Are you trying to incorporate or register your business in Canada? Many entrepreneurs are, and according to Corporations Canada latest stats as of December 2022, there were 1.22 million employer businesses in Canada. Of these, 1.19 million (97.8%) were small businesses. So if you’re reading this, you are likely one of the 97.8%.
New company formation can cost thousands of dollars. Trying to choose a service provider among dozens of providers across Canada can be daunting. Every provider presents the costs in a different format. Some include part of the costs in a bundle, some present the fees upfront and then show the extra costs at the end. Other provider websites are just downright confusing unless you call the law firm directly and proceed offline.
So for this review, we researched over 10 service providers and browsed their entire websites.
We are reviewing only the providers who are completely online and with an automated process of setup and registration.
In our study, we organized the costs to be in the following three segments. The Provincial Corporation fee, the service provider fee and the options.
All provinces charge a one-time provincial fee for example in British Columbia corporations Canada charges $351.50. So all the service providers pass this along.
Then most providers charge their own service fee. Some $99, some other amounts.
Then the third segment of costs are the options. Such as rush service and your choice of documents such as shareholder agreements, minute books, share certificates etc and each of these you choose volume or other options and the fees can add up.
A few go on to provide other services such as a registered business address service which vary from $299 per year up to $799 per year. But read ahead and we can share more information on the registered business address.
Finally, some service providers can help you register with CRA for GST/HST payroll and PST etc.
In the end, if you choose most of the options, the full costs among the 11 providers are all about the same. It really comes down to the level of service online or in person and the reputation of the provider.
Legal and Compliance Tips for Entrepreneurs
In our choice. We selected two larger providers and BC Online because of their additional services and the online process that automates the registration.
The companies are OWNR and LawDepot, and Do-It-Yourself with BC Registry Services
They all offer registration and incorporation services online and even provide legal documents and management software and digital minute books. Additionally, because it’s available, we showed you the do-it-yourself option with BC Registry Services to incorporate your company.
So what option should you choose? It’s up to you, but hopefully, the following summarization helps you out!
Please Note: This article is not intended to provide legal advice of any kind. This article and the comments and recommendations are based on our personal experience with OWNR and LawDepot and our research on BC Registry Services. When considering incorporating a business, consulting a lawyer is recommended.
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OWNR
OWNR is a company that has assisted over 90,000 Canadians register or incorporate their business. Starting in 2017, OWNR began registering businesses throughout Canada.
OWNR provides registration services, entity management, legal tools, and other features. Read OWNR’s “About” page to learn more.
OWNER is backed by the Royal Bank Of Canada (RBC). It is included in RBC Ventures. RBC currently has 15 live ventures. View all of RBCs Ventures here.
This company has done an amazing job at automating everything you need for keeping your company legal up to date you can easily change your business address and directors officers while you’re filing the resolutions are all done automatically.
Pros
- Hassle-Free Business Registration. Get your business number back within 1-15 days depending on your location and the type of business registration you complete.
- Get Cash Back With RBC – When you register your business with OWNR you can get up to $300 CAD back when you open an RBC business banking account. If you register a sole proprietorship you will get 100% of your registration fee back, that’s $89 CAD. When you register a corporation you should get $300 CAD cash back.
- Exclusive Access To Discounts. Receive discounts from Etsy, Staples, Blot, Telus Business, and other companies. The discounts are a combined value of roughly $5000 CAD.
- One-stop-shop, with certain plans or packages you can access a minute book plan, GST/HST Program Account Registration, Managed Shareholders, Managed Employees and Contractors, Employee Stock Option Plan, agreements, and other documents.
Cons
- Limited Legal Advice, OWNR does not provide legal advice or assistance. If you have specific questions about your company, you will still need to consult a lawyer.
- Limited Locations, currently the only locations OWNR supports are Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario.
- Complaints About Customer Service, OWNR has quite a few complaints regarding their customer service and communication. Disgruntled customers complain about contracts suddenly being canceled and being unable to speak to someone.
- There doesn’t seem to be an option to incorporate in Saskatchewan.
Price
The prices and fees differ depending on your package and province. See OWNR’s “Pricing” page.
| Location | Provincial Incorporation one-time fee | Managed Corporate Plan |
| Alberta | $599 +tax | $599/yr |
| British Columbia | onetime $699 +tax Then $199/yr annually | $599 per year |
| Ontario | $499 +tax | $599/yr |
If you sign up using the managed corporation plan, you save $100 initially. But then you would pay $599 each year. If your company structure is active and you anticipate ongoing changes, then this plan is valuable.
You get an online minute book and the following features.
