When you have decided to start your own business, you will have to determine what business structure or form of organization suits your needs. The structure of your business will depend on whether you want to run your business yourself or with a partner or associates. There are four types of business structures: sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations and cooperatives.

Type of Business

1. Sole proprietorship
2. Partnerships
3. Corporations
4. Cooperatives

Sole proprietorship

With this type of business organization, you would be fully responsible for all debts and obligations related to your business and all profits would be yours alone to keep. As a sole owner of the business, a creditor can make a claim against your personal or business assets to pay off any debt.

Partnerships  

A partnership is a good business structure if you want to carry on a business with a partner and you do not wish to incorporate your business. With a partnership, you would combine your financial resources with your partner into the business. You can establish the terms of your business with your partner and protect yourself in case of a disagreement or dissolution by drawing up a specific business agreement. As a partner, you would share in the profits of your business according to the terms of your agreement.

You may also be interested in a limited liability partnership in the business. This means that you would not take part in the control or management of the business, but would be liable for debts to a specified extent only.

When establishing a partnership, you should have a partnership agreement drawn up with the assistance of a lawyer, to ensure that:

• You are protecting your interests
• That you have clearly established the terms of the partnership with regards to issues like profit sharing, dissolving the partnership, and more
• That you meet the legal requirements for a limited partnership (if applicable)

Corporations

Another type of business structure is incorporation. Incorporation can be done at the federal or provincial level. When you incorporate your business, it is considered to be a legal entity that is separate from the owners and shareholders. As a shareholder of a corporation, you will not be personally liable for the debts, obligations or acts of the corporation. When making such decisions, it is always wise to seek legal advice before incorporating.

Cooperatives

The last business structure you could create is a cooperative. With a cooperative, you would have a business that would be owned by an association of members. This is the least common form of business, but can be appropriate in situations where a group of persons or businesses decide to pool their resources to provide access to common needs, such as the delivery of products or services, the sale of products or services, employment, and more.

Registering your business

Before registering your business, you must think about what form of business you want to start and what you want to call your business.

Find out which type of business structure is right for your business: incorporation, a partnership, a sole proprietorships or a cooperative.

Continuing your final registration:

Name search – Provincial or name registration – Permits and licences – CRA business number – GST/HST account – Payroll – Federal business WSIB.

WE OFFER A COMPLETE SPECIAL PACKAGE BUSINESS REGISTRATION