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Just incorporated? The 12-step setup checklist

Reviewed by EverStone CPA · July 2026

Everything a new BC corporation needs to set up in its first 90 days — in order, with the guide for each step. Print it, or have it emailed to you.

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Quick answer: A newly incorporated BC company needs a list of setup steps before its first year-end: a CRA business number and program accounts, a corporate bank account, a fiscal year-end, a minute book, GST registration if required, and payroll setup if the owner takes salary. EverStone walks new corporations through it.

A newly incorporated BC company has twelve setup steps to complete before its first year end — from the minute book and CRA program accounts through the fiscal year end choice, the GST and PST decisions, payroll and WorkSafeBC registration, to booking a CPA while the expensive first-year mistakes are still cheap to avoid
Twelve setup steps for a new BC corporation’s first ninety days.
  1. Set up the minute book. Your incorporation documents, share register and resolutions are legal requirements, not paperwork theatre. Keep them current from day one — lenders and buyers will ask for them years from now. See what belongs in a minute book.
  2. Get your Business Number and program accounts. The CRA issues one Business Number (BN) with program accounts hanging off it: RC (corporate tax), RT (GST/HST), RP (payroll). Open the ones you need in CRA My Business Account. Guide
  3. Open a corporate bank account. The corporation is a separate taxpayer — its money is not your money. A dedicated account (plus a corporate card) is the single best defence against a messy shareholder-loan problem later. Guide
  4. Choose your fiscal year-end. You get one free choice within 53 weeks of incorporating. A deliberate year-end (often not December) smooths workload and can defer tax on your first bonus. Guide
  5. Decide on GST/HST registration. Registration is mandatory once taxable sales pass $30,000 over four rolling quarters — and often worth doing voluntarily earlier to claim input tax credits. Guide
  6. Check whether BC PST touches you. Selling or leasing taxable goods, software or certain services in BC means separate PST registration — and PST expands to professional services October 1, 2026. Guide
  7. Set up payroll if you will take salary. Salary needs an RP account and monthly source-deduction remittances; unremitted amounts carry personal director liability. Decide salary vs dividends deliberately. Guide
  8. Register with WorkSafeBC if hiring. Registration is generally required when you take on workers in BC. Premiums are payroll-based; keep it current from the first hire.
  9. Put a bookkeeping system in place. Cloud accounting (QuickBooks Online or Xero) connected to the corporate bank feed, reconciled monthly — from month one, not at year-end. Guide
  10. Plan how you will pay yourself. Salary builds RRSP room and CPP; dividends are simpler with no CPP. Most owners land on a deliberate mix — decide it, do not default into it. Guide
  11. Calendar the deadlines. T2 due six months after year-end (tax owing earlier), GST on your filing schedule, T4s by end of February, instalments once you owe enough. Guide
  12. Book a CPA before the first year-end. The expensive mistakes (missed elections, shareholder-loan tangles, wrong year-end) happen in year one and get fixed retroactively at multiples of the cost. A one-hour setup conversation is the cheapest accounting you will ever buy. Guide

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This checklist is general information for new BC corporations as of July 2026, not advice for your specific situation. Steps like PST, payroll and WorkSafeBC depend on what your business does — talk to a CPA to confirm yours.

Common questions

New corporation setup FAQ

When do I need to register for GST/HST after incorporating?+
Registration becomes mandatory once your corporation’s taxable sales pass $30,000 over four rolling quarters, not a calendar year. Many new corporations register earlier anyway, since it lets you claim input tax credits on startup purchases and equipment. Track your rolling total from your first invoice so you don’t miss the threshold.
How do I choose a fiscal year-end for my new corporation?+
You get one free choice of fiscal year-end within 53 weeks of incorporating, and it does not have to be December 31. Picking a year-end that falls outside your busiest season smooths workload and can defer tax on a first bonus or dividend. Once chosen, changing it later requires CRA approval.
Do I need to register for BC PST right away?+
Only if you sell or lease taxable goods, software, or certain services in BC. If you don’t yet, keep it on your radar — PST expands to cover professional services starting October 1, 2026, which will pull businesses that were previously exempt into registration for the first time.
Should I pay myself salary or dividends from my new corporation?+
Most owners land on a deliberate mix rather than one or the other. Salary builds RRSP room and CPP contributions but requires payroll remittances; dividends are simpler to pay with no CPP involved. The right split depends on your personal cash needs, retirement savings goals, and how the corporation is taxed — worth deciding on purpose, not by default.
What happens if I don’t remit payroll source deductions on time?+
Unremitted source deductions carry personal director liability, meaning CRA can pursue you individually even after the corporation has been wound up. This is one of the few corporate tax debts that isn’t shielded by the corporate structure. If you’re setting up payroll for the first time, build the remittance deadline into your calendar from day one.
When is my new corporation’s first T2 return due?+
A T2 corporate tax return is due six months after your fiscal year-end, but any balance owing is due earlier — generally two or three months after year-end depending on your corporation’s status. Filing on time and paying on time are two separate deadlines, and missing the payment deadline starts interest even if the return itself is filed later.

Before working through the checklist, settle the jurisdiction: incorporating federally versus provincially compares name protection, where you can operate and the annual registry filing each route carries.

Want the setup done with you, not just listed?

Book a free consult — we will walk your new corporation through every step and quote a fixed fee for the year.

Book My Free ConsultCall (604) 832-1743

This checklist sits inside a wider set of setup reading — see the Everything for a new business for the guides that come before and after it.