquor license, for example — depending on the nature of your business, one of the most important steps you must take is registering your business name and getting it approved.

Before we go any further, let me clarify one critical issue. If you operate a small business under your own name — like how I run my freelance writing business — then you don’t actually need to register your business name. This is only if you operate by your legal name only. What this means is that when I send out an invoice to a client, I bill them as “Michael Kwan” and not as “Michael Kwan Freelance Writing Services.” If I decided to brand my company… let’s say I want to call it Beyond the Rhetoric… then I would have to go through the business registration process.

Most provinces have a one-stop online shop, so to speak, where you can apply and register for all sorts of things, including your business name and web domain, as well as telling them whether you’re a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or an incorporated business. Below are a few links to some of the bigger provinces, but similar information can also be found for Canada’s other territories.

• British Columbia
• Alberta
• Ontario
• Quebec