Many eBay sellers have the belief that trade shows are only for buyers from retail giants purchasing the next Gucci handbag. This is not true. In fact, there are an enormous variety of trade shows around. Some are purely for gifts, some are for toys, and some are for homewares. And you won’t just find the big name brands – there will also be interesting and creative offerings from up-and-coming artists and boutiques; cheap and cheerful unbranded merchandise from China and Asia, plus locally made goods and home-grown offerings. In essence: everything.

Trade shows are particularly good for finding niche items that aren’t available from the likes of WalMart. If you haven’t heard that money is in niche markets, then take note. You’ll be hearing a lot more about the long tail and the potential it holds on this site! Niche markets are simply the best way to make money on eBay – or anywhere else for that matter.

How Do You Register for Canadian Trade shows?

There are many trade shows held in Canada each year. For most you will need to be able to prove that you are a member of the industry. However, the rules are somewhat laxer for very new businesses and often all you’ll need is a registered business name.

For subsequent visits though, you may be asked for industry credentials such as a business card, invoices of relevant merchandise purchased and your tax ID. Some trade shows will take this all very seriously, while for others it will merely be a way of scaring off time-wasters and if you enter a legitimate business name and details you’ll have no trouble at all.

Please don’t be put off by what is required to register. A little bit of effort here will reap big rewards, simply because the majority of sellers aren’t going to bother.

A tip for newbies: don’t treat the trade show registration forms like you might other online forms. Enter your genuine information. Your inbox won’t be blasted with useless fluff – in fact, you’ll be lucky to get much at all. And when any information does come your way you will want to get it!

Before You Arrive…

Make sure you have a clear sense of purpose before you visit. Are you simply looking for ideas or are you going to place an order? You may wish to prepare some questions to ask exhibitors before you go. And don’t forget to take a good stock of your own business cards – while also making sure you nab as many from stall-holders as you can! You don’t have to go with the purpose of purchasing, but you do need to go with the purpose of creating relationships and building up a repertoire of potential contacts.

Where to Find Upcoming Trade Shows

• Canada Biz Tradeshows
• Trade shows for importers of China and Asia-made products
• Ultimate Trade Show Directory
• Expo Central Canada

See Statement of Business Activities

The Basics

To make sure you meet all your legal and tax requirements it is a very wise idea to:

• Keep your business transactions separate from your personal by opening a business bank account.
• Use Excel or Quicken to keep records of your sales transactions. Both are easy to merge with eBay.

Paying Tax

Sole proprietors pay tax simply by filling in a personal income tax form at the end of the year.

GST

You need to register for GST (goods and services tax) if your worldwide taxable revenues are more than $30,000.

Tax Deductions

Tax deductions are one of the big bonuses of working from home. You can deduct any reasonable business expense from your income, reducing the amount of tax you have to pay right down.

Important: You must have receipts or other vouchers to support your expenses or claims. If there is no evidence available, the tax department may reduce the expenses of claims you have made.

What You Can Claim:

• Rent/mortgage payments
• Start up costs
• Advertising
• Computer leasing
• Delivery & freight
• Insurance
• Legal & accounting costs
• Telephone & utilities
• Fuel costs and travel expenses

Business Use of Home (Rent, utility bills etc)

You can deduct a proportion of your rent/mortgage repayments, utility bills and so on as long as you can prove your home is your principal place of business or you use the space only to earn your business income and you use it on a regular and ongoing basis.

To decide how much rent/mortgage you can deduct, you need to measure the number of square feet you use for business and divide that by the overall square feet or your home. This area needs to be dedicated solely to business use, so if possible, a spare bedroom or office is ideal but a portion of another room is still acceptable. This will give you a percentage of your home that you use for business and the percentage of rent/mortgage you can deduct as a business expense.

Other expenses you may deduct include part of your maintenance costs such as heating, home insurance, electricity, and cleaning materials. You can also deduct a part of your property taxes, mortgage interest, and capital cost allowance. It’s a good idea to consider getting a second phone line to make it easier to claim phone and internet bills for your business.

Business Start up Costs Deductions

Make sure you have the start date of your business recorded as you can only deduct business expenses incurred after the start-up date.

You can also deduct the lease you pay for computers, cell phones, fax machines and other equipment. But note that if you buy this equipment it is not a deductible expense.

More information on Business expenses

Record Keeping

Your business success is dependent on your records. You also have a legal obligation to keep records for a minimum of 6 years from the date of filing your return.

Many new businesses make the mistake of not bothering to keep accurate records and end up not knowing where they stand. They don’t know where money is being wasted, when their profits are higher, and when they are lower. This is a big mistake. You can’t hope to improve your business, to truly make it profitable if you don’t know what’s actually happening. And don’t forget that good records are also absolutely essential in case of an audit and will protect you from penalties and potential problems.

You must record:

• Salaries and wages
• Operating expenses such as rent and advertising, and capital expenditures
• Miscellaneous items, such as charitable donations
• Your records must allow you to determine how much tax you owe, or the tax, duties, or other amounts to be collected, withheld, deducted, or any refund or rebate you may claim.
• You must have receipts or other vouchers to support your expenses or claims. If there is no evidence available, the tax department may reduce the expenses of claims you have made.