- Unlimited User Accounts
- Unlimited Company Updates & Government Filings
- Unlimited Access to Ownr Legal Agreement Library
- Ownr Perks Membership
- Unlimited Support
Customer Rating
OWNR has a 3.2 star rating on Trustpilot. However, this rating may not be an accurate representation of the company because there is only one review.
Currently, on Facebook OWNR has a 3.9/5 rating based on 49 reviews. Customers comment on problems with speaking to a live customer service agent.
How To Get Started
Go to OWNR’s website and click “Get Started” at the top right. Fill out basic information about your new or existing business.
LawDepot
LawDepot is a company that provides a variety of legal documents and contracts for entrepreneurs and business owners. LawDepot also provides Incorporation Packages in Canada and Corporate services.
LawDepot boasts over 10 million users and over $2 billion saved in legal fees.
LawDepot started by providing Promissory Notes in 2001 and later expanded to provide over 150 different legal documents.
LawDepot Services:
- Incorporation by Province
- Federal Incorporation
- Minute Book
- Business Documents, Contracts, Agreements
- Resume and Cover letters
- Real estate, Intellectual Property, Employee, and Corporation documents
If you’re simply creating a new Corporation for the purpose of a holding company or your business is very new and you don’t have any shareholders or partners, LawDepot is an appropriate choice.
Pros
- Incorporation in 4-7 business days.
- Access over 150 legal documents and save thousands of dollars.
- Try a free 7-day trial to see if the documents and services offered fit your needs.
- Money-back guarantee if customers are not satisfied with the service provided.
- Get state-specific legal documents created by experienced lawyers in Canada and internationally.
Cons
- LawDepot does not offer attorney support, they have no free or paid consultation options.
- Some customers have reported tech issues with creating and saving documents. However, those issues were solved with customer support.
- The documents are not free unless you sign up for a 7-day free trial and then cancel before the trial is up.
Price
| Location | Provincial Incorporation | Federal Incorporation |
| British Columbia | $499 | $349 |
| Alberta | $404 | $349 |
| Saskatchewan | $334 | $349 |
| Ontario | $474 | $349 |
You can add on a Service Rush for $100 which is filed in 1 business day instead of 4-7. You can also add on their minute book for $59 and NUANS Corporate Name Search for $49.
LawDepot offers a few different options to access their legal documents.
| 7 Day Free Trial (then cancel) | Pay Per Doc | Monthly Subscription | Yearly Subscription |
| $0 | $7.50 – $93 +tax | $39 +tax | $95.88 +tax |
The yearly subscription works out to be $7.99 per month + GST/HST. This includes unlimited document creation and printing and the subscription auto-renews.
Customer Rating
Law depot carries a 4.6 star rating on Trustpilot. Customers comment on the ease of use and convenience.
How To Get Started
To get started, visit their website and begin the process of incorporation
To access their legal documents you can create a free account, sign up for a 7-day trial, or search the website and select the document you want.
DIY via BC Registry Services
Let’s say you want to keep your spending to a minimum and are brave enough to incorporate your company on your own. You can follow the BC Registry Services steps to guide you in the incorporation process, found here.
However, the guide only covers 5 basic steps to incorporate your company, and for any other steps or tasks that may need to be done you are on your own.
BC Registry Services provides:
- Name Approval Request
- Standard Set of Table 1 Articles
- Incorporation Agreement Sample Template
- Incorporation Application
Pros
- Lowest possible costs
- Total control over article customization
- Gain first hand familiarity of the incorporation process
- In-person or online registration options
Cons
- Very time-consuming with lots of paperwork
- Risk of errors or missteps
- Help and guidance limited to the basic steps of incorporation
Price
BC Registry Services Canada offers incorporation by province and federal incorporation. They offer a Basic Package which is their cheapest option, Standard Package which is mid-ranged, and a Full Package.
| Mode | Name Approval Request | Incorporation Application |
| Online | $30 + $1.50 BC OnLine service fee | $350 + $1.50 OnLine Service Fee |
| In-Person / Mail | $30 | $350 (May not be available) |
How To Get Started
Start by submitting a name approval request at by visiting https://www.names.bcregistry.gov.bc.ca/ and paying the associated fee.
Follow steps 2 and 3 in the BC Registry Services guide, as well as completing all additional steps that may be needed such as setting up minute books or records books.
BC Registries offers a standard set of Table 1 Articles and an incorporation agreement that you can choose to adopt. However if you want to make any changes, it is highly recommended to do so with legal advice.
Keep in mind that this may be the lowest cost option to incorporate your business, but it only gets you a registered company and you’ll likely still need to hire someone or a lawyer to prepare all the documents, such as shareholder agreements, and custom articles of incorporation. You will most likely want to modify your share structure and issue new share classes and order certificates. So the initial registration may be only $351.50 but anticipate more costs to complete your company.
