The order to work through the federal portals when starting and running a business in Canada: registration, tax accounts, funding, hiring, and selling to government — each step linked to its full guide.
Applies in: CA
Starting and running a business in Canada means dealing with the federal government through separate portals, each with its own account, steps, and rules. This roadmap puts those portals in the order a business meets them, from registration to selling to government, and links every step to the full guide for that portal. It states no new rules of its own: each step's facts live in its guide, stated from that portal's official pages. If a step does not apply to the business, skip it; the order still holds for the steps that do.
Start with the New Business Federal Accounts Checklist, which sequences the six federal accounts: the Business Number, CRA My Business Account, GST/HST registration, the payroll program account, ROE Web, and Corporations Canada. The checklist marks which accounts are conditional, so a sole proprietorship with no employees opens two accounts and skips the rest. The Federal Services Portal Finder routes a need and an audience to the right portal guide when the starting point is unclear.
A business that incorporates federally files through Corporations Canada's Online Filing Centre, which handles incorporation, annual returns, and other federal corporation filings. A provincial corporation or a sole proprietorship does not file here. The guide states the Centre's services and fees only as the Centre publishes them, and distinguishes federal filings from provincial registries throughout.
Federal funding has no single front door. Each department runs its own portal, and the application goes through the portal of the department whose program fits:
The Federal Funding and Grants Portals Directory lists all eight department portals with their official pages. No funding outcome is promised anywhere in this sequence: eligibility is decided by the department, and each program publishes its own guidelines, deadlines, and limits.
Some businesses also deal with a sector regulator's portal. Two guides in this batch cover the common ones: My CFIA for businesses regulated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and My ISED Account for the Innovation, Science and Economic Development services that require sign-in. Use each only when the business's activities fall under that regulator; neither is a general business registration.
When the business has employees, the payroll program account comes first, then Records of Employment through ROE Web when an employee stops working or has an interruption of earnings. The GST/HST Filing Frequency Checker answers the separate question of how often the business files GST/HST, from the Canada Revenue Agency's own reporting-period chart. Keep the two tracks apart: payroll is about employees, GST/HST is about the business's supplies, and each has its own account and schedule.
Supplier registration on Buy and Sell is the general route for selling goods and services to the federal government, covering registration and the supplier profile. Professional services follow the separate route through the Centralized Professional Services System ePortal: enrolment in the system does not pre-qualify a company, and pre-qualification comes through bidding on an open solicitation under a method of supply. The ePortal guide states the current enrolment requirements, including the decommissioning of the older supplier registration system, and gives no steps for the Buy and Sell route.
Two further portals apply only in their own situations. CRA Represent a Client is for a representative acting for another person's or business's taxes, with its own authorization levels and consent steps. The Canadian Export Reporting System is for businesses that export goods, with registration through the exporter reporting application and reporting timeframes set by mode of transport. Neither belongs in the main sequence: use each only when its situation applies.
With the Business Number, then CRA My Business Account, then the GST/HST and payroll accounts the business actually needs. The federal accounts checklist sequences all six federal accounts in order, with each item linked to its full guide, and this roadmap picks up from there into funding, hiring, and selling.
No. This roadmap covers the federal portals only. Business name registration, provincial tax accounts, and municipal licences follow provincial and territorial rules and vary by jurisdiction, so they belong in the province guides. The federal steps here apply across Canada, and the provincial steps run alongside them, not instead of them.
The one run by the department whose program fits. Employment and Social Development Canada grants and contributions run through its Grants and Contributions Online Services; Canadian Heritage funding runs through the Canadian Heritage Funding Portal; Transport Canada grants run through its Grants and Contributions Management System. The federal funding portals directory lists all eight department portals with their official pages, and each portal guide covers one portal's own steps.
After the payroll program account is open, Records of Employment go through ROE Web when an employee stops working or has an interruption of earnings. The ROE Web guide covers the registration and submission steps, and the payroll guide covers the account, remitting, and year-end reporting that run alongside it.
Supplier registration on Buy and Sell is the general route for selling goods and services to the federal government. Professional services follow a separate pre-qualification route through the Centralized Professional Services System ePortal, which is enrolment first and pre-qualification through a supply arrangement second. The two guides cover their own routes and do not share steps.
Export declarations go through the Canadian Export Reporting System, which is a separate CBSA portal with its own registration and its own reporting timeframes by mode of transport. The CERS guide covers the registration form, the business-number requirement, and the amendment rules, and the roadmap lists it as the final step because it applies only to businesses that export.