Business Law guides

Legal guides from Equity Law Group on Business Law in British Columbia. For help with your own matter, see our Business Law service or contact us.

• Signing Contracts for Your Company: How to Avoid Signing in Your Own Name

  October 19, 2026

  Incorporating protects you only if the company, not you, is the party to your contracts. A missing "Ltd.", a trade name on an invoice or a deal signed before incorporation can leave an owner personally exposed. Here is how to sign so the company is bound.

• Transferring Shares in a BC Private Company: Approvals, Registers and Certificates

  October 19, 2026

  Selling or gifting shares in a BC private company takes more than a handshake. Check the restrictions in the articles and any shareholders' agreement, sign the right documents, and update the securities register, certificates and transparency register.

• Resigning as a Director of a BC Company: How to Do It and Why the Filing Matters

  October 19, 2026

  A director of a BC company resigns by giving the company a written resignation, but the company must still file a notice of change of directors. Here is when a resignation takes effect, what to do if your name stays on the register, and what liability can follow you.

• Estate Freezes for BC Business Owners: What They Are and the Paperwork Involved

  October 15, 2026

  An estate freeze fixes the current value of an owner's shares so that future growth goes to the next generation. This guide explains the idea in plain terms, the tax provisions involved at a high level, and the corporate steps a BC company takes under its articles.

• 50/50 Business Partners in BC: Planning for Deadlock Before It Happens

  October 15, 2026

  When two people each own half of a BC company, a single disagreement can stop decisions altogether. The standard rules offer few tie-breakers. Here is how a deadlock plan works, and what the court can do if there is none.

• Shotgun Clauses, Buy-Sell Terms and Rights of First Refusal: Exit Terms Explained

  October 15, 2026

  Exit terms decide how a co-owner leaves a BC company and at what price. Here is how a shotgun clause, a right of first refusal and a buy-sell on death or disability each work, and the drafting points that can tilt them toward one owner.

• Share Structure for a New BC Company: Share Classes in Plain Language

  October 15, 2026

  Class A, Class B, voting, non-voting: a BC company's share structure decides who controls it, who can receive dividends and how easily it can change later. Here is how share classes and their special rights work under the Business Corporations Act.

• Do you need a partnership agreement in BC? What the Partnership Act decides if you don't

  October 15, 2026

  If you run a business with someone in BC and have no written agreement, the Partnership Act fills in the terms: equal shares, no pay for working partners, and an exit by notice. Here is what those defaults say and what a partnership agreement usually changes.

• Signing a Franchise Agreement in BC: Disclosure Documents and the 14-Day Rule

  October 14, 2026

  BC's Franchises Act requires a franchisor to give you a full disclosure document at least 14 days before you sign or pay. If it arrives late, falls short or never arrives, you may be able to rescind. Here is what to expect and how to use the waiting period.

• Non-Compete and Non-Solicit Clauses in BC Employment Contracts

  October 14, 2026

  BC has not banned non-compete clauses, but courts look hard at any clause that stops a former employee from working or approaching clients. Here is how BC courts approach non-competes and non-solicits, and how employers can draft clauses that fit the role.

• Written Employment Contracts for BC Small Businesses: Termination Clauses and Probation

  October 14, 2026

  A written employment contract lets a BC employer set clear terms, but a termination clause that falls below the Employment Standards Act can fail entirely. Here is how the statutory minimums work, why probation is not what many employers think, and what to check.

• Independent Contractor or Employee in BC? Why the Contract Label Isn't the End of It

  October 14, 2026

  Calling someone an independent contractor does not make them one. In BC, the Employment Standards Act, the CRA and WorkSafeBC each look at the real working relationship. Here is what each one asks and how to structure a contractor arrangement that holds up.

• Renewing a Commercial Lease in BC: Option Deadlines and Renegotiating Rent

  October 14, 2026

  An option to renew in a BC commercial lease usually works only if you exercise it exactly as the lease says, in writing and on time. Here is how renewal notices, conditions and fair market rent clauses work, and what happens if the deadline passes.

• Personal Guarantees on Commercial Leases: What BC Business Owners Are Signing

  October 14, 2026

  Landlords often ask business owners to sign a personal guarantee for their company's lease. That promise can outlast renewals, amendments and even a sale of the business. Here is what you are signing and how the exposure can be limited before you commit.

