Quick Picks by Situation
All Options Compared
| Feature | MinuteKeep | Ownr | MinuteBox | Accountant | Lawyer | DIY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Documents & Legal Completeness | ||||||
| ISC register (mandatory) | ✓ Always | ~ Varies | ✓ Yes | ~ Inconsistent | ✓ Yes | ✗ Usually missing |
| Annual resolutions (every year) | ✓ Full package | ~ Partial | ✓ Yes | ~ Often incomplete | ✓ Full | ✗ Usually forgotten |
| Past-year backfilling | ✓ Any past year | ✗ No | ✗ No | ~ Expensive | ✓ Yes | ✗ Very difficult |
| ISC holdco look-through | ✓ Automatic | ✗ No | ~ Manual | ~ Manual | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Professional corporation support | ✓ Full Ontario PC | ✗ No | ~ Limited | ~ Depends | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Word (.docx) format | ✓ Always included | ~ Varies | ~ Plan-dependent | ✓ Usually | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Access & Pricing | ||||||
| Self-serve (no intermediary) | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ~ Primarily law firms | ✗ Via accountant | ✗ Via lawyer | ✓ Yes |
| Annual cost (single corp) | $99 CAD/yr | $199–$299/yr | $50–$200/mo (firm) | $200–$500/yr | $500–$1,500/yr | $0–$200 (+ time) |
| Free tier | ✓ First resolution | ✓ Trial | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✓ Free templates |
| Can give legal advice | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
Pricing and features as of July 2026. Verify current details directly with each provider before purchasing.
Each Option in Detail
1. MinuteKeep — Best Overall for Canadian Small Businesses
MinuteKeep was built by an Ontario lawyer specifically for Canadian corporations. It generates jurisdiction-appropriate corporate documents — minute book, annual resolutions, share certificates, and applicable ownership-control registers — in both PDF and Word format. It's the only self-serve tool that handles past-year backfilling (generating a complete minute book as it stood at any previous year-end) and ISC holdco look-through where an ISC register applies.
- ✓ Business owners who want direct control of their records
- ✓ Catching up on years of missing minute book entries
- ✓ Professional corporations (dental, medical, law, accounting)
- ✓ Holdco/opco structures needing ISC look-through
- ✓ Accountants who want to generate documents for clients
- → Does not give legal advice
- → Not a practice management tool for law firms
- → Currently supports Federal, Ontario, BC, Alberta, and Quebec corporations
2. Ownr — Best for Incorporation + Basic Compliance Bundle
Ownr is a business formation and compliance platform from RBC. It's best known for online incorporation and handles some ongoing compliance tasks. The minute book features are less complete than a dedicated platform — particularly for past-year records and ISC holdco situations — but if you're starting fresh and want incorporation plus a basic annual compliance workflow in one place, it's worth considering.
For corporations already incorporated that need comprehensive records, MinuteKeep is the stronger choice for minute book completeness.
3. MinuteBox — Best for Law Firm Practice Management
MinuteBox is designed for law firms managing many client minute books as part of a broader corporate practice. It includes client file management, document storage, and workflow tools alongside document generation. If you're a lawyer or paralegal running a corporate law practice, it's a strong option. For individual business owners wanting to manage their own records directly, the pricing and workflow are built around firm operations rather than self-service.
4. Your Accountant — Common but Inconsistent
Many Canadian business owners rely on their accountant to "handle the minute book." In practice, this usually means the accountant prepares an annual financial statement approval resolution — not the full package the law requires. ISC register coverage in particular varies widely by firm. An accountant is genuinely useful for the financial context (aligning resolutions with tax returns), but for complete records, most accountants are either not providing everything or charging significantly more than software for the same scope.
The best combination: MinuteKeep for legally complete record generation + your accountant for financial/tax context.
5. Corporate Lawyer — Most Complete, Highest Cost
A corporate lawyer is the gold standard for complex matters — share transfers, reorganizations, shareholder disputes, director liability questions, or any situation where you need legal advice alongside document preparation. For routine annual maintenance of a straightforward corporation, however, software like MinuteKeep generates the same legally complete documents at a fraction of the cost. Use a lawyer for the work that needs legal judgment; use software for the rest.
6. DIY Templates — Cheapest Upfront, Riskiest Long-Term
You can legally maintain your own minute book with templates. The problem: most templates available online are outdated (predating the mandatory ISC register requirements of 2019–2023), missing key documents, and don't handle the annual maintenance discipline that compliance actually requires. A single due diligence failure during a business sale or financing can cost more to remediate than years of software subscriptions. DIY is defensible only with a complete, up-to-date template set and genuine discipline about annual updates.
The One Issue That Trips Up All Non-Software Options: The ISC Register
The Individuals with Significant Control (ISC) register became mandatory for CBCA corporations in June 2019 and for Ontario corporations in January 2023. Public filing of the ISC register became mandatory for CBCA corporations in January 2024. Despite these requirements being several years old, a significant number of accountant-maintained and DIY minute books still do not include a current ISC register.
For Federal and Ontario corporations, MinuteKeep generates and maintains the applicable ISC register — including holdco look-through logic when a corporation is owned by another corporation. If you're not certain your Federal or Ontario minute book includes a current ISC register, generating one is one of the first things you should do.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best minute book software for a Canadian corporation?
For most Canadian small and medium corporations, MinuteKeep is the best option: purpose-built for Canadian law, $99 CAD/yr per corporation, plus tax, jurisdiction-appropriate corporate records, past-year backfilling, and support for Federal, Ontario, BC, Alberta, and Quebec corporations. Law firms managing many client files may prefer MinuteBox.
What must a corporate minute book include in Canada?
Under the CBCA and Ontario OBCA, a minute book must include: by-laws, organizational resolutions of directors, annual resolutions for every fiscal year, share certificates, register of shareholders, register of directors and officers, and (mandatory since 2019–2023) an Individuals with Significant Control (ISC) register. Missing any of these is a statutory violation.
Is it worth paying for minute book software vs. having an accountant do it?
At $99/yr for MinuteKeep vs. $200–$500/yr for most accountants, software is significantly cheaper — and typically more complete. The bigger argument for software is control: you have your complete records on demand, not dependent on your accountant pulling a file. The best setup: use MinuteKeep for legally complete record generation, let your accountant focus on tax and financial planning where they add the most value.
Do I need a lawyer to set up or maintain a corporate minute book?
No. There is no legal requirement to use a lawyer for routine minute book maintenance. MinuteKeep was built by an Ontario lawyer and generates documents to the same standard. You need a lawyer when you need legal advice — for share reorganizations, disputes, director liability, complex structures. For routine annual maintenance of a straightforward corporation, software is sufficient.
My corporation hasn't had a minute book maintained in years. What should I do?
MinuteKeep Pro can generate a complete minute book as it stood at the end of any previous fiscal year — covering every year since incorporation. This is the fastest and cheapest way to catch up on years of missing records. For very complex situations (major ownership changes, multiple classes of shares, contested history), consult a corporate lawyer before backfilling to make sure the history is reconstructed correctly.