Pick the legal form first
A sole proprietorship costs about $60 to register and takes an afternoon, but it puts your personal assets behind every business liability. A corporation costs a few hundred dollars more and creates a separate legal person — worth it the moment you take on real contracts, debt or co-founders.
Partnerships are the cheap middle path, and the one that needs a written agreement most. Verbal partnership terms are the leading cause of the ugliest small-business disputes in Canada.
The registration itself
Alberta runs registrations through the Corporate Registry, accessible through any registry agent (not directly to the government). Have two name options ready, your registered office address, and the share structure you want. A numbered company is faster; a named company requires a Nuans name search, which takes a day.
Federal incorporation is also an option — extra-provincial registration in Alberta is then required anyway, so most Alberta-only businesses incorporate provincially and keep it simple.
The accounts that follow
The corporate tax account comes with incorporation. The GST account is required only once you expect $30,000 or more in annual revenue — but registering early simplifies invoicing and lets you claim input credits from the first dollar. A CRA business number is the single identifier tying all of these together.
- BN (business number) — one ID, multiple accounts
- Corporate income tax account — automatic at incorporation
- GST/HST — mandatory at $30,000, voluntary earlier
- Payroll account — the day you hire
Connectica provides information only, not financial, investment, legal or tax advice. Figures on this page are estimates and generalizations — confirm anything that matters with the relevant professional or authority.