Congratulations on registering your Sole Proprietorship on Ownr! We have compiled a quick guide for you to get your business up and running.

You can now log into your Ownr account to download your documents and redeem your $49 RBC Refund. To initiate the refund process, you will need to have opened a new and active RBC Business Bank Account. Opening a bank account for your business can help:

Learn more: 5 Reasons to Open a Business Bank Account

To request the refund once your RBC Business Bank Account is open, click the "Refund Me" button in the Dashboard (or under Settings) and confirm the last 4 digits of the account number.

A Registration Number is assigned by your provincial registry at the time the company is registered. It is used for filing legal documents. This is found on your registration document from the government and allows individuals to operate a business under a name of their choosing, which is different from the person's legal name.

The Business Number is assigned by the CRA. It is used for tax purposes and opening accounts with the CRA. Generally, the Business Number is assigned within moments of the business registration being completed. In Ontario, however, it can take up to 4 business days for the business number to be assigned.

Once assigned, the Business Number will be listed in your Ownr dashboard under “Organization” > “Company Info”.

If you do not see the Business Number in your Ownr dashboard, then it has not been assigned. If you have previously been assigned a Business Number for a Sole Proprietorship, then your new Sole Proprietorship would use the same Business Number.

Otherwise, please inquire with the CRA by calling their small business helpline at 1-800-959-5525. Or you can contact the applicable business registry for more information. See our article Where's My Business Number? for more information.

To register for HST/GST, Import/Export or Payroll as a Sole Proprietor, you first need to obtain your Business Number. Once you have your Business Number (a nine-digit number often including a program identifier at the end), you can register for other program accounts directly through the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). You can initiate this process online or at 1-800-959-5525.

Business numbers have a variety of endings and identifiers depending on the account. In each instance, the nine-digit number remains the same, with the program identifier changing.

For example:

Income Tax 123456789 RC 0001

Payroll 123456789 RP 0001

HST 123456789 RT 0001

Import 123456789 RM 0001

Export 123456789 RM 0002

Provincial identifier: 123456789 BC 0001 for British Columbia or 123456789 TZ 0001 for Ontario.

Typically, the government does not allow sole proprietorships to change business names. To change your business name, you will need to register a new business name.

To get started, follow the prompts on our website and select sole proprietorship. Let us know if you have any questions as you go through the process by contacting our support team.

Ownr cannot update the information on your business name registration documents once it has been issued. We recommend verifying that the information on Ownr is correct before submitting.

British Columbia

To change your business name, you will need to create a new business name registration. You can dissolve your Sole Proprietorship after registering a new one. For more information, head over to the B.C. registry website here.

To change your business address, more resources can be found on the B.C. Registry site here, where you can navigate to “Change a business address” for a sole proprietorship.

Ontario

To change your business name, you will need to create a new business name registration. You can sometimes try amending some information on your registration through Service Ontario by logging in to your online account. The login information is provided in the document Company Key, which can be found in your Ownr Dashboard.

If you do not have this document, follow the link on the page to create a new account with Service Ontario.

Alberta

To change your business name, you will need to create a new business name registration.

To change your business address, you can navigate to this page and complete a Declaration of Address Change form.

Depending on the province you registered your sole proprietorship in, you may be required to renew your business name and contract every so often. In Ontario, you’ll need to do this every five years, whereas in Alberta your business name will never expire.

Check the requirements specific to your province or territory and be sure to mark your renewal date in your calendar—you usually won’t get a reminder to do this. If you choose to change your business’s name or switch ownership, you will be required to re-register irrespective of your jurisdiction.

Be sure to take advantage of all the perks of being an Ownr customer. Not only do you receive $49 back after opening an RBC Business Bank Account, but you also get to explore discounts on other business services and products here.

Many entrepreneurs initially choose to structure their business as a Sole Proprietorship because they are simple and less expensive to run, and all profits go directly to the business owner. There are also several advantages to structuring your business as a corporation, and deciding to incorporate your Sole Proprietorship can open up new opportunities such as raising capital, bringing on shareholders or reducing business risk and personal liability.

There is no transition process from a Sole Proprietorship to a corporation as it's a new legal entity. If you already have an Ownr account, you can select 'Add new company' from the dropdown on the top left and then click 'New' instead of 'Existing'. You can dissolve your sole proprietorship directly with the government if you wish.

You can generally choose to use the same name as your sole proprietorship when you incorporate. In order to do so, you may need to sign a consent form.

Follow the steps below when creating the new corporation:

Once completed, you will have confirmed that you are the current owner of the business name. Your consent will be submitted to Corporations Canada for their review. Please note that the naming rules for corporations are generally more strict than for Sole Proprietorships, so it is not guaranteed that you will be able to incorporate with the exact same name.

Our blog has many resources on this. Read our article on "When is the Best Time to Incorporate" so you can learn more.

If you have any questions or require assistance with any of the above, don’t hesitate to reach out to our support team.