The Nuance of NUANS

Your name can mean everything. It is what people associate with your brand and it is what will inevitably define your business in the minds of others. Therefore, it is imperative that you choose a name for your business that is original and that will stick in the minds of your target clientele. It is also important that once you have the perfect name for your business, that you protect it so that people don’t confuse your business with someone else’s. Below are some of the finer points of what one can expect when using NUANS (Newly Upgraded Automated Name Search) for registering or incorporating their business.

Not all provinces are created equal

No matter which province you live in, you will need to file a name search report. But, depending on where you live, you may have to file a name search report within your own province’s database. What NUANS actually refers to is a database for the following jurisdictions: P.E.I., Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Alberta, as well as the database of Canadian Federal Corporations. If you are registering your business in Quebec, for example, you don’t need to conduct a NUANS report, but you can if you wish. Doing so will give you an insight into whether or not someone has registered a business with the same, or similar, name as yours in another province, specifically those included in the NUANS database.

Don’t forget that no matter what insight you glean from any name search report that you are ultimately responsible for ensuring that your company name does not infringe on any third party rights.

The varied depths of NUANS search

Filing a NUANS report carries with it a fee to conduct the report. As a cost saving mechanism, it is possible to conduct a preliminary report at the fraction of the cost of a full report – a preliminary search costs about $0.23. However, the preliminary report only eliminates proposed names with exact matches to the names of other companies. A full NUANS report provides an even greater depth of insight by reporting company names that may be close, or could even illicit confusion, but costs significantly more and is required to register your business within the given jurisdiction. The reason a preliminary report can be beneficial is by allowing you to quickly ascertain whether or not a certain company name is available or not without the commitment of a full NUANS report. If you are satisfied with your company name, and its availability, you can then file for a full report and register your business.

Ordering a NUANS search report

Although there does exist a NUANS self-serve website, it is preferable in most cases to obtain your NUANS search report with the assistance of a NUANS registered member. The reason for this is that the self-serve website is limited to conducting NUANS reports for federal corporations. On the other hand, there are a variety of NUANS registered members available to you that are capable of not only filing the search report, but also of guiding you through the process of registering your company. 

Please visit CorporationCentre.ca for more information and to order your NUANS Report!

Free NUANS Report with Incorporation

Incorporate within 48 hours of ordering a NUANS report to get your money back on your NUANS with CorporationCentre.ca!

In order for you to register or incorporate your business, a corporate name search report is required by the Federal and the provincial governments to determine the availability of a corporate/business name. You need to make sure that no one else has registered the corporate or business name you would like to use for your business.

NUANS Reports are required for Canada (Federal), Ontario, Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and PEI and are an extra cost on top of the fees to incorporate in these jurisdictions.

To save you money, we are offering you a coupon code for your money back on your NUANS report if you incorporate with us.

After you order your NUANS report for any of the jurisdictions listed above, we’ll email you a coupon code to get your money back on your NUANS if you incorporate your business within 48 hours! Simply input the coupon code before placing your incorporation order on our website and we’ll automatically refund $25 from your order.

For more information on NUANS Reports and to place your order, please click here.

How to Choose a Corporate Name

There are many elements that go into choosing a business name.  Most business owners want a name that not only describes their business but has good marketing potential and stands out from the crowd.  But, more importantly, names have to meet the legal requirements set by the jurisdiction of incorporation.  This is where things can get difficult!   You can choose a name that sounds really cool and fits perfectly with your business, but the government may think otherwise.

To avoid the disappointment of a name rejection, here are some tips on choosing a name that fits with your business AND the legal requirements.

Create a distinctive element.

This is what sets your business apart from others.  Whether it be a coined or original word, geographic location or family name it is important to be original and creative when coming up with this element to avoid infringing upon another company name.

Add a descriptive element.

This part tells the customer the type of business the company does.  For instance, if you’re a tech company you may want to use something like ‘Software’ or ‘Telecommunications’.

Choose your legal ending.

This is the easy part.  Legal endings come in various forms but all incorporated companies must have one attached to their name.  The legal names used in Canada are Inc., Ltd., Corp., Incorporated, Limited, Corporation.

      Make your name memorable.

      An easy to spell name with positive connotations goes a long way in marketing your business.  Keep in mind how this name might look as a logo, on a website, in signage and used in other marketing collateral.  

The criteria used if there is confusion with another company is the distinctive character of each name, the visual or phonetic similarity, the ideas evoked, the manner in which the names are used, notoriety of the name, potential competition between the companies, the nature of services provided, and the territory served by the company.

To avoid paying for numerous name reports, doing a pre-search of corporate names can help you get an idea of what names are already in use.  To avoid disappointment, come up with at least 3 variations of your name, all of which you are happy with, so that if your first choice is rejected you have other options that can meet the requirements.

CorporationCentre.ca celebrates Small Business Week

Celebrate Small Business Week and find your perfect business name with CorporationCentre.ca!

CorporationCentre.ca is offering FREE name pre-searches to all our customers from October 17 to October 21.

A name pre-search provides a preliminary search through the NUANS database to provide results that show an “exact match” the names you are submitting to register or incorporate your business. By checking the availability of your name before conducting a NUANS search, you can save time and money spent on multiple NUANS reports!

Click here to find out more about name pre-searches and to order your FREE report.

Please note that your order must be placed between October 17 and October 21 ONLY to receive the promotion.

Pre-search your business name for FREE with CorporationCentre.ca

On September 19th and 20th CorporationCentre.ca is offering FREE name pre-searches to all our customers*.

A business name “pre-search” provides a preliminary search through the NUANS government databases** to provide results that show an “exact match” of the names you are thinking of using to register or incorporate your business. By checking the availability of your name before ordering a NUANS name report, you can save time and money spent on multiple NUANS reports!

Click here to find out more about name pre-searches and to order your FREE report on September 19th and 20th ONLY.

*Please note that the pre-search is offered to Canadian individuals and entrepreneurs developing names for the corporations or businesses, it is not intended for search houses or other company formation professionals to use repeatedly. CorporationCentre.ca reserves the right to limit the number of pre-searches.

** Please note that NUANS does not include the Quebec provincial registry, which can be viewed here.

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Faites une pré-recherche du nom de votre société gratuitement avec CorporationCentre.ca!

Les 19 et 20 septembre, CorporationCentre.ca offre à tous ses clients l’utilisation gratuite de son service de pré-recherche de nom.*

Une “pré-recherche” de nom d’entreprise vous permet d’obtenir un rapport préliminaire de recherche au moyen des bases de données gouvernementales NUANS** vous fournissant ainsi une liste des résultats correspondant exactement au nom que vous comptez choisir pour l’enregistrement ou l’incorporation de votre société. En vérifiant la disponibilité du nom désiré avant de commander un rapport NUANS, vous économiserez du temps et de l’argent autrement dépensé sur de multiples rapports NUANS!

Cliquez ici pour en apprendre davantage sur les pré-recherches de nom d’entreprise et pour commander votre rapport GRATUIT les 19 et 20 septembre SEULEMENT.

* Veuillez, s.v.p., noter que la pré-recherche est offerte aux individus canadiens et aux entrepreneurs désirant nommer leurs corporations ou sociétés et n’est pas destinée à être utilisée à répétition par les boîtes de recherche ou autres professionnels en établissement d’entreprises. CorporationCentre.ca se réserve le droit de limiter le nombre de pré-recherches.

** Veuillez, s.v.p., noter que la base de données NUANS n’inclue pas le registre des entreprises du Québec qui, lui, peut être consulté ici.