Finally, you can file an Incorporation Application online at www.corporateonline.gov.bc.ca and pay the associated fees.
Takeaways
Choosing the right incorporation service for you will save you time and money. Each of the services mentioned in this article has its pros and cons.
If a blend of speed, price, and value is what you are looking for LawDepot seems to be a clear choice. Their services are the most affordable.
Compare the options below.
| Factors | OWNR | LegalDepot | DIY |
| Business Stages | Growth, Advanced Stages | Beginning/Simple Stage | All Stages |
| Incorporation Services | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Incorporation Filing Time | Within minutes | 1-7 days | 7+ days |
| Business Documents | Limited | Yes, 150+ | No |
| Attorney Support | No | No | No |
| Customer Rating | 3.9 | 4.6 | Not Available |
Compare Pricing below.
(prices may change, please refer to provider’s actual website)
| Services | OWNR | LawDepot | DIY |
| Service Provider Fees | Included in package | $99 | $0 |
| Government filing fees | – | $380 | $351.50 |
| Shipping/handling | – | $20 | – |
| Regular service | – | 4-7 days | 2-3 days |
| Service Rush * | – | $100 | – |
| Name Search | – | $49 | $31.50 |
| Minute books* | – | $59 | – |
| Corporate Seal* | $59 | – | |
| Share Certificates* | $10 | – | |
| Legal Documents* | n/a | $95.88/year | n/a |
| CRA Business No. GST/HST | Included | n/a | – |
| Basic features (low) | $599/yr +tax | From $548 +tax | From $383 +tax |
| All features (high) | Managed | To approx. $871 +tax |
Depends on your advisor |
| Discounts | RBC ($300) |
Here at The Profile, we use LawDepot. For many reasons, LawDepot is the best choice for us. Access to over 150 customizable legal documents has saved us thousands of dollars. Their flexible and valuable services allow us to manage our professional and legal aspects without paying out of the nose.
For businesses just starting out, I would recommend LawDepot, for businesses in the growth or advanced stages I would recommend OWNR.
Registered Business Address in Canada
Also as a final addendum to our review, none of the above service providers will provide you a registered business address. However, almost all the law firms that provide incorporation services do provide a virtual address service. So what is this all about? We can explain.
The BC Corporation Act and bylaws do not allow the use of a personal home address or a PO Box when registering a physical location of your corporation’s minute book and records.
According to Section 34 of the Business Corporations Act, companies are mandated to maintain a registered office for legal document service, which must include verifiable mailing and delivery addresses. Additionally, the records office is designated for the safekeeping of company records. Therefore, businesses are obligated to have a dedicated BC office address that serves as a repository for their crucial documents, in line with these legal requirements.
For you reference, here are the links to the bylaws
Of the 10 providers we reviewed most of the providers offered the use of their offices address and mail scanning for only mail CRA or BC registration. It is not to be used as a general business mailing address or place of business. As this is not their core service, the service is basic and rarely offer any upgrades or additional mail handling services and the prices we reviewed ranged from from $299 per year up to $799 per year
So we offer a solution.
New BC Corporation Address Plan for just the use of your company offices
You may not need a letter mail handling service and you may not have a website or use of a mailing address, so we provide you this plan just for a new corporation registration.
It’s only $228 per year which works out to about $19/mon., the best price in the industry for its value.
When you are ready for a mailing address or begin to require letter mail handling or check deposits, you can upgrade to our other Virtual Address Plans
In Summary
Once again, if you choose most of the options, the full costs among the 11 providers are all about the same. It really comes down to the level of service online or in person and the reputation of the provider. And we tend to like fully automated and online services that’s why we continue to recommend OWNR and LawDepot
Good luck!
DISCLAIMER: For the sake of transparency, I would like to disclose that The Profile is an affiliate of LawDepot and OWNR. I want to provide this product review for other entrepreneurs to analyze their options when incorporating using an online service. I aim to provide an objective and unbiased review of these services. Links to the company’s websites will be provided. This paper was created August 2024 and pricing and options may change with the referred companies, please refer to their websites for updated and accurate current information.
References:
- LawDepot Review: Pros, Cons, Services and Pricing (onlinewillmakers.com)
- 13 Online Will Makers Compared: Which is Best for You? | Cake Blog (joincake.com)
- Ownr Coupon Code Jun 2022: $300 Refund & 100% Off – Savvy New Canadians
- TopConsumerReviews.com – Independent Reviews on Thousands of Products
- https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cd-dgc.nsf/vwapj/cs09267_en.pdf/$file/cs09267_en.pdf
- https://www.corporateonline.gov.bc.ca/WebHelp/overview_icorp.htm#Getting_Started