Word From Revenue Canada!

I got a call today from Revenue Canada wanting to verify some information about the direct deposit. Which means I *still* don't have my GST number, but it does give me a bit of relief that I'm still going through the process. A very long process...

I Don't Think The Government Wants Me To Have a GST Number...

So I decided to finally just fill out the form and snail-mail it into the government. Filling out the form was very painless...good directions on which pieces to fill out for which aspect of a business account (GST, payroll, etc.) you were applying for.

But as seems to be the case with my government interactions lately, there of course is a snag: The form doesn't say WHERE I need to send this thing to. Ok, that's alright. I mean, maybe there are different offices or something. Luckily, they suggest to review "The Business Number and Your Canada Revenue Agency Accounts" brochure to get all the answers to any questions you might have.

Great...I download the pdf...and look...and look...no address. I search. No address. I HAVE NO F'N CLUE WHERE TO SEND THIS!!!

So let's recap:
- Tried unsuccessfully to enter my information through the government website THREE TIMES and was even told by tech support that they were sure it was working fine and to try again.
- Tried to call it in but wait times were UNREAL. Any time at a client's (which is where I am during the hours the gov's office is open) and am doing personal stuff, its time I'm not billing the client for...which means I'm losing money...which means phone calls are NOT an option.
- Tried to manually fill out a paper-based form and the wonderful government website couldn't tell me where to send the form to!

Luckily with a bit of snooping, I finally found this page which gives you a link to a listing of all the government tax offices accross Canada.

So what's the lesson in all of this kids? Don't wait until you hit your $30k to get your GST number. Get it right out of the gate. Sure you charge your clients GST up front, but you also get to write off your own GST on purchases for the company (or something like that...I still don't have my GST number so I'm not sure what the details are, but there's a benefit).

Now let's see how long before I actually get my number in the mail.

CC

First Interview This Week!

I've got an interview lined up this week for a contract gig. I'm somewhat excited, but at the same time there are some longer contracts that are floating around out there too...but still, for the hourly rate they're offering and it being technology that's right up my alley, I wouldn't mind the shorter term.

I'm also wondering what I should do for a name for the business. Most people I know who are into independent consulting just use their name with a ".com" at the end, or something like that.
i.e. Joe Schmoe Consulting, or JoeSchmoe.com Consulting. My name is...difficult...to do something like that.

I was thinking about coming up with a Donald-Trump-Apprentice type name. Something like
Monolith
Agile
Apollos
Kryptic

Y'know, some one word thing that sounds as cheesey as Trump's gold plated toilet bowl.

CC