To speed up the incorporating process and to permit immediate delivery of the Articles of Incorporation, a corporation can, at the request of the incorporator(s), be assigned a number as its corporate name. The corporation may then register a trade name and be known to its customers as doing business under the trade name. Although the corporation must be identified by its actual name (i.e., the number followed by Canada Inc. or Ltd.) for all formal and legal matters and relations (e.g., contracts), the corporation may use its trade name for exterior signs, business cards, letterhead, etc.