I was finally incorporated! Yay! There were several steps, following incorporation, that I needed to take before I could start selling stuff online. These were:
- Buying a printer
- Opening a bank account
- Getting a credit card
- Corporate paperwork
Buying a printer
To quote the Once-ler
“ Business is business! And business must grow”
“The Lorax”, Dr. Seuss
Even my new micro-business needs growing, which inevitably means paperwork. Therefore, the #1 item on my TODO list was buying a new reliable printer. Not a very difficult task but still required some priority-setting.
My wife suggested getting a laser printer, which I could later use for invoicing and packaging labels. I thought that was highly sensible and added to that the requirement of it being monochromatic to save on colour printing. Besides, greyscale is beautiful if done right. Also, we needed a printer that could fit on a shelf inside a cabinet – yes, inside a cabinet. Those with small kids will understand (and I have two). So, wireless connectivity was a must.
To summarize, my priorities for the printer were:
- Laser
- Monochromatic
- Small
- Wireless
I ended up buying HP LaserJet Pro MFP M28w at a local Staples. So far, it works beautifully.
Bank account
Next was getting a bank account. I decided to open a business bank account with RBC, which I also use for my banking. I chose the cheapest and most straightforward option – the Digital Account Package. There was no point in overthinking it at this very early stage of my micro business. I intend to do all of the banking online, so this was the best option for me.
Credit card
Getting a credit card was not as simple as the first two – this is where I spent a bit more time trying to figure out the best way forward. My business needed a credit card to pay for such basics as purchasing stuff to sell, registering a domain, and hosting an e-commerce website. I had three options:
- a dedicated business credit card
- my current personal credit card
- a new personal credit card for business expenses only
At first, I wanted to get a business credit card that would allow me to build a business credit score and have a more natural integration with expense tracking. However, the process of getting one for a new business was a bit challenging. As the saying goes, to get credit from a bank, you need to prove you don’t need it.
Using my own current personal credit card was a bad idea as it would have been a tracking hell.
The third option was the best alternative – getting a new personal credit card and using it solely for business expenses. Tracking would not be a problem, and I could use my own standing with the bank in the application process.
Corporate paperwork
Following incorporation, there was some additional paperwork to be done to keep the new corporation in good standing. The nitty-gritty of a corporation – bylaws, first resolutions of the board of directors, share issuance. It sounds scarier than it is – my next post is all about this. In the meantime, you can check out this excellent guide from Corporations Canada.