How to Start Things in Manitoba

A business name costs $105 to reserve and register

To operate under a name other than your own in Manitoba, you register it with the Manitoba Companies Office under The Business Names Registration Act. The two steps cost $45 for a Request for Name Reservation and $60 for the Business Name Registration form itself, and both can be filed online. Register the name before the reservation expires, and note the partnership rules: all partnerships must be registered, and every partner is personally liable for the debts of the others.

Source: Manitoba Companies Office: Starting a business name

Manitoba's sales tax is 7% — charged on the price before GST

Manitoba's Retail Sales Tax is 7% of the selling price, applied to most goods and certain services, and the tax is calculated on the selling price before GST is added, so it is not one combined rate. If you sell taxable goods in Manitoba you collect and remit this tax to the province, separate from your CRA GST filings.

Source: Province of Manitoba: Retail Sales Tax

Hire workers and WCB Manitoba coverage starts that day — register within 6 months

Manitoba employers in a mandatory industry must register with the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba; they should report before workers start and must do so within 6 months of employing them. The important part is that coverage is in effect from the day you begin employing workers, regardless of whether your WCB assessment account is set up yet, so you cannot be uninsured while the paperwork catches up.

Source: WCB Manitoba: Policy 35.05.10, Reporting and Verifying Payroll

Incorporating in Manitoba costs $395

A Manitoba business corporation costs $350 in Articles of Incorporation fees plus a $45 name reservation if you want a named corporation (Ltd., Inc., Corp. and friends). Pick a numbered corporation instead — the province assigns a number followed by MANITOBA — and you skip the name search entirely. Annual returns are due each year in your month of incorporation at $65, and missing two in a row gets the corporation dissolved.

Source: Manitoba Companies Office: Starting a Manitoba corporation