How to start a vending machine business in Canada: register your business in your province (or incorporate), get a business number, register for GST/HST once you pass the small supplier threshold, follow your province's food premises rules, and keep tobacco out unless the machine sits in a bar or a non-public area with the required security. Then find sites and keep machines stocked.
- Business registration is mostly provincial; incorporation can be federal or provincial.
- You must register for GST/HST once your taxable sales pass $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive quarters.
- Food rules are provincial. Ontario's Food Premises regulation (O. Reg. 493/17) has a section on vending machines.
- Federally, tobacco can only be dispensed by a machine in a place the public cannot reasonably access, or in a bar, tavern or beverage room with a prescribed security mechanism.
Sole proprietorship or corporation
A sole proprietorship registered with your province is the simplest start, and the income goes on your personal return. A corporation, federal or provincial, separates the business from you and can help once you run several machines or finance equipment, at the cost of more filings. A partnership is the third option if you start with someone. An accountant can say which suits your province and plans.
Business number and GST/HST
The Canada Revenue Agency gives you a business number when you open your first program account, such as GST/HST. You are a small supplier, and do not have to register, while your taxable sales stay at or below $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters. Pass $30,000 in a single quarter and you must register and charge GST/HST from the sale that took you over. You can also register voluntarily. Provinces with HST charge it in place of GST; Quebec and some others add their own sales tax, so check with your province.
Food premises rules
Food safety for a vending machine is regulated by the province and enforced by the local public health unit. Ontario's Food Premises regulation, for example, has specific requirements for vending machines. Contact the public health unit for the area where the machine will sit, describe what you will sell, and ask what inspection or notification they need before you install.
Tobacco and vaping products
Under the federal Tobacco and Vaping Products Act, nobody may furnish a tobacco product through a dispensing device unless it is in a place the public does not reasonably have access to, or in a bar, tavern or beverage room with a prescribed security mechanism. Provinces can be stricter. For a normal route, leave tobacco and vapes out.
If you operate in Quebec
Quebec has its own language rules for commerce. Plan for French on your machine labels, pricing and pitch materials, and check the requirements with the Office québécois de la langue française before you install.
Site agreements, banking and insurance
- Site agreement: commission, power, access, notice and damage, in writing.
- Business bank account separate from your personal one.
- Commercial general liability insurance: landlords and property managers usually ask for a certificate.
- Payments: tap-to-pay with debit and credit cards is standard, so plan for a cashless reader.
What it costs
We do not quote machine prices, because we have not found an official source for typical Canadian prices. Get written quotes in Canadian dollars, check whether duty or shipping applies to machines from the US, and add card reader fees.
Your first week
- Register your business name in your province and open a business account.
- List ten sites: warehouses, auto shops, arenas, condo and apartment buildings, college residences, gyms.
- Pitch with our Canadian pitch script.
- Call the public health unit before the first install.