Onboard Your Registered Business with Square
Last updated: August 2023
About onboarding your registered business with Square
The information we request from you when you set up your Square account can vary depending on the type of business you run. The information below will help you understand the options to choose from when you get started with Square.
Before you begin
This onboarding guide is for registered businesses. If you are an individual or sole proprietorship business, go to onboard your sole proprietorship to Square.
Step 1: Provide your legal business name
Enter the legal business name as shown on your registration documents. When you register your Canadian business, you’ll be asked to select a business name for your company. The Government of Canada website offers guidelines on different types of names, how to choose a business name and registration process.
Step 2: Provide your doing business as (DBA) name or Trade name
DBA or trade name refers to the name you use for your everyday business interactions, which may be less formal than your legal business name (for example, Taqueria, Inc. may go by “Joe’s Tacos” in day-to-day business or social media). You can register a DBA or Trade name to let the public know you are the actual business owner operating under that name.
Step 3: Provide your Business registration number
Federal Corporation Number is the four- to nine-digit number obtained from Corporations Canada when you first incorporate your business. This number is used for filing legal documents such as annual tax returns. To find your Federal Corporation Number:
- Check the incorporation documents of your business
- Use the search tool in the Government of Canada website, or
- Contact Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED).
Federal Business Number is the 9-digit number assigned by the CRA and is used to register a GST/HST account. If your Federal Business Number is displayed as 123456789-RP-0002, the first nine digits are your Business Number. To find your Federal Business Number:
- Use the search tool in the Government of Canada website
- Contact Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) or
- Contact CRA directly.
Provincial Corporation Number is the number assigned to your business at the time of incorporation in the province of your registration. This number depends on the incorporation documents along with the province. You can also apply for extra-provincial registration in order to operate in other provinces.
- AB : 8-10 digits format number.
- BC: 7-9 digits format number.
- CA (Federal): 7, 8 or 10 digits format number.
- MB: 7–8 digits format number.
- NB: 6 digits format number.
- NL: 5 digits format number.
- NS: 7 digits format number.
- NT: 7, 8 or 10 digit format number.
- NU: 7, 8 or 10 digits format number.
- ON: 7, 8 or 10 digits format number.
- PE: 8–9 digits format number.
- QC: 10 digits format number.
- SK: 9–10 digits format number.
- YT: 6 digits format number.
Step 4: Provide the rest of your business information
To finish entering your business information:
Choose your estimated annual revenue. You can refer to previous years’ revenue or, if you’re just starting out, you can select the approximate revenue you’re expecting.
Select the number of employees.
Enter the URL of your business website (optional).
Click Continue.
Step 5: Enter your business address
Enter your registered business address, city and postal code, then select the option corresponding to your physical address. If your physical address is different from your registered business address, you’ll need to enter it.
Step 6: Verify your business
When you select Continue, we’ll start verifying your business by cross-checking the information you provided about your business with respective provincial and/or federal business registries. Review the verification statuses for next steps.
When we’re unable to verify your business information with the respective provincial and/or federal business registry, we can’t approve your account to take payments. This won’t necessarily prevent you from using other Square products, as long as you comply with Square’s Terms of Service.
You can try to verify your business again by reviewing the details (legal business name, business registration number, and registered business address) you provided and correcting any mistakes. If you reviewed the information provided but the verification is still unsuccessful, contact us.
If your business is recently registered, it may take a few weeks for the respective provincial and/or federal business registry records to be updated. You can contact them before you try again.
Step 7: Verify your identity
In the next step, you'll be asked to input your personal information and answer a few questions to verify your identity. Square is legally required to collect and verify your personal information to ensure that your account remains safe and secure.
The following information is required to activate a Square account:
Full legal name
Date of birth
CA address (no PO boxes permitted)