Asset verification and accounting

Entrepreneur applications have two major financial checks: before approval (your assets) and before nomination (how the Canadian business is doing).

Asset verification before approval

• Manitoba requires a net worth verification report from a province-approved third party within 120 days of the invitation.
• Newfoundland and Labrador requires verified financial documents with the business plan, at the applicant's cost.
• Verifiers check ownership, value, debts and the origin of assets.

Accounting and reporting after you start the business

• A Canadian business needs proper books, a CRA business number and corporate tax filings.
• According to the CRA, the net federal corporate rate is 15%, or 9% for Canadian-controlled private corporations claiming the small business deduction, plus provincial tax. Businesses owned by non-permanent residents should ask an accountant whether they qualify for the lower rate.
• Alberta requires a Final Report for nomination, checked against the commitments in the Business Performance Agreement (investment, jobs, management role).
• Keep invoices, contracts, payroll and investment records as evidence.

Choosing professional help

• A Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) in Canada for bookkeeping and tax.
• A province-approved verifier for the net worth report.
• A business lawyer for business purchases and commercial leases.

Note Figures in the final report must match your books and tax returns. Discrepancies can lead the province to refuse nomination.