Established Business FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions for exisitng businesses

I have a corporation and would like to operate it under a different name as well as the name I am currently using, is that possible?
I would like to hire someone to help me expand my export business, are there any government incentives to do this?
I’ve got a company in country X that wants to order product from me. How can I find out if they are legitimate, or if they can afford the order?
I need to take some samples to a tradeshow in another country, how can I get them across the border without any problems?
What does it mean to expand your "Home-Based" business?

I have a corporation and would like to operate it under a different name as well as the name I am currently using, is that possible?

That is commonly referred to as registering a D.B.A. or Doing Business As name. Basically it would be the same as registering a sole proprietorship, only instead of registering a person as the owner, you would be registering the corporation as the owner. Here are the steps:

a) Submit a name approval for the name you want to use as the D.B.A., selecting “proprietorship/partnership” as the business type, it’s usually simpler if you list the corporation as the Applying party on the name approval form.
b) Register the new proprietorship name to the corporation using either Declaration of Proprietorship form, or online at www.onestopbc.ca

2. I would like to hire someone to help me expand my export business, are there any government incentives to do this?

Western Economic Diversification (WD) operates a program called the International Trade Personnel Program, to help industry hire recent graduates to develop new export strategies. The program is open to small and medium enterprises or industry associations with 250 or fewer employees, and covers 50% of a recent graduate’s salary, up to $20 000 / year.

For more information, go to the following link: http://www.wd.gc.ca/finance/programs/innovative_business_prog_e.asp .

Just so you know, Western Economic Diversification (WD) also offers a similar program called First Jobs in Science & Technology Program aimed at assisting industry in hiring recent graduates of science and technology programs.

3. I’ve got a company in country X that wants to order product from me. How can I find out if they are legitimate, or if they can afford the order?

EDC (Export Development Canada) has the capabilities to assess the credit worthiness of foreign companies, as well as offer insurance on your receivables. http://www.edc.ca

4. I need to take some samples to a tradeshow in another country, how can I get them across the border without any problems?

You can obtain a Carnet, which is available from the Vancouver Board of Trade. (A Carnet is an official international customs document that simplifies taking temporary imports such as commercial samples and professional equipment into any of 45 countries.) As well, you should contact the customs agency for your destination country.

Tel: (604) 681-2111
Fax: (604) 681-0437
E-mail: contactus@vancouver.boardoftrade.com
Web Site: http://vancouver.boardoftrade.com/

5. What does it mean to expand your "Home-Based" business?

If you are considering expanding your home-based business, you are being presented with similar issues that face other businesses that are considering expansion. It is important to consider both the upside and the downside of the move in your decision making and evaluation process.

It could mean:

taking on an extra product line;
taking on one more customer;
deciding to buy more equipment or tools; or
moving out of the home and into a commercial location.

For further details contact us.

6. I would like to expand my corporation to other provinces?

If you wish to expand your existing BC Incorporated business into another province, you will want to contact the local Canada Business Services Centre in the province where you will be locating for further details. If you are looking to expand into BC then you can complete the extraprovincial registration.