Guide to Using the Business Start-up Assistant

Thinking of starting a business? Let the Business Start-up Assistant help you become a successful entrepreneur.

The Business Start-up Assistant (BSA) is your one-stop site to useful and authoritative information for launching a business in Canada. It combines start-up information from the federal, provincial and territorial -governments, the community and many other sources. Information is organized by topics such as market research, financing, taxation, business planning, and many others - all critical to starting a new business. This easy to navigate site also provides links to federal, provincial and territorial forms for registering your business.

How To Use the Business Start-up Assistant
The BSA is easy to use. Follow these two simple steps to get the information you need:

Step 1: From the home page select a start-up topic from the list of topics in the centre of the screen.

Step 2: From the page displaying a list of the provinces and territories, select the province or territory where your business will be located (click on the province or territory from the drop down menu in the centre of the screen).

Once you have completed these two steps, the BSA will present you with a page of pertinent links containing:

• General information for the selected topic that is applicable to small and medium size businesses located anywhere in Canada
• Information that is specific to the province or territory in which you plan to locate your business.

All links in the BSA have been carefully selected for the quality, currency and accuracy of the information they contain.

Home Page
In addition to the topics and sub-topics found on the home page, you will also be able to access other critical information. For example, from the left menu bar you will find:

• Business Registration Forms: If you have done all the research necessary to register your business, this link provides quick access to federal, provincial and territorial business registration forms.
• E-Forms and E-Services: This link to the CanadaBusiness.ca site provides access to many different business forms and services such as Requesting a Business Number, Statement of Employment Insurance Benefits, Canadian Automated Export Declaration, Import/Export Permit, and many more.

From the buttons in the menu bars at the top of the home page, you will be able to locate a Canada Business service centre (CBSC) in your province or territory (Contact Us), send a help request to a Business Information Officer at a CBSC (Help), perform a search on the BSA (Search), link to the CanadaBusiness.ca site and find other useful information.

Content Pages
Once you have selected a province or territory and a topic, you will be presented with a content page containing a list of links. Each link includes the title of the document or Web page followed by the name of the organization responsible for the material. The links are to information contained on Web sites outside the BSA. Just click on the title to access the information.

The Table of Contents on the left repeats the menus on the home page and all the Start-up Topics for the province/territory you selected. Simply select a topic from the list on the left to get information on a different topic. You can also select another province or territory from the drop down menu of provinces/territories at the top and bottom of the page.

Where to Start
Starting your own business can be a confusing process of researching, assessing, planning, and dealing with government requirements. There is no one "right" way to start a business and you may find yourself doing many tasks at the same time. However, most entrepreneurs will agree that there are several key tasks that you should consider, such as:

• Self assessment
• Developing your idea and researching your market
• Organizing your business, e.g. choosing a business type
• Registering your business
• Obtaining financing

The BSA organizes information under these and other key tasks and lists them in a logical rather than alphabetical order. However, if you are a in the pre-start-up phase, begin your reseach with the first topic, "Being an Entrepreneur" to determine if you’ve got what it takes to run your own business and continue with the next topic - "Basic Steps", and the sub-topic "How to Start". Here you will find business start-up guides, checklists, and workshops from reliable sources that will provide you with the basic concepts and requirements for starting a business in Canada. You will also find here information on setting up an office and even tips on buying a business.

At any time in your research, you can contact a business information officer at the CBSC in your province or territory for personal assistance in answering questions about setting-up your business.