I run two U.S. software companies from Canada, and Stripe Atlas did the setup.
Shipping the app isn't the hard part for a founder outside the U.S. Getting paid by U.S. customers is. In a July 2026 live stream I walked through how I set up my companies from Canada, what it cost, and when I'd skip it. This is my experience as a founder. It isn't legal, tax or accounting advice.
The business case
After you build and deploy an app, the job is figuring out how to get paid. I build software because I'm lazy, and I said so on the stream: write the code once and sell it many times.
I run two companies with real paying customers. LeadScore AI is a lead-generation and outreach system, built so one sales rep can manage 100,000 leads. SnapSuite helps contractors manage projects, billing, invoicing and scheduling. Both take payments through Stripe, and I set up both the way I describe here.
You need three pieces: a legal business entity, a payout path, and payments connected to it. Once those exist, investors can put money in and U.S. buyers can pay without second thoughts. The catch is the paperwork that comes with them, so the timing matters as much as the setup.
My setup from Canada
I live in Canada and grew up in Antigua. My business is registered in the U.S. and has a U.S. corporate bank account. Customers in Texas, Florida and everywhere else pay by card through Stripe, and the money lands in that account. I also have a separate Canadian entity.
I pay taxes in both countries. My understanding is that a tax treaty lets what you pay in one offset the other, but I'm not the accountant in the room. I also don't know the official list of countries that qualify, so check Stripe Atlas for yours before you plan around it.
Why a U.S. company
The first reason is trust. If a U.S. customer lands on your site and has to pay in some unfamiliar way, they won't. A U.S. company tells them you've been through some process.
The second reason is tax. The U.S. government wants to know it can tax your company, so you need a taxpayer identification number. You don't have to be a U.S. citizen to get one for your business.
The old way was a lawyer or law firm that registered everything on your behalf. For my technical people, your lawyer was a virtual machine. It worked, and it was expensive. Stripe's incentive is simple: the more cards run through it, the more it wins. Atlas took over the lawyer work, the tax number and the banking.
I found Atlas through investors. My company was Canadian. U.S. investors at a U.S. accelerator wanted to invest, but only once we were a U.S. company. That's how I discovered Stripe Atlas.
Jump to
- 0:00 Intro: setting up your company properly
- 13:38 Getting paid is the real job: my two companies
- 17:12 Entity, bank and payments: my U.S. setup from Canada
- 23:06 Why a U.S. company: trust and a tax ID
- 30:17 From lawyers to Stripe Atlas
- 37:30 Walking through Stripe Atlas and what it costs
- 57:14 When not to register, and the paperwork after
- 1:09:28 Merchant of record vs Stripe: the fee layers
I walk through the Atlas screens and the fee layers in the full video on my channel: Setting up a U.S. company from outside the U.S. on YouTube.
What Atlas sets up
Atlas forms a Delaware company, a C corporation or an LLC, and gets you an Employer Identification Number. For a C corporation it also issues founder equity and files the 83(b) election. It helps you open a U.S. bank account and set up payments, and it sends you the paperwork that keeps the company in good standing. After that, the taxes are yours.
A lot of startups register in Delaware because its company law is clear and standardized. I don't know the full history. Registering there decides which state's corporate law applies. You can still do business in other states or globally, though some states may require you to register or pay tax there too.
With the company in place you can raise money with a SAFE, the simple agreement for future equity that Y Combinator introduced. On the stream Atlas cost $500 to set up and $100 a year after that. As of October 2026 the Atlas page lists the same, with government fees and the first year of registered agent service in the $500.
For banking I use both Mercury and Brex, plus Stripe Treasury. I prefer Brex for online banking, and it can send physical cards to your employees. To get money to where you live, wire it to yourself or use a Wise Business account. I'd suggest Atlas even to Americans, especially if they plan to raise money.
Don't register too early
My first business, Candev, was named after my "Canada development" folder. It wasn't registered anywhere. I registered once clients started paying me by check in my personal name.
Don't register a U.S. corporation because it looks good on paper. If you can get paid locally, do that. Run it until you have real traction, then convert.
The company brings annual filings, registered agent fees and taxes. QuickBooks can handle bookkeeping, but you may still need an accountant, and Stripe Tax automates sales tax for a fee. Local isn't always easier, though. A new company I was setting up in Antigua needed a bank letter my Canadian bank wouldn't write, then a three-week wait for the account.
The merchant of record route
A merchant of record is a company that becomes the legal seller to your customer and takes on the tax and compliance. It's the alternative to forming the company yourself. Paddle, Lemon Squeezy and Polar are three I named.
Picture the layers: government, then banks, then Stripe, then the merchant of record on top. The less capital you have, the higher up you start, and the more each transaction costs. On the stream Polar's page showed 5% plus 50 cents, or $20 a month for 3.8% plus 40 cents, against Stripe's 2.9% plus 30 cents. As of October 2026, Polar's pricing page still lists those two rates, alongside higher-volume plans. The same page also lists an extra 1.5% for cards issued outside the U.S. If you sell only digital goods and want the simplest setup, a merchant of record fits. Your price has to absorb the fee.
Get paid first
The company exists so the people who want your product can pay you, and so investors can say yes. Prove people will pay, then let Atlas or a merchant of record carry the structure.
If you've built the app and the next step is your first paying customers, that's what I work on when we start as a solo founder.
About Dwain
I'm Dwain Browne, Founder of LeadScore AI and SnapSuite. I'm a Toronto-based software architect with 25+ years across software, sales, operations and entrepreneurship. SnapSuite helps contractors and trades teams get paid faster, and LeadScore AI shows you which leads deserve your next call. I also run Vibe Code to Profit, a community helping people build software with AI.