How to Start Submitting Claims Through ACOA Direct in Canada

ACOA Direct is how recipients submit claims to the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) online. The Government of Canada sign-in list describes it in one line: submit claims to ACOA online, share documents, and collaborate with members of your secure site. This guide covers claim submission only, as ACOA states it. It does not promise funding, it does not decide whether a cost is eligible, and it does not replace your contribution agreement. Your agreement, read with your Program Officer, decides what you can claim.

State the scope plainly. ACOA is the federal department responsible for the Government of Canada's economic development efforts in the provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. If your project is not with ACOA in Atlantic Canada, this portal is not your claim route. If it is, the steps below follow ACOA's own claim page, its MyACOA portal page, and its claim-form instructions.

Before you start: the agreement comes first

Review your contribution agreement with your Program Officer before starting any claim. Requirements may vary by project and program, and the claim page states that check as the first step. Eligible costs are detailed in your contribution agreement, more specifically in the Schedule 2 Statement of Work. Costs claimed before the date on which the Agency received a completed and signed application, as set out in the contribution agreement, are not eligible. If there are pre-disbursement conditions in your agreement, submit proof that they have been met when submitting your first claim.

Gather the items for a regular claim or a final claim before you sign in:

• Your project number and claim period dates, start and end.
• A completed cost breakdown, including itemized costs by category, supplier names, and invoice details.
• Proof of payment for costs claimed, such as bank statements, cancelled cheques, or electronic payment confirmations.
• A brief progress update describing activities completed and results achieved during the claim period.

For a final claim only, gather four more items: your project completion date; confirmation that all suppliers and employees have been fully paid; a list of all project funding sources and amounts, including ACOA and any other government funding; and a Final Project Report, if required under your contribution agreement.

For an advance request, gather a different set: your project number and the forecast period start and end dates, for a maximum of three months, plus a breakdown of forecasted costs by category for each month of the forecast period, including the supplier or employee name and estimated amount. Confirm with your Program Officer that your contribution agreement includes the advance payment option before submitting an advance request. An advance must be for costs expected to be incurred in the near future, no more than the next three months, and it must later be substantiated with a claim for a progress or final payment.

Keep all invoices and proof of payment on file. Do not send supporting documents to ACOA unless specifically requested. The claim page states that rule directly, and the claim-form instructions repeat it: do not submit supporting documents unless the requirement is listed in your contribution agreement, or if requested by the Agency. An incomplete claim will result in delays and may be returned without being processed, so match the claim to the documents you hold even when you do not send them.

Sign in to MyACOA and open a new claim

ACOA's portal is called MyACOA. From the MyACOA sign-in page, select Sign in, then choose to sign in with your GCKey or your Sign-In Partner. GCKey is a Government of Canada credential you can use to access many federal online services, and a Sign-In Partner lets you sign in using your online banking credentials from a participating Canadian bank. Either option works: choose whichever is easier for you and use the same method each time you sign in.

Registering for MyACOA is a two-step process. First, create a personal account using GCKey or a Sign-In Partner using your online banking credentials. Second, register a new organization with ACOA, or connect to one that is already registered. ACOA strongly recommends speaking with a Business Information Officer before registering. Do not create a new account if you already have one: creating a new account will disconnect you from your organization and any work you have already done. If you lose access to your GCKey or need to use a different Sign-In Partner, sign in using your new credentials and complete the re-enrolment process, which links your new credentials to your existing MyACOA account and restores access to your organization, applications, projects, and claims.

To register for ACOA Direct itself, the claim-form instructions state the route plainly: to submit your claim, use ACOA Direct, and to register, contact your Program Officer. If you are unsure whether you are registered, or which organization your project sits under, contact your Program Officer before you start a claim, rather than creating a second account or a second organization record.

Once your account and organization are set up, sign in to MyACOA and navigate to the correct organization for the project. Choose your project from the list, then scroll to the claims section and select a new claim. You will be asked to upload supporting documents such as invoices and proof of payment. If you cannot use MyACOA, the forms page tells you to contact ACOA, and it lists the paper forms used when the portal cannot be used, including the Final Payment Certificate, the Declaration of Overdue Amounts Owed to the Crown, and the Non-cash Costs Certification.

Submit a regular claim: Costs, then Report

The claim page gives the regular claim in two sections. Use Save and Exit at any time to save your progress and return to the portal dashboard.

1. Complete Section 1, Costs. Enter your claim period dates, upload your cost breakdown, answer the cost declaration questions, and enter the total amounts paid.
2. Complete Section 2, Report. Answer the progress questions, describe activities completed and results achieved during the claim period, and indicate your expected next claim date and amount.
3. Select Review and Submit once both sections are marked Complete. Review your full submission before confirming.

The three forms behind a claim are Identification and Certification, Detailed Costs Claimed, and Progress Report. Depending on your situation, other forms may be required: the Final Payment Certificate, the Declaration of Overdue Amounts Owed to the Crown, and the Non-cash Costs Certification. A person authorized to sign on behalf of the recipient must sign and date the certification section, and a claim submitted through ACOA Direct should be submitted by a properly authorized individual.

