Business documents in Canada

A Canadian business can incorporate federally under the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) through Corporations Canada, or provincially under the law of the province where it operates. Federal incorporation gives name protection across the country, but a federal corporation still registers extra-provincially in each province where it carries on business. Sole proprietorships and partnerships trading under a business name register with the provincial registry rather than federally.

CBCA corporations file an annual return within 60 days after the anniversary of incorporation, amalgamation or continuance, starting the year after incorporation.

Beneficial ownership is also on the record. Most CBCA corporations have had to keep an internal register of individuals with significant control (ISCs) since June 2019, and since January 22, 2024 they must file ISC information with Corporations Canada — with the annual return and within 15 days of any change to the register. Some ISC information is made public, and an individual can supply an address for service instead of having a residential address published.

The CRA issues a 9-digit Business Number and adds program accounts to it: RT for GST/HST, RP for payroll deductions, RC for corporation income tax and RM for import-export, which the CBSA has administered since October 21, 2024. On an invoice you quote the GST/HST account, for example 123456789 RT 0001. You must register for GST/HST once you stop being a small supplier, which happens when your taxable supplies exceed $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive quarters. Below that, registration is voluntary.

Invoice content is set by the Input Tax Credit Information (GST/HST) Regulations, which tie the required details to the total amount paid or payable. The rules exist so that a registered customer can claim input tax credits, so a supplier that leaves out a field can cost its customer money. The CRA also expects you to tell customers whether GST/HST is included in the price or added to it, and to show the rate that applies. In an HST province, show the single combined HST rate, not separate federal and provincial portions.

Which rate to charge depends on the place of supply: an Ontario supply carries 13% HST, a Manitoba supply 5% GST plus Manitoba’s 7% provincial sales tax, which is administered by the province. The invoice date generally decides the reporting period in which you account for the tax, whether or not the customer has paid yet.

In Quebec, Revenu Québec administers both the GST and the Quebec sales tax (QST). Its invoice rules mirror the federal tiers: for sales of $100 or more the invoice shows the supplier’s GST and QST registration numbers and the tax amounts, and from $500 the purchaser’s name and the payment terms are added. For the QST, a description of the goods or services is required at every amount. A business selling into Quebec should therefore print two registration numbers, not one.

The Charter of the French Language affects ordinary business documents. Invoices, receipts and other commercial documents must be available in French; another language may be offered alongside, provided a French version of comparable quality is available. Standard-form contracts, such as terms and conditions a customer cannot negotiate, must be presented in French first, and the parties may then agree to sign in another language. Negotiated contracts can be in any language both sides choose.

The Charter also reaches HR paperwork: job offers, application forms, handbooks and policies must be available in French, and general written communications to staff must be in French, with translations allowed if the French version is at least as prominent.

Canadian buyers use a familiar chain: a quote or estimate, a purchase order, a packing slip or delivery receipt with the goods, then the invoice. Because GST/HST depends on where the supply is made, a well-built quote states the price before tax and the tax that will apply to the customer’s province, so the purchase order and invoice match. Larger organizations and public bodies routinely reject invoices that do not quote their PO number.

When a price is reduced or goods are returned after invoicing, issue a credit note rather than editing the original invoice, and show the GST/HST being reversed so both parties can adjust their returns. Debit notes are used less often but serve the same purpose for increases. Progress billing is common in construction and professional services, and each progress invoice must carry the same tax information as a single invoice of that value.

Most employers are governed by their province’s employment standards law; federally regulated industries such as banking, telecommunications and interprovincial transport follow Part III of the Canada Labour Code. Federally regulated employers must give each employee a written statement of employment terms within 30 days of hiring and an update within 30 days of a change; a detailed offer letter or employment contract can serve as that statement. They keep employment and payroll records for at least 36 months, and for another 36 months after employment ends. In Ontario, employers must give employees the current employment standards poster within 30 days of their start.

Payroll runs through the RP account on the Business Number. At year end, employers give employees their T4 slips by the last day of February and file the T4 return with the CRA; for 2025 slips the filing due date was March 2, 2026. Anyone filing more than five information returns of a type for a calendar year must file electronically.

When an employee has an interruption of earnings — they quit, are laid off, go on parental leave or stop work for illness — the employer issues a Record of Employment (ROE) to Service Canada, which uses it to decide Employment Insurance eligibility. Electronic ROEs are due within five calendar days after the end of the pay period in which the interruption happened.

Contracts outside Quebec follow common law, while Quebec applies the Civil Code of Québec, so every agreement should name its governing province. Typical small-business documents are NDAs, contractor service agreements, distribution and agency agreements, shareholder agreements and supply terms. For contractors, the CRA looks at the real working relationship, not just the contract’s label, when deciding employee status.

Federal and provincial electronic commerce laws, such as Ontario’s Electronic Commerce Act, 2000, generally allow contracts to be formed and signed electronically, with exclusions for certain document types. Wills, some land transfers and documents that need witnessing or notarization follow their own rules, so check the provincial statute for anything unusual.

Since October 21, 2024, the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management system (CARM) has been the official system for assessing and paying duties and taxes on commercial imports. Importers enrol through the CARM Client Portal using their Business Number and RM import-export account, and accounting is submitted as a Commercial Accounting Declaration (CAD). Importers that want goods released before paying duties and taxes must post financial security under the Release Prior to Payment program, based on their highest monthly amount owing over the previous 12 months.

For the invoice, CBSA Memorandum D1-4-1 accepts a commercial invoice that contains all the required fields, a commercial invoice plus a Canada Customs Invoice (CI1) for the missing details, or a fully completed CI1. The fields include vendor, consignee, purchaser and exporter, country of origin, conditions of sale and terms of payment, currency of settlement, number and kind of packages, a description of the goods, quantity, unit price, weights and the invoice total, in English or French. Goods claiming CUSMA preference need a certification of origin, which has no prescribed format but must contain nine minimum data elements, and can appear on the invoice and cover identical goods for up to 12 months.

Exports are reported through the Canadian Export Reporting System (CERS) when commercial goods going to a country other than the United States are worth CAN$2,000 or more, and always for controlled, regulated or prohibited goods. Exporters keep export records in Canada for six years after export.

The CRA generally requires businesses to keep records and supporting documents for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, at a place of business or residence in Canada unless the CRA authorizes another location. Records must be kept in English, French or a combination of the two. Electronic records are acceptable if they can be produced in a format readable by CRA officials and software, as described in Information Circular IC05-1.

Labour standards and customs records carry their own periods, summarized below; keeping invoices, POs, receipts and customs papers in one system makes any CRA or CBSA review easier.