Build • Strengthen • Optimize • Transition


We help Ontario business owners and incorporated professionals move through the full life cycle of their business: building it, strengthening it, optimizing it, and eventually transitioning it on your terms. From tax-efficient compensation and surplus investing to retirement income, succession, and estate planning, we connect your corporate decisions to your personal financial plan—so your business supports the life you want, now and in the future.

Is your plan on the right track?

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BUILD — Get the foundation right from day one.

Lay the groundwork so the business supports both your goals and your family’s security.

  • Business and corporate structure planning (sole proprietor, corporation, OpCo/HoldCo) in coordination with your tax and legal advisors.
  • Owner compensation basics – how you initially pay yourself (salary, dividends, or a mix) and what that means for CPP, RRSP room, and borrowing power.
  • Cash flow and banking setup so there’s a clear separation between business and personal finances.
  • Starter protection for owners and families – life, disability, and critical illness coverage aligned with your risks and debts.
  • Connecting your business plan to your personal plan so you’re building toward the life you actually want, not just a bigger business.

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STRENGTHEN — As your business grows, so do the risks.

Keep the business—and your family—resilient.

  • Buy–sell agreement design and funding (life, critical illness, disability), with regular reviews to keep it current.
  • Key person coverage and business overhead expense protection to keep cash flow going if someone is sidelined.
  • Liability separation (OpCo/HoldCo), plus building emergency reserves and appropriate credit lines.
  • Beneficiary and titling review so the right people and entities are on your accounts, policies, and corporations.
  • Health and long-term care planning for owners and spouses, coordinated with your personal plan.
  • Making sure the legal agreements and the funding actually match—a detail that’s often missed.

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OPTIMIZE — Make your business work harder for your wealth.

Turn business success into dependable, tax-smart personal income.

  • Owner compensation strategy – ongoing advice on salary vs. dividends vs. bonuses, and income-splitting opportunities where allowed.
  • CDA and corporate-owned insurance planning to use the capital dividend account and corporate policies to move wealth to your family more tax-efficiently.
  • Smart drawdown order – coordinating RRSPs/RRIFs, TFSAs, corporate and non-registered accounts with an after-tax focus.
  • IPP and RCA evaluations for higher-earning owners who may benefit from larger, more predictable pension-style income.
  • Cash-wedge and “bucket” planning to reduce sequence-of-returns risk once you start stepping back from the business.
  • With a focus on lifetime tax smoothing—not just chasing “this year’s refund.”

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Handshake over a business deal

TRANSITION — Step back on your terms, not by accident.

Exit on purpose and keep more of what you built.

  • Clarifying your exit path – third-party sale, management buyout, family transition, or an orderly wind-down.
  • LCGE and QSBC readiness, plus coordination of estate freezes and family trusts with your tax and legal advisors.
  • Charitable giving strategies – donor-advised funds, gifts of securities, and bequests, aligned with your post-sale investment plan.
  • Survivor playbook – a first-90-days checklist, key contacts, and digital asset access so someone else can step in with confidence.
  • Clean-up and restructuring – wind-downs, beneficiary updates, and more probate-smart corporate and estate structuring.
  • The often overlooked piece: post-sale portfolio and income design—the plan for life after the cheque clears.

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How we work with owners

  • Fit Call (20 min): goals, timelines, ownership/structure.
  • Discovery: financials, agreements, pensions, CPP/OAS estimates, priorities.
  • Plan & options: compensation mix, surplus investing, risk funding, harvest/exit paths.
  • Implementation: accounts, beneficiary/titling, insurance funding, automation.
  • Ongoing reviews: rebalance, tax moves, cash-flow updates, agreement check-ups.

Business Planning Acronym Legend

OpCo – Operating Company: The main business entity that runs day-to-day operations and earns active business income.

HoldCo – Holding Company: A separate corporation used to hold investments or retained earnings, often for tax planning, asset protection, or succession.

CDA – Capital Dividend Account: A notional account inside a Canadian corporation that allows certain amounts (like the non-taxable portion of capital gains or some life insurance proceeds) to be paid out as tax-free capital dividends to shareholders.

RCA – Retirement Compensation Arrangement: A special-purpose plan for higher earners that can fund additional retirement benefits beyond RRSP/IPP limits, with specific tax and funding rules.

LCGE – Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption: A Canadian tax provision that allows eligible business owners to shelter up to a legislated lifetime limit of capital gains from tax on qualifying shares (e.g., QSBC shares).

QSBC – Qualified Small Business Corporation (Shares): Shares of a Canadian-controlled private corporation that meet specific asset and activity tests, making them potentially eligible for the LCGE on sale.

DAF – Donor-Advised Fund: A charitable giving vehicle where you make a donation, get an immediate tax receipt, and then recommend grants to charities over time from the fund.

CPP – Canada Pension Plan: Government pension program that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits based on your contributions during your working years.

IPP – Individual Pension Plan: A defined benefit pension plan set up for an owner-manager or key employee, often allowing larger, locked-in retirement contributions than an RRSP.

RRSP – Registered Retirement Savings Plan: A tax-deferred investment account that lets you deduct contributions and grow investments tax-sheltered until withdrawal.

RRIF – Registered Retirement Income Fund: The “retirement phase” of an RRSP—used to withdraw income in retirement while the remaining assets continue to grow tax-deferred.

TFSA – Tax-Free Savings Account: A flexible registered account where investment growth and withdrawals are tax-free (contributions aren’t deductible).

CI – Critical Illness (Insurance): Insurance that pays a lump sum if you’re diagnosed with a covered serious illness (e.g., cancer, heart attack, stroke).