When managing multiple businesses or subsidiaries, it can be challenging to track financial performance across entities. QuickBooks makes it easier by providing options to combine balance sheets for consolidated financial reporting. Whether you manage multiple company files or different departments within the same business, combining balance sheet reports allows you to get a holistic view of your organization’s financial health. In this article, we will walk you through the process of combining balance sheet reports in QuickBooks.

Why Combine Balance Sheet Reports?

A combined balance sheet consolidates the financial position of multiple entities, showing their assets, liabilities, and equity in a single report. This provides several key benefits:

• Holistic Financial View: You can see how various subsidiaries or branches contribute to the overall financial performance of your business.
• Compliance with Regulations: For businesses that are required to submit consolidated financials for tax or auditing purposes, combined reports ensure compliance.
• Simplified Analysis: An aggregated report reduces the complexity of analyzing multiple financial statements.
• Strategic Decision Making: Owners and CFOs can make more informed decisions when they have a full picture of the organization’s financial standing.

Steps to Combine Balance Sheet Reports in QuickBooks Desktop

If you manage multiple QuickBooks company files, QuickBooks Desktop offers a straightforward process to combine balance sheets.

Step 1: Open Your QuickBooks Files

You need to open each company file for the businesses or entities you want to combine. Make sure they are set up correctly and that all transactions are up to date.

Step 2: Use QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise

To combine reports in QuickBooks Desktop, you must be using the Enterprise version, as it supports combining reports across multiple company files.

1. Go to Reports in the menu.
2. Select Combine Reports from Multiple Companies under the Accountant & Taxes section.

Step 3: Select the Reports to Combine

In the Combine Reports window:

1. Choose the Reports to Combine – In this case, select the Balance Sheet report.
2. Select the Date Range – Choose the period you want the combined balance sheet to cover.
3. Choose the Basis – Select whether you want the reports to be prepared on a cash or accrual basis.
4. Add Companies – Click Add Files and select the company files for which you want to combine the reports.

Step 4: Combine and Export

Once the settings are selected, click Combine Reports in Excel. QuickBooks will generate a combined balance sheet report in an Excel file.

Step 5: Review and Customize the Report

After exporting, review the combined balance sheet report in Excel. You can customize the format, adjust columns, or include/exclude specific data as needed for analysis or reporting.

Combining Balance Sheets in QuickBooks Online

Unlike QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online doesn’t offer built-in support for combining reports from multiple entities. However, there are a few workarounds:

1. Third-Party Applications: Use third-party apps like Fathom or Qvinci, which integrate with QuickBooks Online and allow you to combine financial reports from multiple entities.
2. Manual Consolidation: If you prefer not to use third-party tools, you can export balance sheet reports from each company file in QuickBooks Online, and then manually combine the data in Excel.

Tips for Effective Combined Reporting

• Ensure Consistent Accounting Methods: Ensure that all entities use the same accounting method (cash or accrual) before combining reports.
• Maintain Uniform Chart of Accounts: For ease of consolidation, use the same chart of accounts across all your entities.
• Use Classes or Locations: In QuickBooks Online, using classes or locations for different departments can help with segmenting financial data before consolidating.

Conclusion

Combining balance sheet reports in QuickBooks is essential for businesses that manage multiple entities. While QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise makes it easy to consolidate reports across companies, QuickBooks Online users can rely on third-party applications or manual methods for consolidation. By following the steps above, you’ll be able to produce a combined balance sheet that provides a comprehensive view of your organization’s financial position, helping you make strategic decisions with confidence.