Start an online store in Canada

Starting an online store in Canada takes eleven steps: work out your margins, register the business, decide on GST/HST, pick a name and domain, choose a platform, build the store, set up payments, shipping and taxes, add French if you sell in Quebec, then test and launch. On Shopify, the platform costs $49 a month ($37 billed yearly) and online card payments cost 2.8% + 30¢ each on the Basic plan. Most people can do the paperwork in a week; the store itself takes longer, unless someone builds it for you.

1. Check that the numbers work

Before anything else, price one typical order from end to end: what the product costs you, packaging, shipping, card fees and returns. Card fees alone on Shopify Basic are 2.8% + 30¢, so a $40 order pays $1.42. If shipping eats most of what's left, adjust the price, the product mix or the free-shipping threshold now rather than after launch. A spreadsheet with ten real products is enough.

2. Register the business

How you register depends on your structure and your province. A sole proprietorship or partnership registers with the province or territory, and a corporation incorporates federally or provincially. The Government of Canada's business registration guide walks through each case. In Quebec, a sole proprietor who operates under a name that doesn't include their own first and last name must register with the Registraire des entreprises, which assigns a ten-digit Quebec enterprise number (NEQ).

3. Decide on GST/HST

You don't have to charge GST/HST until your taxable sales pass $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters, or in a single quarter. Below that you're a small supplier. Many new stores register voluntarily anyway, so they can claim back the tax they pay on business purchases. In Quebec, you register for both the GST and the QST with Revenu Québec. Our guide to GST/HST and QST on Shopify covers rates and settings.

4. Pick a name and a domain

Check that the name is free as a business name in your province and as a domain. Search social handles at the same time, since a mismatch is hard to fix later. Keep the domain short and easy to say over the phone. If you sell in Quebec, test how the name sounds in French too.

5. Choose a platform

If selling is the main job of the site, or you'll also sell at markets or in a shop, a commerce platform like Shopify fits. If the site is mostly content with a few products, a site builder may be enough. Our comparison of Shopify, Lightspeed, Wix and Squarespace says when each one wins, including when Shopify doesn't.

6. Build the store

This is the longest step. You need:

• A theme set up with your logo, colours and fonts, readable on a phone first.
• Product pages with good photos, clear descriptions, sizes or options, and stock levels.
• Collections that match how customers shop, not how your supplier labels things.
• Pages for shipping, returns, privacy and terms of sale, plus a contact page.
• An About page that says who you are and where you're based. Canadian shoppers like buying local, so say it.

7. Set up payments

Shopify Payments is the simplest option: it pays out in Canadian dollars to a Canadian chequing account, and it avoids the extra fee Shopify charges when you use another payment provider (2% per sale on Basic). Savings accounts and accounts that only accept wire transfers don't work for payouts, so check your account type before you start.

8. Set up shipping

Decide where you ship, how you charge (flat rates, free over a threshold, or carrier-calculated) and what packaging you use. In the Shopify admin, Canadian stores can buy discounted labels from Canada Post, UPS, Purolator and DHL Express without opening separate accounts. Weigh and measure your common parcel sizes first; that's what the rates depend on.

9. Set up taxes

Once registered, add each province where you're registered under Settings > Taxes and duties > Canada and enter your numbers. The rate charged depends on where the order is delivered: 13% HST in Ontario, 5% GST plus 9.975% QST in Quebec, 5% GST in Alberta. Place a test order to each province you sell to.

10. Add French if you sell in Quebec

If your business is established in Quebec, your store needs a complete French version, available on terms at least as favourable as English. That includes product pages, policies, checkout and order emails. Shopify publishes French with its own /fr addresses. Our page on French Shopify stores for Quebec explains what the law asks and how to cover it.

11. Test, then launch

• Place real orders with a real card and refund them: one per shipping zone and tax region.
• Read every email the store sends, in each language.
• Check the store on an old phone with a slow connection.
• Connect your domain and confirm the address shows a padlock.
• Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console so your pages can be found.

After launch: find your first customers

Search brings a slow, steady trickle; your first sales usually come from people who already know you. Tell your existing customers and contacts, post the launch where your buyers already spend time, and start an email list on day one with a reason to join. If you sell at markets, put the store's address on every bag and receipt. Measure which channel brings orders and do more of that.

Or let us do steps 6 to 11

Spicy Design builds Shopify stores for Canadian businesses for free. We customize a free theme, import your products, set up payments, GST/HST and QST, shipping, your domain and a French version, add up to 10 hours of custom work, and transfer the finished store to you in about 2 weeks. You pay only your Shopify plan and any paid apps or theme you choose. No contract. We're a Montréal studio and a Shopify Partner since 2009. Read the free Shopify setup details or send the request form, and see what Shopify costs in Canada before you decide.