How to Register your Company Name
Registering your company name will guarantee that no one else will be able to open a business using the same name. Some banks or other financial lending institutions will require that you register your company name if the name of your business is different from your own name, for instance, Acme Plumbing as opposed to your own name followed by the word ‘Plumbing’, before they’ll open a commercial account for your business. There is an annual fee to renew your business name in the register. Refer to www.registreentreprises.gouv.qc.ca for details on how to register your company name on-line, or in person at 2050, rue De Bleury, RC 10, Station Place des Arts, Montréal, Québec, by mail at Revenu Québec, Direction du Régistraire des enterprises, Registration and amendments to the enterprise register, C.P. 1364, Québec (Québec) G1K 9B3, by courier service at Revenu Québec, Direction du Régistraire des enterprise, 3, Complexe Desjardins, Secteur D165RE, Montréal (Québec), H5B 1A4, or by phone at 514-644-4545.
How to Register your Business/Federal Government
The business number (BN) is a numbering system that simplifies and streamlines the way businesses deal with the federal government and is used to remit the source deductions of your employees, including federal income tax and EI contributions. It is based on the idea of one business, one number. Each business requires one BN for its legal entity. A legal entity is defined as a sole proprietor, partnership, corporation, trust or other organization. The BN has a total account number of 15 characters, 9 to identify the business and two letters and four digits to identify each account a business may have. A corporation BN will begin with 11, a sole proprietorship BN will begin with 22, and a partnership BN will begin with 33. Refer to www.cra.gc.ca/bro (1-800-959-5525) for detailed information to register your business with the Canada Revenue Agency. Remittances are made on a monthly basis. Instructions to remit source deductions can also be found at this website.
How to Register your Business/Provincial Government
To register your business for Québec programs and to remit the source deductions of your employees including provincial income tax, QPIP contributions, Quebec Pension Plan and Québec Commissions des norms du travail and the Québec Health Services Fund, apply to Revenu Québec at www.revenu.gouv.qc.ca (514-380-8850) for a Numero d’Entreprise du Quebec, or NEQ, which is a 10-digit number assigned to your company. You will also need an ID number (identification number) to remit source deductions in Quebec. Apply for both of these numbers at the same time. Remittances are made on a monthly basis. Instructions to remit can also be found at this website.