How to Start Things in Quebec

Register your enterprise with the REQ — and get your NEQ

Most businesses carrying on activities in Quebec must register with the Registraire des entreprises du Québec (REQ) by filing a declaration of registration, typically within 60 days of starting. Registration creates a public record of your enterprise and assigns a Québec enterprise number (NEQ) that you'll use for licences, tax, and legal reporting. Sole proprietors operating under their own exact first and last name are generally exempt. The moment you use a business name, you register.

Source: Guide to business registration in Quebec (cites quebec.ca)

Your business name must comply with the French-language Charter

Quebec is the only province where French is the official language of commerce: under the Charter of the French Language, the name you declare must comply with it. In practice, your enterprise needs a French name: if you also use a name in another language, the French version must appear at least as prominently, so an English-only trade name will not be accepted at registration.

Source: Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises (Gazette officielle du Québec)

Register for GST and QST with Revenu Québec, not the CRA

In Quebec, Revenu Québec administers both the federal GST and the Quebec sales tax (QST) — you register with them, not with the Canada Revenue Agency. The small-supplier line is the same $30,000 as the rest of Canada: exceed it in one quarter or over the previous four, and you must register and collect both taxes. Below it, registration is optional, but registering lets you claim input tax credits and input tax refunds on your startup purchases.

Source: Revenu Québec: registering with Revenu Québec

Hire your first worker and you have 60 days to register with the CNESST

Quebec's workers' compensation board is the CNESST, not the WSIB. A new employer has 60 days from the first worker's first day to register for coverage, and premiums are based on payroll and your industry's rate. Miss the deadline and premiums can be assessed retroactively, with penalties. This applies whether the worker is full-time or part-time, so hiring even one person puts you under CNESST jurisdiction. Premiums are remitted to Revenu Québec alongside your payroll source deductions.

Source: CNESST: penalties and registration deadlines