What is a corporate minute book and why you need one?

A corporate minute book operates as the official record of your corporation’s activities. Any and all corporate transactions that involve your corporation should be documented in this book. Below are some documents that must be included:

• Articles of incorporation

• Corporation by-laws

• Registers of directors, officers, and shareholders’

• Resolutions of the directors and officers

• Notices and registrations filed with the registry

• Share certificates

• Meeting minutes

• Shareholders’ agreement

In this article, we’ll cover the following topics:

Federal versus provincial incorporation:

- Filing fees

- Name protection

- Registration

So, you’ve decided to incorporate your business. Now you need to decide where to incorporate – in a certain Canadian province, or at the federal level.

There are three things to keep in mind when considering federal incorporation versus provincial incorporation.

Filing Fees

The cost of filing federally is $200, plus the name reservation (NUANS, which is $13.80). At the provincial level, the filing cost varies by province. In British Columbia, for example, provincial incorporation currently costs $351.50, plus the name reservation (either $31.50 to $131.50 depending on the turnaround time you require).

In this article, we’ll cover the following topics:

- What is a section 85 rollover?

What is the section 85 rollover?

A Section 85 rollover is a mechanism under the Income Tax Act of Canada that allows taxpayers to transfer eligible property to another entity, usually a corporation, without the transfer resulting in an immediate personal tax liability. Used most often by small business owners who are operating as sole proprietors of their businesses and whose sole proprietorship has significant value, Section 85 rollovers allow sole proprietors to transfer properties on a tax-deferred basis, without realizing any sort of taxable gain on the transfer of property.

In this article, we’ll cover the following topics:

What convertible notes are and how they work

There are countless ways to fund a startup. One method is what’s called a convertible note. Though complex, convertible notes can provide certain benefits for founders, such as – so let’s dispel the confusion.

What’s a convertible note?

There are two ways a company can raise capital: either they take loans from a bank (or friends, or family), or they issue equity in their company.

Benefits of Incorporation for Canadian Businesses: Everything You Need to Know

Benefits of incorporation for small businesses in Canada:

- Liability shield

- Tax savings

- Lifetime capital gains exemption

- Selling Flexibility

What are the benefits of incorporation in Canada?

If you own a small business in Canada, here are four reasons why you may want to incorporate: liability shield, tax savings, lifetime capital gains exemption, and selling flexibility.

Liability Shield

If your business is not incorporated, then you’re a sole proprietor, meaning that you and your business are one and the same. Anything that happens to the business also happens to you personally, and vice versa. Your personal assets - your home, car, savings - are on the line.

Finding Your First Advisors: A Guide for New Entrepreneurs

In this article, we’ll cover the following topics:

- The first four advisors to your new company

- Bookkeeper

- Accountant

- Financial Advisor

- Corporate lawyer

When starting a business, most entrepreneurs will focus first on generating revenue, and rightfully so – profitability is, after all, the main thing that makes a business viable in the long term. But once you’ve crossed that threshold and your business has begun to take flight, that’s when you start building the next mechanism to keep your business in the air: a circle of key advisors.

But how do you find them? How should you bring them into your circle? Let’s dive in.

Cap Tables and Ownership Stocks: The Basic Terms to Know

Employee Stock Options: Everything Canadian Business Owners Need to Know

• In this article, we’ll cover the following topics:

• What’s a share?

• What’s a stock option?

• Why employee stock options are useful

• The best time to use an employee stock option plan

• How much to put into an employee stock option plan

• Tax consequences of employee stock option plans

• What happens to employee stock option plans if a company is bought

• What happens to employee stock option plans if an employee is fired or quits

4 Ways Canadian Business Owners Can Benefit From Using a Holding Company

In this article, we’ll cover the following topics:

• What’s a holding company?

• Four reasons to use a holding company

• To protect your business assets

• To maintain eligibility for lifetime capital gains exemption (LCGE)

• To use as an investment vehicle

• To control the timing of dividend payments

Having a Power of Attorney is a huge responsibility. If one is ever granted a power attorney by a loved one, the person who grants that authority (the “Grantor”) is putting you in charge of them if they were ever to become mentally incapacitated.

Here are 10 important things to know if you are holding a Power of Attorney.

1. Ensure you have a valid Power of Attorney and financial representation agreement.

Make sure your agreement is valid under the Power of Attorney Act (British Columbia). For instance, if you are appointed an enduring Power of Attorney prepared by a lawyer or notary public in British Columbia, it is likely valid and will continue throughout the Grantor’s incapacity. However, if the document is specific, conditional, prepared, signed in another jurisdiction, or hand-drawn, the document might not be valid. If this happens, you may not have the authority to act under the Power of Attorney.