Accounting Software

Some people still prefer the traditional system of a ledger book to keep their records. However, these days accounting software is easy to use and saves you a lot of time by duplicating records across spreadsheets. The two most popular software applications for small business accounting are Intuit's QuickBooks/Quicken and Microsoft Excel. Both of these applications can be integrated with eBay, making it super easy to transfer your sales data from My eBay, Selling Assistant or Selling Manager.

eBay Accounting Assistant is free to download and helps you import your eBay and PayPal data from eBay, and export it directly into your QuickBooks company file. It’s free, but you need to be subscribed to Selling Assistant or Selling Manager to use it. It’s a great way of reducing data-entry time and minimizes transcription errors.

For help on using Quicken or Excel, visitAll Business for free resources and tutorials.

Importing Records

If you import goods into Canada, your records must indicate the price you paid for imported goods, and list their origin and description. They must also include any documentation about the reporting, release, and accounting of the goods, as well as the payment of duties and taxes.

Find more information in the Canada Importing Guide.

Business Number (BN)

You may need a Business Number to file your tax returns if your business meets one or more of the following criteria. The BN is a numbering system that simplifies and streamlines the way businesses deal with Canada’s Revenue Agency.

• You are a corporation
• You have imported or exported goods
• You have staff
• You are GST registered

Apply for a Business Number here: Request a Business Number Form

See Canada Revenue Agency for more information.

How does the Canadian Customs system work?

There are two stages to customs: release and accounting.You or your customs broker takes care of the release, while accounting is based on the documentation supplied by you as importer, the exporter, and the carrier.

1. Release
   Before the goods arrive, the customs broker prepares the release by gathering all necessary information and documentation from you, the shipper, and the carrier. They then review the paperwork and contact you or the shipper if anything is missing.The customs broker will also obtain any required import permits or certificates required by other government departments.When this is complete, the broker then submits a release electronically to the CBSA. When your shipment arrives in Canada, CBSA will release the goods providing everything is in order.
2. Accounting
   Within 5 days of the release of the shipment, the customs broker submits the second stage of the import - accounting.To do this, a customs entry must prepared and submitted to the CBSA with more detailed information about the shipment. The customs entry includes a Form B3 - Canada Custom Coding Form. This form contains information about the goods, such as the your identification, description of the goods, tariff classification, value, country of origin and other trade data, as well as how much duty and tax is owed to the CBSA. In essence, the customs entry is a "tax return" to the CBSA for the shipment.

What do I need to do?

If you are importing to Canada for the first time, we strongly recommend using a customs broker to ensure that everything is accurate and that you build a good profile with customs. Customs can be very complicated for first timers, and someone with in-depth knowledge of the systems is required.

You are responsible for keeping all records related to the import for six years following date of entry.

What documents do I need to provide with my import?

The documentation to be included with an import varies depending on the value of the goods.

If the value of your import is valued at $1,600 (CDN) or greater, you need to include:

1. A Bill of Lading
2. Carrier's Manifest (Cargo Control Document)
3. Canada Customs Invoice or Commercial Invoice
4. Import permits, certificates or licenses (as required)
5. Any other documents that may be needed to present to Customs to satisfy the CBSA requirements or the requirements of other government departments.
6. Certificate of Origin (if applicable)

For Imports valued under $1,600 (CDN) you need all of the above apart from a Canada Customs Invoice.

What is a Customs Invoice?

A customs invoice contains information on:

• Your name and business number
• Exporter name
• Unit of measure and quantity of goods
• Value of the goods and currency
• Detailed description of the goods
• Goods' country of origin
• Number of invoice pages
• Bar-coded transaction number
• Permits, licenses and certificates required by other government departments

When a Certificate of Origin required and what is is its purpose?

A Certificate of Origin is a documented submitted by the exporter listing the goods to be imported and place of origin.Where countries have agreements (such as NAFTA) for favorable duty treatments for goods originating in specific counties, submission of a certificate of origin can assist in lowering or even completely eliminating duty on goods, thereby helping to increase your competitiveness in the Canadian market.

There are five main types of certificates of origin:

• NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)
• CIFTA (Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement)
• CCFTA (Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement)
• CCRFTA (Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement)

Form "A" Certificate of Origin from certain developing countries

To find out whether a Certificate of Origin is required, read the Canadian Customs guide on Marking Imported Goods and contact a customs agent.

How much will I have to pay in tariffs and duties?

All merchandise imported for commercial use are subject to customs duty and goods and services tax (GST), unless they are exempt or free of duties. No matter where you purchased the goods and in what currency, the value of the goods must be converted in to Canadian dollars to determine the duties payable. Some goods will also have other charges or taxes apply, including excise duty and excise tax on luxury items like jewellery or alcohol.

The CBSA can assist you in determining the duties you will have to pay on goods before they arrive. Valuing goods can be a complicated task as a number of adjustments to the actual sale price are required, expert assistance is usually required.

In order to establish what duties will have to be paid, you must have a thorough description of the goods and know their value and origin.The CBSA can also give you advice about the appropriate valuation method, tariff classification, and tariff treatment. If you wish to know in advance exactly what you will have to pay, you can request an Advance Ruling or a National Customs Ruling on tariff classification, origin, marking or valuation.

Then contact the CBSA through the BIS line (see below) and speak to an agent in person. The agent will refer you to a staff member who specializes in these matters.

Contacts

Email CBSA: CBSA-ASFC@canada.gc.ca

Phone Border Information Security (BIS) to get computerized information and speak to an agent: Ph. 1 800 461-9999

Online Resources

• Canadian Foreign Affairs and International Trade has a general article on importing with contact details for people who can offer specific advise
• Livingston International have an excellent PDF guide on How To Import Into Canada - Guide For Canadian Importers
• Canada Border Services has a good FAQ and provides documents you need to import to Canada

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