• Offer to Lease in BC: What You're Agreeing to Before the Formal Lease

  October 14, 2026

  In BC commercial leasing, the offer to lease usually fixes the rent, term, deposit and other key terms before the formal lease is drafted. Here is what an offer to lease is, when it can bind you, and what to check before you sign it.

• Restoring a Dissolved BC Company: When the Registrar Has Struck It Off

  October 14, 2026

  BC companies are often dissolved for missing annual reports, and owners find out only when a bank, buyer or land title search raises it. Here is what dissolution does, the difference between full and limited restoration, and how to get company property back.

• Changing Directors or Officers of a BC Company: Resolutions, Consents and Filing Deadlines

  October 14, 2026

  Adding, removing or replacing a director of a BC company involves a written consent, the right resolution and a notice of change of directors filed within 15 days. Here is how the Business Corporations Act handles each step, and how officer changes differ.

• Annual resolutions instead of an AGM: the yearly paperwork for BC private companies

  October 14, 2026

  Most owner-managed BC companies never hold a formal annual general meeting. Instead, the shareholders sign written resolutions each year. Here is what those resolutions do under the Business Corporations Act, what usually goes in them, and who has to sign.

• Separation or divorce and your BC company: how family law can reach business shares

  October 12, 2026

  Shares in a BC company are usually family property on separation, even if only one spouse owns them. Here is how the Family Law Act treats business interests, when growth in an excluded business is shared, how companies are valued, and what owners can do to protect co-owners.

• Minority shareholder rights in a BC company: records, meetings and the oppression remedy

  October 12, 2026

  Owning a minority stake in a BC company does not mean you have no say. Here is what the Business Corporations Act lets shareholders see, how meetings can be required, and when the court can step in through the oppression remedy or a derivative action.

• Holding companies in BC: what a holdco does and when owners set one up

  October 12, 2026

  A holding company is a second company that owns your shares in the operating business, investments or property. Here is what a holdco does in BC, when owners usually consider one, how it is set up, and why the decision is made with your accountant.

• Incorporating in BC or Federally: Which Fits a Business Based in BC?

  October 12, 2026

  A federal corporation is not a shortcut around BC rules. If it carries on business here, it still registers in BC and files with both governments. Here is how BC and federal incorporation compare for a business based in British Columbia.

• Going into business with a partner in BC: partnership or company?

  October 12, 2026

  In BC, a partnership can exist without any paperwork, and each partner can be personally liable for the firm's debts. Here is how a general partnership differs from a company, the default rules that apply, and what co-founders should agree before they start.

• Closing a BC Company: Voluntary Dissolution Step by Step

  October 12, 2026

  Closing a BC company properly means more than stopping business. The Business Corporations Act requires a resolution, no remaining assets, provision for every liability and a director's affidavit, and CRA expects its own steps. Here is the order to do it in and what survives dissolution.

• Hiring your first employee in BC: the legal checklist

  October 12, 2026

  Your first hire brings new legal duties: a pay range in the job posting, WorkSafeBC and CRA payroll registration, a written employment agreement, and payroll rules under the Employment Standards Act. Here is the checklist for BC owners.

• Contracts every BC small business should have in writing

  October 12, 2026

  Customer terms, supplier and contractor agreements, confidentiality agreements and your lease: the written contracts most BC small businesses need, plus the Sale of Goods Act and consumer protection rules that apply whether or not your paperwork mentions them.

• Paying dividends from a BC company: the resolution, the solvency test and the records

  October 12, 2026

  Before a BC company pays a dividend, the directors need a resolution, a real check that the company can still pay its debts, and records that show both. Here is what the Business Corporations Act requires and where directors become personally liable.

• If You're the Only Director: What Happens to Your BC Company If You Die or Lose Capacity

  October 9, 2026

  Many BC companies have one director who is also the only shareholder. If that person dies or loses capacity, nobody may have authority to run the company. Here is how the Business Corporations Act fills the gap, where a power of attorney falls short, and what to put in place now.

• Adding a new shareholder to a BC company: issuing new shares or transferring existing ones

  October 9, 2026

  There are two ways to bring a partner, investor, employee or family member into a BC company: the company issues new shares, or an existing owner transfers some of theirs. The choice changes who gets paid, who is diluted and which paperwork the Business Corporations Act requires.

