Filing for GST
When we purchased this farm, trixstir and I applied for a GST number so that we could avoid having to pay the GST on the purchase. You can do this when you buy real-estate, if there is a reasonable assumption that said purchase will be used to generate income. This also allows you to declare the GST on any purchases you make that are also intended to help generate income, such as tools, supplies, etc. With farming, it is not uncommon to not show much (if any) income as the input costs can often outweigh the income. Farming isn't a lifestyle for getting rich, despite what some people may think.
When we bought the bowling-alley, we filed for another GST number. So long as the business is owned by the same people, the government doesn't give you a completely separate number; what they do is assign a second sub-number to the main account. So our first account is NNN NNN NNN - 0001. Our second would be NNN NNN NNN - 0002. You do not have to do this, it's perfectly allowable to just file everything under one number, but it's a lot easier to keep the accounts straight if they are split up. It means that you have to file multiple returns, but that's still a lot easier than trying to keep it all straight and separate otherwise.
To that end, I have just filed for a third GST number for Iron Pony. Until we decided to move the shop into town, I was running it from the farm shop, and thus we just ran everything as a branch of the farm. Now that Iron Pony will be standing on its own, it's better for it to have its own registration number. Filing was painless enough; I called the toll-free number, listened to the computer ramble on for nearly five minutes, and then it finally allowed me to talk to an agent. There is a faster way to get through this, but I couldn't find the note that I had to explained it. Now that I've been through it, I think all I had to do was hit * as soon as the computer started rambling on. Once I reached the agent, the whole process took less than the amount of time I had spent listening to the computer. I also got our primary account to have the farm name on it at last, instead of just our names.
Now I just need to have a quick shower, and head into town to take a certified cheque to the lawyer's office to settle the account. This long, painstaking process is nearly over! By this time next week (if not sooner) I should be the new official owner of the new shop! :)