Last reviewed: August 2026
When many founders start importing, they keep a spreadsheet with about four line items on it. By the time a first container of bedding clears customs, that spreadsheet can grow to thirty-something rows and a number at the bottom that makes founders a little queasy. Real breakdowns are hard to find, so here is one, drawn from actually doing it more than once.
One-Time Costs vs Ongoing Costs
The single most useful move is to separate your money into two buckets. One-time costs are the things you pay to get off the ground. Ongoing costs are what keeps the lights on every month. People blow their whole budget on the shiny one-time stuff and then have nothing left to actually operate. Don’t make the classic year-one mistake.
- One-time: registration, logo and branding, your first inventory order, product photography, initial website setup.
- Ongoing: Shopify, apps and software, insurance, bank fees, shipping supplies, and your tax reserve.
Registration and Legal Setup
In Alberta you can register a sole proprietorship trade name through a registry agent, which is usually the cheapest way in. Expect roughly $50 to $120 depending on the agent’s service fee. The Government of Alberta explains the options on alberta.ca. If you incorporate instead, budget more like $450 to $750 once you factor in the provincial fee, a NUANS name search, and a registry agent, or more if you use a lawyer.
If you sell online you’ll eventually deal with GST. You must register for a GST/HST account once you pass the small-supplier threshold, and you can register voluntarily before that to claim input tax credits. The CRA lays out the rules on canada.ca. Registration itself is free.
Business Licence
This one surprises people. Even a home-based online business in most Canadian cities typically needs a municipal business licence, and costs run somewhere in the $100 to $300 range annually depending on your category. Check your own municipality, because it varies a lot across Alberta. Budget it as both a one-time first cost and an ongoing renewal.
Website and Shopify
A lot of Canadian product businesses run on Shopify, and it’s an easy call to make again. The Basic plan is around $50 CAD a month, and you’ll usually add a few apps (reviews, email, maybe a subscription tool) that can add $20 to $80 a month on top. A domain runs about $20 a year. If you want a paid theme instead of a free one, that’s a one-time $200 to $500. There’s a fuller Shopify review for Canadian sellers if you want the honest version.
Inventory and Your First Import
This is the big one for a product business, and it’s the number that dwarfs everything else. My first a product business order was several thousand dollars before anything else. When you import, the sticker price isn’t the real cost. Add:
- Freight and shipping from your supplier.
- Duties and GST at the border, which the CBSA collects. Their guide is on cbsa-asfc.gc.ca.
- Customs brokerage fees if you use a broker (most people do for their first shipment).
Realistically your landed cost can be 20 to 40 percent above the invoice once freight, duty, and GST are in. Plan for it or it will plan for you. My landed-cost guide shows how to work out the real number.
Branding, Photography and the Soft Stuff
You can spend $0 doing your own logo, or thousands on a designer. A middle path works well: a few hundred dollars for a clean logo and brand palette, then shooting your first product photos yourself on a table by the window. Good photography is where the money should go before a fancy logo, because online, the photo is the product.
Insurance and Banking
Product liability and general business insurance for a small shop often runs $40 to $100 a month. It feels optional until the day it isn’t. For banking, keep operating cash and tax reserve separate, and park the reserve in a high-interest account with EQ Bank so it actually earns something while it waits for the CRA. Here’s the EQ Bank review with the details.
Software Subscriptions
The little monthly tools add up faster than anything. Email marketing, accounting software, design tools, maybe a scheduler. Individually they’re $10 to $30, but four or five of them is a real line item. Audit these quarterly, because the free trials you forgot about are quietly billing you.
The Tax Reserve Everyone Forgets
Set aside money for tax from your very first sale. Move a percentage of every payout into that EQ Bank account and pretend it doesn’t exist. GST you collect isn’t yours, and neither is the income tax on your profit. Treating it like spending money is the classic first-year mistake.
So What’s the Real Number?
For a lean home-based product business, budget somewhere between $5,000 and $15,000 to launch properly, with inventory being the swing factor. You can start smaller, but thin inventory means constant stockouts. These ranges genuinely vary by product, volume, and how much you DIY, so plug your own numbers into the free startup-cost and runway calculator to see your real figure and how long your cash lasts.
This is general educational information — not financial, tax, or legal advice. Rules, rates, and fees change, so confirm current details with official sources like the CRA and CBSA before you decide.