What to do before releasing an application on the Android market place?

Question

I just wrote a little game for droid. I was thinking I would put some put some adds in it and release it for free and maybe I'd make a buck or two.

I'm wondering what I need to do before I sign up for this.

First, I live in Canada. I assume there might be some sort of problem getting paid from the US?

I do not have a company. Can I just make up a name to use for now, and if I start making money then I can register the company name and get a business licence later? (Claiming any profits as personal income on my taxes until I do, of course.)

Should I set up a business bank account?

What else am I missing?

Answer 1

Read this.

Answer 2

The part you are missing is a lawyer and an accountant. All of your questions sound like something you should be asking them, not a bunch of programmers.

Answer 3

I'm not familiar with Canadian law or taxation, but in general there are two benefits to setting up a company rather than trading as an individual:

1. Limited liability (if you are sued, they can only take the company's assets and not your personal savings or house).
2. Corporation tax is generally lower than income tax, so you would typically get to keep a bigger percentage of the money you make.

A business bank account could be useful for keeping your earnings separate from the rest of your finances. If it's the same in Canada as in the UK, you can start a business account without registering a company.

Answer 4

First I live in Canada so I'm assuming there might be some sort of problem getting paid from the US. Is there?

Yes there is, but when you sign up for your google checkout merchant account or adsense account, you will have to fill out some tax info and they have resources available at that time to address your issues.

I do not have a company. Can I just make up a name to use for now and if I start making money then I can register the company name and get a business licence later? (Claiming any profits as personal income on my taxes until I do of course)

You can change your market name at a later date, I would suggest using at least part of your real name in your market name at first. That's a legal issue. You can register a buisness name (DBA in United States) at a later date and apply it then.

Should I set up a business bank account?

Unless you're expecting very high volume, don't bother. I simply created a secondary personal savings account for the simple reason that I didn't want to keep track of a daily payment in my checkbook. It's nice to keep your revenue stream separate for your own recordkeeping, but unless you create an LLC or Corporation, a buisness account is overkill.