Multi-Entity Accounting Made Simple
Multiple entities, subsidiaries, brands, divisions, units – whichever way your organisation is divided, managing accounts for multiple entities in an organisation is challenging.
Different currencies, locations, tax jurisdictions, bank accounts and systems all add to the chaos, which gets even worse as you grow. Sage Intacct takes all of this in its stride, regardless of how big or complex your organisation is.
In this article, we’ll walk through the common headaches of multi-entity accounting and how Sage Intacct helps you manage all your entities with ease.
Consolidated Statements
When the time comes to prepare consolidated financial statements, pulling together data from each entity and combining it all in spreadsheets takes days. Each ‘copy’ and ‘paste’ increases the risk of mistakes and therefore requires more time spent cross-referencing to wheedle out errors.
The consolidation process looks entirely different in Sage Intacct. With just a few clicks, the system gathers the data from all your entities, eliminates intercompany transactions and converts into your base currency. As a result, you get accurate statements that you can rely on and use to steer strategic decisions.
Currency Conversions
If your entities trade in different countries, the time it takes to manually convert prices into different currencies really adds up, in a bad way. All it takes is a miscalculation or outdated conversion rate going unnoticed and the numbers are off, leaving your business wide open to issues.
Put away your trusty calculator, Sage Intacct takes care of conversions for you. The built-in currency conversion tool uses OANDA live exchange rates for over 200 currencies to automatically convert prices quickly and accurately.
Global Compliance
Keeping track of reporting standards for multiple countries as they evolve feels a lot like chasing a moving target. The more countries you trade in, the more work it takes to manage compliance and avoid being tripped up by changes to guidelines.
Luckily, Sage Intacct is a guiding hand for all your compliance needs. The tax solutions provide everything you need to set up your system for compliance in the UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa and more. An audit trail also ensures full transparency for peace of mind and auditing purposes.
Monitoring Performance
Keeping an eye on group-wide performance usually requires a lot of effort to pull all the data you need into reports. Then, by the time you’ve got everything and finished manipulating it in a spreadsheet, the insights are already outdated.
With Sage Intacct, all your entities are on the same database, so it’s quick and easy to pull all that data into reports and dashboards. They can be customised to show specific KPIs and metrics, compare multiple entities side-by-side and much more.
Inter-Entity Transactions
Manually entering transactions for goods or services between entities is a recipe for disaster. By entering the sale in Company A and then re-entering it as a purchase in Company B, you’re doubling the work and risk of human error.
In Sage Intacct, intercompany transactions are a one and done deal. Simply enter the transaction once and the system automatically posts the balancing journal for the other entity. This is useful for automatically allocating costs across multiple locations or departments or paying invoices on behalf of another entity. The system handles the rest, ensuring everything is consistent and reducing human error.
Accessibility & User Controls
Logging in and out of different accounts to switch between your entities is a pain and can really disrupt your day. But giving everyone access to everything is less than ideal if you have staff that only work for certain entities.
Sage Intacct’s multi-entity structure gives you access to all your entities from one login, with a dropdown for quickly switching between entities. User access is also completely customisable, so you have full control over what users can do and access throughout the system.
Processes & Procedures
With all your entities spread across different accounts and workload spread across separate teams, it’s inevitable that things will be done slightly differently. Even small differences can cause mayhem when it comes to manual consolidation and reporting.
Having all your entities in Sage Intacct enables you to align everyone with the same way of working. Plus, the automation features enable you to reduce day-to-day tasks like Accounts Payable and Bank Reconciliation. This makes it much easier to manage everything in a central team and standardise processes across the board.
Accounting Software for Multiple Entities
If you’re looking for a solution that fully supports each of your entities’ needs, while giving you visibility and control at group level, Sage Intacct could be the solution for you. Get in touch for a personalised demo with our experts.
To discuss Sage Intacct in more detail with our team, complete the enquiry form.
