A corporation is one of the most common forms through which to operate a business. The corporate form offers its owners a number of advantages:
- Separate legal existence from its owners
- Limited liability for its owners
- Flexibility in how the corporation is structured and operated
- Potential tax savings
- Asset protection
- Business succession planning
The benefits of operating through a corporation do have to be balance with the higher startup and ongoing costs.
The following are the two main stages to the incorporation process:
- Incorporation: During the incorporation stage, articles of incorporation are filed with the government setting out, among other things, the name of the corporation, classes of shares and first directors. The government incorporation fee is paid at the time of incorporation and is $200 for federally incorporated companies and $360 for Ontario corporations. When the articles or accepted, the government will provide you with a certificate of incorporation.
- Organization: During the organization stage, the organizational resolutions of the directors and shareholders are passed which, among other things, enact by-laws, issue shares, elect directors, appoint officers. As well, all required registers and ledgers required under corporate statutes are completed. These documents are placed in the corporation's minute book.
We offer fixed fees of $950 for federal corporations and $1,050 for Ontario corporations. Our fees include name searches, government filing fees and a minute book (discount available for electronic minute books).