Tools
Business
Tools
Business Benefits Finder is an online tool the Government of Canada provides to support Canadian entrepreneurs, businesses and non-profit organizations in finding programs and services aligned with their needs.
Users can select an option from the drop-down menu, and Business Benefits Finder will provide them with related services and programs. Some options include funding, tax credits, wage subsidies and interns, and expert advice. The online tool also allows users to specify their search criteria, including how much funding they need, where their business is located and what industry they operate in.
Using Statistics Canada data, the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) offers a business performance benchmarking tool to help businesses compare their revenues and profits per employee against industry peers.
The tool provides users with a detailed report outlining their industry rank, factors impacting their business performance and efficiency and advice on improving their operations.
BizPaL is a free online tool launched in 2005 in partnership with the federal, provincial and municipal governments. BizPaL provides entrepreneurs with information about the permits and licences that may be required to start a business and how to get them.
Users can select what business activities they plan to take on, and BizPaL generates a list of permits and licenses required by the government, along with information about each and links to where entrepreneurs can obtain them.
The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) offers a free website assessment tool to support business owners in enhancing their websites.
The tool provides professional feedback on key criteria, including accessibility and user experience, to improve your site’s performance. The tool also helps users enhance their understanding of the importance of website analysis and outlines the necessary steps to complete one on your own.
The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) offers a guide on managing cash flow for businesses. It equips entrepreneurs with knowledge and strategies that empower them to optimize their cash flow and increase their profits. Some topics covered include understanding and tracking cash flow, measuring cash conversion cycles and streamlining customer payments.
The guide is recommended for entrepreneurs, financial managers and sales managers and is available for free on BDC’s website.
The Scotiabank Business Plan Writer is an interactive planning tool that helps small businesses create a custom business plan.
The interactive tool takes business owners through every step of the business plan development. The interactive tool asks questions about the size of the small business, general business information, shareholders and more. The answers provided by business owners automatically format a final draft of a business plan.
The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) offers a business loan calculator to assist current or prospective business owners in calculating the costs of a business loan. Users enter the loan amount, annual interest rate and length of term and the calculator will determine the overall cost of the loan and the total payments and interest.
The tool also generates a monthly amortization schedule to present the loan repayment timeline based on specific maturity dates.
The MaRS Startup Toolkit provides advice, lessons and tips from a large community of successful entrepreneurs and other operators.
Sections include fundraising, company building, operations, PeopleOps, among many other topics that help startups grow and thrive.
Miro is a free digital whiteboard tool that allows remote teams to collaborate. It has options to add text, notes, images, diagrams, drawings, spreadsheets among other things.
Miro is made to be used as if it were a real white board, so is a powerful tool for collaboration and brainstorming from anywhere in the world.
My Business Account allows users to interact electronically with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) across multiple business accounts on a secure online portal. Business accounts include GST/HST, payroll, corporation income taxes, excise taxes, excise duties and more.
The tool allows users to perform various functions, including filing returns, viewing transaction details and paying account balances.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce collaborated with Statistics Canada to develop the Business Data Lab. The tool combines various data sources to track evolving market conditions and provide Canadian businesses with information to improve their performance and encourage them to make informed decisions.
Rippling Payroll Software is an organizational payment tool that collects a business’s HR data such as hours and deductions so less time is spent on manually entering data for payroll.
With Rippling, businesses of any size can pay staff members accurately and on time, calculate payroll taxes with Canadian federal agencies and give staff members a space to check their pay stubs and T4’s.
The Scotiabank Small Business Solutions Builder is an interactive tool that helps small business owners find the best banking solutions according to their current finances. Therefore, this tool is best for small businesses that have already opened for business.
After asking questions about a small business’s finances, this Scotiabank interactive tool will provide tips regarding daily operation, saving and investing, borrowing and cash management.
TD Bank provides a Profit Increase Calculator to assist small business owners in determining profit possibilities across different scenarios. Users indicate the current amounts and improvement goals for different categories, including target market population, conversation rate and net profit percentage.
The calculator uses these figures to determine the amount needed to achieve improvement goals across each category. Additionally, the tool generates the final overall results detailing the current customer numbers, annual sales and annual profits and the potential amounts if the improvement goals are carried through.
MailChimp is an email marketing tool for businesses of various sizes. This tool keeps track of email subscribers and auto-generates frequent email newsletters which helps small business owners save time and connect with customers.
MailChimp allows businesses to keep customers informed about promotions and special offers through email which leads to more sales and effective customer engagement.
TradeCert is an online tool that allows users to certify various certificates, including certificates of origin, facilitated by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Users submit their documents online, and requests can usually be processed the same day. Documents presented for certification must be accompanied by a Letter of Waiver and proof of a company’s registration in Canada with the federal or provincial/territorial government.
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