Why the order matters
Every one of these hangs off the one before it. A name request has to be approved before BC Registries will register anything against it. Registration is what produces your nine-digit Business Number, and both your GST account and your WorkSafeBC account are opened against that number — you cannot do either first. Most municipalities want proof of registration before they will issue a business licence, and most insurance brokers want the registered legal name on the certificate so it matches the one on your invoices.
Done in order it is one pass. Done out of order it is the same work twice, with a wait in the middle of it each time.
What each one costs
These are the government’s own fees, not ours, and they are the same whoever files them.
- Name request — $30. Only if the business will trade under a name that isn’t your own legal name.
- Sole proprietorship registration — $40. Incorporation is $350, plus the name request.
- GST registration — no fee. Mandatory once taxable revenue passes $30,000 over four consecutive quarters; voluntary below that, and most property managers want the number on the invoice either way. See when you have to register for GST in BC.
- WorkSafeBC account — no fee to open. Premiums are assessed on payroll afterwards, and a working owner with no employees may need Personal Optional Protection to be covered at all. See the WorkSafeBC guide.
- Business licence — varies by city and category. The Metro West inter-municipal licence is $300 a year and covers Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Delta and New Westminster for construction and building-maintenance trades; it is not pro-rated. The Tri-Cities inter-municipal licence is $175 a year for Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, and its eligibility is much broader. See the IMBL guide.
- Insurance — a broker quote, not a government fee. $2 million commercial general liability is the usual floor for building work, and buildings routinely ask to be named as additional insured. See insurance for BC service businesses.
- Trade licences — set by the regulator. Technical Safety BC, WorkSafeBC and the others each price their own, by class. See certifications and permits by trade.
Government fees are passed through at cost — we don’t mark them up, and we quote your exact figure before anything is filed. Figures verified for 2026; BC Registries and each municipality set their own fees and their own queues, and both can change.
How we charge for filings
There are two answers, and they are different on purpose. Which one applies depends on whether you are having a business built or having a single filing done.
Launching with us
Starter · Launch · Launch Free · Growth
The filing work is part of the build price. We do not charge separately for it, and we do not add anything to the government’s fee. Government registration and licensing fees are passed through at cost — no markup, no handling fee, and your exact figure is quoted before anything is filed.
Prontco Verified
A filing on its own
Here you are not buying a build, so each filing is a service with its own price: $23, or $97 to incorporate. That is our fee for doing the work. The government’s fee is still passed through at cost on top — that part is never marked up either.
The rule we hold ourselves to: our fee is never more than half of what the government charges for the same filing. A sole proprietorship carries $70 of government fee, so we charge $23. Incorporating carries $380, so we charge $97. Where the government charges nothing at all — GST registration, opening a WorkSafeBC account — the fee is $23. If your city’s business licence happens to cost less than $46, we charge half of that instead.
How long it takes
The filing itself is quick. The waiting is not ours to promise: BC Registries sets its own queue for name approvals, and each municipality sets its own for licences. Anyone who gives you a firm date for either is guessing. What we will tell you is where yours is sitting and what, if anything, is holding it up.
Common questions
What do I have to file before a property manager will hire me?
In practice, five things: a registered business, a business licence in the municipality the building is in, a current WorkSafeBC clearance letter, a certificate of commercial general liability insurance, and a GST number on your invoices. Trade-regulated work — electrical, gas, refrigeration, asbestos abatement, fire protection, security and locksmithing, pesticide application — needs its licence on top of those.
What order should I do them in?
Name request first if you need a new name, then registration, because your Business Number comes out of it and GST and WorkSafeBC both hang off that number. Municipal licences generally want proof you are registered. Insurance can be arranged at any point, but brokers usually want the registered legal name on the certificate.
What do the government fees actually come to?
A BC name request is $30. Registering a sole proprietorship is $40; incorporating is $350. Registering for GST and opening a WorkSafeBC account cost nothing. Municipal licence fees vary by city and category; the Metro West inter-municipal licence is $300 a year and the Tri-Cities inter-municipal licence is $175 a year. Insurance is a broker quote, not a government fee.
Do I need a business licence in every city I work in?
Yes — a municipal business licence covers that municipality only. An inter-municipal business licence covers a group of them for one fee, which is usually cheaper than three separate licences, but eligibility depends on your trade category.
Can Prontco file these for me?
Yes. That is what we do. Government fees are passed through at cost, never marked up, and your exact figure is quoted before anything is filed.