Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 589
You don't actually have to start charging GST until your sales hit $30,000. If it doesn't by dec 31, it resets to 0 again. Of course you can charge GST from the get go if you want, but why charge your customer more when you don't have to? If you want the GST credit, you can still claim your expenses as an expense, you just don't separate the GST as you would if you charged it. You also have to remit the GST to the government. Either annually or quarterly.
As for PST, you only charge this if you sell products above and certain amount. Can't remember the amount but since you only sell a service, you won't need this.
A business can be either a sole proprietor. Which is basically just you finally your business income on your own taxes under the section for business income. Income - expenses = profit. You only pay income tax on profit, not revenue.
You should hire an accountant to figure out the specifics of what can be written off etc.
A corporation is its own entity and it files its own income tax, just like a person would. You are limited in liability, whereas a sole proprietor, you can be sued personally and you are responsible for debts, including your own home and assets.
A partnership is another but can be a tad complicated with how you file taxes and it can be both limited liability or not.
So to answer your question, if you're just doing services as of now, the only changes you need to make to be legit are: Track your income and expenses and claim them on your taxes. This could mean writing receipts and giving them to customers or even just writing them for yourself if the customer doesn't care if they get one or not.
You don't have to have a name to run a business but you can choose a name.
You may want insurance but it's not mandatory but definitely recommended.