Claim only eligible costs incurred during the project period. Costs must be received, invoiced, or paid within the eligible project period. You may also claim supplier deposits or progress payments that are contractually required, and your contribution agreement may include an advance payment option for goods or services not yet received, as well as contractually required supplier deposits or progress payments. Use the correct HST or GST rebate rate: the rate depends on the type of cost being claimed, so verify with the Canada Revenue Agency or your accountant if you are unsure. Report all credits and refunds on your next claim; if they are received after your final claim, contact your Program Officer. Match costs to supporting documents exactly, and clearly identify which costs apply if you are claiming only certain costs from an invoice. Report all costs in the Canadian dollar amount you paid to the supplier, and refer to Schedule 3 of your contribution agreement for guidance on foreign currency costs. Confirm with your Program Officer that all benefits claimed beyond mandatory Employment Insurance and Canada Pension Plan contributions are eligible before submitting, and claim salaries, wages, and benefits in the same manner they are paid to employees.

Two cost rules from the claim-form instructions are worth reading exactly. Unless your contribution agreement specifies otherwise, you may claim eligible costs incurred even though you have not yet paid the suppliers or employees, but the maximum amount ACOA will pay for costs incurred but not yet paid is 50 percent of the approved contribution. And the Agency will not reimburse HST or GST you are eligible to receive as an input tax credit from the Canada Revenue Agency: provide the refundable HST or GST rate applicable to the costs claimed. If your claim covers costs incurred in March and April, note the March 31 fiscal year-end rule: submit separate claims based on when the costs were incurred, one for costs prior to and including March 31, and one from April 1 onward.

Submit an advance request

An advance request is a forecast, not a claim for costs already incurred. Enter your forecast period dates and complete the cost forecast table with expected costs by category and month. Answer the required declarations and upload any optional supporting documents. Select Review and Submit once the form is complete, and review your full submission before confirming.

Exclude HST or GST from an advance request where you are eligible to receive it as an input tax credit from the Canada Revenue Agency. Your advance must be substantiated, to the satisfaction of the Agency, within 45 calendar days of the end of your advance period, in the form of a claim for a progress or final payment detailing costs incurred and amounts paid to suppliers or employees. If your situation requires the Declaration of Overdue Amounts Owed to the Crown, complete that form as well.

Submit a final claim

A final claim follows the same process as a regular claim for Section 1, Costs. Then complete Section 2, Final Payment Questions: confirm the project is complete, all suppliers and employees have been paid, and all terms of the contribution agreement have been met. List all project funding sources in the field provided. Upload your Final Project Report if required, and any other supporting documents. Select Review and Submit once both sections are marked Complete, and review your full submission before confirming.

You must complete the Final Payment Certificate when submitting your final claim. The final claim can only be submitted when the project is completed, all costs have been incurred, all costs claimed have been fully paid, and all terms and conditions of the contribution agreement have been met. Submit your final claim within the time frame specified in your contribution agreement, usually no later than 60 calendar days after the Project Completion Date.

After you submit any claim, ACOA will review your claim and supporting documents, and may contact you if additional information or clarification is required. A copy of your submitted claim will remain available in your MyACOA account. Do not assume a submitted claim is an approved payment: the review step comes after submission, and the Agency may ask for the documents you kept on file.

If you need help signing in, uploading a document, or using MyACOA, ACOA's support team can be reached at 1-888-322-2482, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Atlantic Time. Include a short description of the issue, the page you were on, any error messages, and a screenshot if possible.

Figures cut or left unverified

Some figures and rules are deliberately not stated in this guide, because they could not be verified on a current official ACOA page. Processing times for claim review, payment timing after approval, and any service standard for ACOA Direct were not stated, because no ACOA page publishes them for claims. A contribution percentage, a maximum contribution amount, and program-level eligibility rules were not stated, because those figures sit in individual contribution agreements and program pages, not in the claim pages, and this guide covers claim mechanics only. The exchange-rate figures for foreign currency costs were not stated as rates, because the claim-form instructions tie the eligible rate to the institution charge or the Bank of Canada website at the time of payment or invoice, and no single rate applies. If any of those figures is needed, check the contribution agreement and the Program Officer for the project before relying on it.

Related guides:

• How to Start Filing with Corporations Canada's Online Filing Centre in Canada — another federal portal with its own account and corporation key, for corporation filings rather than ACOA claims.
• How to Start Using My ISED Account to Manage Federal Business Services in Canada — the ISED account behind several federal business services, separate from MyACOA.
• How to Start Using a My Trade Commissioner Service Account in Canada — the Trade Commissioner Service updates account, for export content rather than Atlantic Canada claims.
• How to Start Applying for International Scholarships Through Global Affairs Canada — a separate federal funding process, with institutions applying on behalf of students.
• How to Import and Export Goods in Canada — border and customs steps, for readers whose ACOA project involves moving goods.

Sources

• Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, How to submit a Claim — reviewing the agreement with a Program Officer first, the items to gather, the Regular Claim, Advance Request, and Final Claim steps, Save and Exit, keeping documents on file, and the common-error tips.
• Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, MyACOA — the secure portal to apply for funding, submit claims, and manage projects, GCKey and Sign-In Partner sign-in, the two-step registration, the new-claim route, re-enrolment, and support hours.
• Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Forms and tools — MyACOA as the portal for all claims, direct deposit authorization, the Final Payment Certificate, the Declaration of Overdue Amounts Owed to the Crown, and the Non-cash Costs Certification.
• Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Claim for a Progress or Final Payment — the three mandatory forms, the March 31 fiscal year-end split, submitting through ACOA Direct with registration through a Program Officer, the 50 percent limit on unpaid costs, the HST and GST input tax credit rule, and the final claim timing.
• Government of Canada, Sign in to a Government of Canada online account — ACOA Direct described as submitting claims to ACOA online, sharing documents, and collaborating with members of a secure site.
• Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, 2022-23 Departmental Results Report raison d'être — ACOA as the federal department responsible for economic development in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.