Reporting consolidated financial information

How to produce financial consolidation reports from multiple Xero, Sage or QuickBooks Online accounts without using Excel

As a business owner whose company operates multiple entities, possibly across different industries or different countries, the prospect of annually preparing consolidated financial reports is, no doubt, not a task you or your team relish. The vast quantities of data that needs to be pulled together to give an overall picture of your company’s financial health can be daunting; the time required extensive; and the opportunity for human error to creep in high.

Today we’re looking at how to simplify this process and streamline your reporting.

Consolidated financial reporting requirements for medium-sized groups

Wherever you are in the world, your governing body will dictate the regulations you must follow. In this example we’re using UK regulation, as under the Companies Act 2006, Companies House require all medium-sized groups to consolidate their financial reporting and submit consolidated group accounts that include profit and loss accounts and a balance sheet.

When dealing with multiple entities, companies must ensure they have one standard reporting system in place across all their companies. They need to take into account the use of different currencies and different accounting standards in different countries, and ensure they keep up to date with ever-changing regulations.

In addition, if mistakes creep in to the financial statements as a result of human error, then this will require further work by auditors and incur further costs to your business, as well as time. Should you under-estimate the time required to consolidate all these financial statements and file late, you face penalties imposed by Companies House.

Preparing consolidated financial reports can be costly, so as a business owner, you’ll want to ensure you get it right first time.

“When dealing with multiple entities, companies must ensure they have one standard reporting system in place across all their companies. They need to take into account the use of different currencies and different accounting standards in different countries, and ensure they keep up to date with ever-changing regulations.”

Using Xero, Sage or QuickBooks Online to prepare consolidated financial statements

The ability to create consolidated financial reports for multiple entities is not available on either Xero, Sage or Quickbooks Online and is not something either platform is planning to roll out any time soon.

Instead, both accounting software providers have partnered with third-party apps, such as Joiin, which integrate with their financial software to produce highly visual, easy-to-understand consolidation reporting for multiple accounts.

The alternative, traditional way of producing consolidated financial statements involves regularly exporting the individual entities’ financial reports to Microsoft Excel and then manually combining them into one consolidated statement. This is a cumbersome process that needs to be repeated every week or month. It takes several hours’ work and is vulnerable to mistakes as a result of inevitable human error, even by the most diligent accountant.

Consolidated reporting app Joiin is a game-changer for medium-sized groups. Using advances in cloud technology, Joiin integrates with financial accounting software, such as Xero, Sage or QuickBooks Online, to securely and seamlessly bring together complex data from multiple accounts and create consolidated financial reports.

The app is easy to use and connects within minutes, either from your desktop or on the go via your smartphone.

Our consolidated financial and sales reporting data helps business owners quickly create an accurate picture of inter-company finances, with powerful features such as custom reports, customisable designs and ways to slice and dice data included in the low monthly price. Key performance indicators, sales reports, balance sheets, trial balance, cashflow, and profit and loss reports are all available.

If your business is looking for an alternative to Microsoft Excel to produce consolidated financial statements in a more efficient and cost-effective way, sign up for our no-obligation free trial today to benefit from unlimited users, full support and endless reporting happiness.

Read part 1 of our Financial Consolidation Reporting series ›