{"id":1825,"date":"2015-05-07T13:28:55","date_gmt":"2015-05-07T13:28:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/?p=58"},"modified":"2025-08-07T15:28:59","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T19:28:59","slug":"incorporating-in-ontario","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/incorporating-in-ontario\/","title":{"rendered":"Incorporating In Ontario"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We have been assisting individuals to incorporate in the Province of Ontario for over 20 years. In speaking with\u00a0clients everyday, we hear entrepreneurs common questions about incorporating and the incorporation process. We offer the information below to help you\u00a0understand and\u00a0get you on your way to business\u00a0ownership.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Why Incorporate?<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Incorporating a business has a number of benefits, they are as follows:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Name protection for business name, liability protection for the individuals who own the corporation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Potential tax advantages<\/li>\n<li>The corporation is continual<\/li>\n<li>Flexibility to make changes such as directors,\u00a0addresses, corporate name, structure of the corporation<\/li>\n<li>Government grants<\/li>\n<li>Ability to raise capital, borrow, invest, and obtain real estate<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Overall an incorporated company is viewed as a more\u00a0<\/strong><strong>serious business than registration of a small business.<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you want to think of it very simply, it is like having a secondary entity beside you as you begin and move forward\u00a0with your business.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>What is required to incorporate in Ontario?<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>The incorporation process is a pretty simple one if most of the information required is at your fingertips.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Name of business<\/li>\n<li>Address of business (home address can be used<\/li>\n<li>Directors legal names<\/li>\n<li>Addresses for directors<\/li>\n<li>Citizenship\/residents of directors<\/li>\n<li>Share structure of corporation (templates provided)<\/li>\n<li>Who is authorizing (typically you)<\/li>\n<li>Minimum and maximum number of directors (min 1 max 10 commonly)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>\u00a0<strong>Who do we see incorporating their business?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>individuals who want name protection for their business name to avoid someone using a same or similar named business<\/li>\n<li>individuals who have higher liability risk where the business has the potential for personal or property damage\/loss<\/li>\n<li>contract workers who are working for larger organizations who require them to be incorporated<\/li>\n<li>where investment or potential financial benefits from corporation are significant<\/li>\n<li>franchise owners<\/li>\n<li>professionals (physicians, lawyers, chiropractors, dental hygienists, psychologists and more<\/li>\n<li>family operating businesses<\/li>\n<li>individuals holding real estate or other investments<\/li>\n<li>storefront businesses<\/li>\n<li>contractors, electricians, plumbers, truck drivers, trades individuals, landscapers, deck builders<\/li>\n<li>hair salons, computer businesses, electronics, and so many more.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-65\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/photodune-441944-business-meeting-xs-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Business meeting\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/>The 3 real key things to think about when considering incorporating<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ol>\n<li><strong> Is name protection for the business name important to me?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong> Am I putting myself at liability risk having this business?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong> Will I earn enough that I can leave money in the corporation and take advantage of tax savings<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>If you answered yes to these questions, incorporation may suite your purposes. We recommend\u00a0talking to your lawyer or accountant for their professional opinion. This is just a simple guideline\u00a0to assist you in determining if incorporation is a viable option for you.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>What is a numbered corporation?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Instead of providing a name to their business, sometimes individuals opt for a numbered corporation.\u00a0The corporate number becomes the corporate name and the number is provided by the Province of Ontario. You simply choose the legal ending\u00a0you wish to operate with. Reasons for using a numbered company are often franchise situation, multiple businesses under\u00a0one umbrella generic numbered company, real estate or investment properties where a name for a business is not necessary.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>What is the difference between the legal endings of Inc. Corp. or Ltd.?<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>These legal endings including the longer versions of Incorporated, Limited and Corporation all mean the same thing. The legal\u00a0ending is an identifier that separates the incorporated business from Master Business Licences or small business.\u00a0You can choose whichever one suites you or your business name best.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>How long does it take to incorporate?<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Incorporation processing is available Monday through Friday and with the availability of\u00a0electronic incorporation, the incorporation typically happens on a same day basis unless late in the day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-center\"><a class=\"ctabig-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/incorporation-online.php\">Incorporate in Ontario Today!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We have been assisting individuals to incorporate in the Province of Ontario for over 20&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1810,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[180,146,168,179,134],"class_list":["post-1825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-incorporation","tag-business-planning","tag-corporation","tag-faq","tag-new-business-owners","tag-ontario"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/INCorporation.jpg",800,450,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/INCorporation.jpg",800,450,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/INCorporation.jpg",800,450,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/INCorporation-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/INCorporation-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/INCorporation.jpg",800,450,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/INCorporation.jpg",800,450,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/INCorporation.jpg",800,450,false],"obc-archive-card":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/INCorporation.jpg",720,405,false],"obc-archive-card-2x":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/INCorporation.jpg",800,450,false],"obc-archive":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/INCorporation.jpg",800,450,false],"obc-archive-2x":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/INCorporation.jpg",800,450,false],"rt_custom":["https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/INCorporation.jpg",800,450,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Laura Harvey","author_link":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/author\/laura-harvey\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/category\/starting-a-business\/incorporation\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Incorporation<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"We have been assisting individuals to incorporate in the Province of Ontario for over 20...","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1825"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9869,"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1825\/revisions\/9869"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ontariobusinesscentral.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}