• BC Transparency Register: Who Is a Significant Individual and What You Must Record

  October 9, 2026

  Every private BC company must keep a transparency register of its significant individuals. Here is how the 25% and control tests work, what information the register must hold, the deadlines for updating it, and the fines for getting it wrong.

• The minute book for a BC company: what must be in it and who asks to see it

  October 9, 2026

  A BC company's minute book is the set of records the Business Corporations Act requires it to keep at its records office. Here is what belongs in it, who can inspect it, who will ask for it, and what to do if yours is incomplete or lost.

• Incorporating online vs with a lawyer in BC: what the DIY route leaves out

  October 8, 2026

  Filing an incorporation application online is quick, and BC Registries lets you do it yourself. What a filing service usually does not do is set up the company: articles that fit the owners, a workable share structure, organizing resolutions and a complete records office.

• Moving your sole proprietorship into a new BC company: the legal steps

  October 8, 2026

  Registering a company is only the first step in incorporating an existing business. The assets, contracts, lease, licences and accounts of your sole proprietorship stay with you personally until they are formally moved, and the tax elections that make the move efficient have deadlines.

• When a shareholder wants out of a BC private company: the options

  October 8, 2026

  There is no general right to be bought out of a BC private company. A departing shareholder's options depend on the shareholders' agreement and articles, and usually come down to a sale to the other owners, a company buyback, or a court application if the relationship has broken down.

• What happens to BC company shares when the owner dies

  October 8, 2026

  When the owner of a BC company dies, the company carries on but its shares become part of the estate. The executor usually needs probate to exercise the shareholder's rights, may need to appoint new directors quickly, and must follow the will, the articles and any shareholders' agreement.

• BC company annual report: due date, what it contains and what happens if you miss it

  October 8, 2026

  Every BC company must file an annual report with BC Registries within two months after each anniversary of its incorporation. It is a short filing, but a company that misses it loses good standing, and two missed years in a row can lead to the registrar dissolving the company.

• Director liability in BC: when a company director can be personally responsible

  October 8, 2026

  A BC company shields its directors from most business debts, but not all. Unpaid wages, unremitted source deductions, GST/HST and PST, and certain improper payments can follow a director personally. Here is where the exposure lies and how directors can reduce it.

• Commercial leases in BC: clauses to understand before you sign

  October 7, 2026

  Most commercial leases in BC are governed by the lease itself, not the Residential Tenancy Act. Here are the clauses to understand before you sign: term and renewal, rent and additional rent, use, assignment, personal guarantees, repairs and what happens at the end.

• BC company annual compliance checklist: what must happen every year

  October 7, 2026

  A BC company has legal duties every year beyond its tax return. This checklist covers the annual report, the AGM or a unanimous resolution instead, financial statements and the audit waiver, the records office, the transparency register and the main tax filings.

• Estate planning for BC business owners: wills, powers of attorney and shareholder terms

  October 7, 2026

  If you own and run a BC company, your personal estate plan has to work with the company's own documents. This article explains what happens to the company if you die or lose capacity, and how your will, enduring power of attorney and shareholder terms should line up.

• Starting a business in Vancouver: the legal checklist after you pick a structure

  October 6, 2026

  Once you have chosen a structure, a Vancouver business still needs the right name filings, a City licence, tax accounts, WorkSafeBC coverage if you hire, and written agreements. Here is the order to work through it and the deadlines that apply.

• BC Pay Transparency Act: what employers with 50+ employees must prepare by November 1, 2026

  October 5, 2026

  From 2026, provincially regulated employers with 50 or more employees in BC on January 1 must prepare a pay transparency report by November 1 and publish it as soon as practicable after. Who reports, what the report shows and where it goes, plus the pay rules for every BC employer.

• Shareholders' agreements in BC: what they cover and when you need one

  October 5, 2026

  A shareholders' agreement sets the rules co-owners of a BC-incorporated company live by: who decides, how shares can be sold, what happens on death, disability or departure, and how disputes are resolved. Here is what it covers, when you need one, and how BC law treats unanimous agreements.

• Should You Incorporate Your Small Business in BC? What a Company Fixes, and What It Doesn't

  October 4, 2026

  "Should I incorporate?" is the most common question new business owners in BC ask, and the usual answers are either "yes, for the tax savings" or "not until you have to". Both are half right. Here is what a company actually changes, what it leaves untouched, and the signs that it is time.

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