Fundamentals of Canada's Intellectual Property Laws

It’s inevitable that a business will have to deal with intellectual property rights at some point. Many businesses are unfamiliar with the concept of IP rights and the steps they need to take to protect their business and creations.

When ideas are transformed into an actionable plan, they turn into a business. Ideas can be used for a variety of purposes; it only takes a bit of direction to make them work for you.However, in order to prevent piracy, intellectual property laws in Canada need legal defense. The following are some of the distinctions between the various forms of Intellectual Property laws in Canada.

1.Trademarks

Trademarks are a mixture of words, letters, tones, or designs that differentiate the company's goods or services from those offered by competitors. These trademarks may come to reflect the company's image over time. Some companies could not be able to use the trademark if you have an intellectual property rule in place.

When you are looking to incorporate a company in B.C., you need to really consider what you are going to name the company. There are two options when it comes to naming a company In B.C.

1.Numbered Company

The first option is to have a numbered company. Here, the corporate registry assigns a number followed by ‘B.C. Ltd.’. The assigned number is the incorporation number assigned to the company, so an example of a numbered company could be 1234567 B.C. Ltd.

5 Mistakes to Avoid When Incorporating Your Business

Incorporating your small business is a big step and if done correctly, it can result in great growth for your business. However, you need to be aware of some common mistakes that small business owners tend to make when incorporating their business.

1.Not naming your business

Many people are so concerned with the process of incorporating their business that they may forget to choose a name for their company. This does not stop the corporation from operating, but instead an incorporation number is used as its legal identifier. This number is used in place of a name for all business-related activities. It is therefore recommended to prepare a company name beforehand, as it will help the growth of your business from a branding perspective.

6 Ways to Build a Successful Partnership

A partnership can be the make it or break it moment for many businesses. If done right, it can produce great growth and results. However, quite often a business partnership will end badly and not only ruin the business but relationships as well.

There are many important factors that need to be considered when choosing your business partner and addressing these issues can help establish a successful partnership.

1.Shared vision

The first and maybe the most important conversation with a potential partner should be about expectations for the business. It is crucial to understand what exactly each partner wants out of the business. Multiple conversations regarding expectations and goals will only prove beneficial in the long-term. There are many questions you should ask, such as:

Trademarking 101

What is a trademark?

A trademark is defined as letters, words, sounds, or designs that are used to distinguish one company’s goods and/or services from another. Over time a trademark evolves from representing goods and services to also representing the reputation of the company.

Types of trademarks

Ordinary trademark: includes words, designs, tastes, textures, moving images, mode of packaging, holograms, sounds, scents, 3D shapes, colours, or a combination of these are used to differentiate your goods and/or services from other companies.

Certification mark: can be licensed to multiple people or companies. They are used for the purpose of demonstrating that certain goods/services meet a defined standard.

Starting a Small Business in Vancouver

The prospect of starting your own business is a life changing step full of emotions. Many small businesses fail within the first five years and that is why it is important that you take all the necessary steps to protect your business and get it off the ground

1.Conduct market research

The first step should always include researching the market for the product or service you wish to offer. There are several questions you should seek to answer during this research stage. Start by determining if there is market/demand for the product/service you are planning to offer. You should also consider who your customers will be and if there are any competitors and who they are.

Should I Incorporate my own Company?

It is possible to incorporate yourself. You can do this without any legal help as BC has an online incorporation system. It is important to note however, that even with online resources, it is still possible to make mistakes before, during, and after your incorporation.

Common mistakes

Although the government website provides forms for incorporation, this does not include all of the forms that you require. Relying on government-provided forms alone will not be sufficient for you to incorporate your company. In addition, the forms or online incorporation system may prove confusing to some people and a small business lawyer can help clear up that confusion. There is also the possibility that you may make mistakes when completing the forms and that is why it is always good to have a lawyer look them over.

Federal vs Provincial Incorporations | The Two Main Differences

What are the main differences between Federal and Provincial Incorporations? Watch the video below! Today we're going to talk about the difference between Federal and Provincial incorporations. So if you've decided that you need to incorporate your company, the next step is to decide where you're going to do that whether it's in BC or another Province or if you're going to incorporate federally so we'll take a look at the differences.

There are two main differences that I want to highlight today.

The first one is filing fees. So the cost for filing a federal registration is $200 plus the name reservation search and in BC is $351.50 and also the name reservation fee on top of that.