- Choose your structure: sole proprietorship (~$40) or incorporation (~$350+)
- Reserve your name with a BC Name Request (~$30), then register with BC Registries
- Get a business number from the CRA (created with registration) and understand the $30,000 GST threshold
- File a municipal business licence in your home city — home-based businesses included
- Get liability insurance appropriate to your trade
- Open a business bank account and set up payments and bookkeeping
- Build the client-facing layer: brand, website, booking, Google Business Profile
Step 1 — Choose your structure
British Columbia's two realistic structures for a new service business are the sole proprietorship and the corporation. A sole proprietorship is you, doing business under a registered name: fast, roughly $40 to register, minimal paperwork, income taxed personally. A corporation is a separate legal entity: roughly $350+ to incorporate, more annual upkeep, but your personal assets are separated from business liability and larger clients take it more seriously.
The honest rule of thumb: solo, low-risk, testing the waters — sole prop. Higher-ticket jobs, physical risk, commercial ambitions, or a crew on the horizon — incorporate. (Our Starter package registers a sole proprietorship; Launch includes BC incorporation.)
Step 2 — Name and register
Unless you're operating under your exact personal name, you'll reserve a business name through a BC Name Request (~$30, and worth having two backups — names get rejected for conflicts more often than people expect). Once approved, you register the sole proprietorship (~$40) or file incorporation with BC Registries. Registration produces the paper trail everything else hangs off: banking, licensing, GST.
Step 3 — Understand GST before it matters
The number to remember is $30,000: once your revenue crosses it over four consecutive calendar quarters, you must register for, charge, and remit GST. Below the threshold registration is optional — some businesses register early to claim back GST on their startup purchases. The trap to avoid is crossing the threshold mid-year without noticing; set up proper books from day one and it's a non-event.
Step 4 — Municipal business licence
Every Metro Vancouver municipality requires businesses operating in its boundaries to hold a business licence — including home-based businesses, which is what most new service operators are. Fees vary by city and category, typically landing between $100 and $250 per year. Mobile trades that work across city lines should ask about the Metro West Inter-municipal Business Licence, which covers multiple participating municipalities under one licence.
The applications aren't hard, but they're fiddly and city-specific. It's also the step people most often skip “for now” — and operating unlicensed is the kind of corner-cutting that surfaces at the worst moment. (We prepare and file licence applications with every launch; approval always rests with the city.)
Step 5 — Insurance
General liability insurance is what makes you hireable for good jobs: strata buildings, property managers, and careful homeowners ask for proof. Costs scale with trade risk — from roughly $500–$900/yr for a solo cleaner to $2,000+ for HVAC. If you hire anyone, WorkSafeBC registration becomes mandatory; as a solo owner-operator, personal coverage is generally optional but worth a conversation.
Step 6 — Banking, payments, books
Open a dedicated business bank account the week you register — mixing personal and business money creates tax-time pain and looks amateur on e-Transfers. Set up card payments and professional invoicing so clients can pay in one click, and connect accounting software to the account so every dollar is tracked automatically. Fifteen minutes a week keeps you permanently tax-ready.
Step 7 — The layer clients actually see
Everything above makes you legal. What makes you chosen is the client-facing layer: a real brand, a professional website, online booking, a complete Google Business Profile, and early reviews. In every local service market in Metro Vancouver, the operator who looks established wins jobs from equally-skilled operators who don't — usually at higher prices. This layer is the actual competitive weapon, and it's the part most founders stall on for months.
Prontco builds all of this in about 10 business days
Registration, licence filing, brand, website, booking, payments, accounting setup, Google presence, legal documents — one team, one flat build price from $997 plus government fees at cost, with 30 days of support after handoff. You keep working; we build the company.
Book a free launch callBC startup FAQ
How much does it cost to start a business in BC?
Government basics are modest: a name request (~$30), sole proprietorship registration (~$40) or incorporation (~$350+), and a municipal business licence (typically $100–$250/yr). Real startup cost is driven by your trade's equipment and insurance — see our trade-specific guides for realistic totals. Fees change; confirm current amounts with BC Registries and your municipality.
Sole proprietorship or incorporation — which should I choose?
Sole proprietorship is cheaper and faster and suits most first-time solo operators. Incorporation separates business liability from your personal assets and reads as more established for commercial work — common for higher-risk or higher-ticket trades. We help clients think it through; for legal or tax specifics, consult a professional.
When do I have to register for GST?
Once your revenue passes $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters, GST registration becomes mandatory. Below that it's optional (registering early lets you claim input tax credits). We walk every client through the mechanics at setup.
Do I need a business licence if I work from home?
In Metro Vancouver municipalities, yes — home-based businesses need a licence too, generally under home-occupation rules that service businesses satisfy easily since work happens at client locations. Each city sets its own requirements; we prepare and file, the city approves.
What's an Inter-municipal Business Licence?
A single licence that lets eligible businesses — typically mobile trades — operate across multiple participating Metro Vancouver municipalities instead of licensing in each city separately. If your service area crosses city lines (most do), it's often the economical structure. We assess it against your real route during setup.
Trade-specific launch guides
City guides