Business Central multi company setup that closes as one group

What a Business Central multi company setup covers

A Business Central multi company setup keeps companies in one environment. Each company has its own ledgers, customers, vendors and items. Users belong to the environment. A user license does not tie a person to one company. So staff can work in several.

First, we decide where to draw the lines. A separate legal entity needs its own company. A branch or a brand often works better as a dimension. We map your entities, taxes and reports first. Then we decide what becomes a company.

Keeping master data in step across companies

Companies do not share customers, vendors or items on their own. To share records, you must sync them. Business Central has a master data management feature for this. A subsidiary subscribes to chosen tables in a source company. It then gets changes by scheduled jobs.

We agree which tables the group controls. Each company owns the rest. One chart of accounts and one set of dimensions keep the group close simple. We also copy new companies from an existing one. So every entity starts from the same tested setup.

Intercompany postings between your companies

Sometimes one company buys from, sells to or pays for another. The intercompany features keep both sides in line. Each company is a partner of the others. It has matching customer and vendor records, plus its own chart of accounts. A document sent by one company lands in the partner's inbox.

We set up the partners, the accounts and the dimensions. Then we test sales, purchase and journal entries both ways in a sandbox. Companies in the same environment can hand off documents automatically. Separate environments need more setup.

Consolidated reporting and the group close

Group reporting runs in a consolidation company with no daily entries. Each subsidiary is a business unit there. It has its ownership share and its rates. The consolidation run brings general ledger entries across. Then you post eliminations for intercompany balances and produce group reports.

Business units come first. Then we map accounts that differ. We also write down the close steps. The same ones then happen every period. Subsidiaries can keep their own currency or fiscal calendar. Power BI can then report across all of them.

How we deliver a Business Central multi company setup

Work begins with an entity map. It shows each company, how they trade and what the group must report. Next, we build one model company and test it with your team. Then we copy it for the other entities. Each person sees only their own companies.

The usual traps are a different chart of accounts in every entity. Dimensions that mean different things are another. So are balances nobody reconciles. We settle those rules before we load data. You get the finished companies, a setup document and a recorded walkthrough.

Business Central multi company setup questions

How many companies can one Business Central environment hold?

An environment can hold many companies. Microsoft lists the limits in its documents. In practice, the limit is storage and upkeep, not a count. We check your entity list against those limits. Then we recommend one environment or several.

Do we need a separate license for each company?

No. Business Central licenses belong to named users, not to companies. A licensed user can work in any company that their permissions allow. That makes a new entity a setup task, not a license purchase. We still check your user list. Each person then has the right access in every company they need.

Should a new division be a company or a dimension in a Business Central multi company setup?

If the division files its own taxes, it needs a company. If it only needs its own reports, a dimension is usually lighter. We walk through the filing duties with your accountant before we decide.

Can subsidiaries use different currencies?

Yes. Each company has its own local currency. The consolidation company translates each subsidiary with the rates you keep. We set up the rates and the translation method per account. We also set up the accounts that hold the resulting differences. Then we test a full close with you.

Can you add companies to a system that is already live?

Yes. We copy a well configured company or apply a configuration package. Then we adjust the entity setup and load opening balances. We link the new company to your current partners and group close. We test it in a sandbox first. Your live companies keep running.

Services that pair with a multi company design

A group structure touches finance setup, intercompany trade and reporting. These pages go deeper into each part. Read them next if your Business Central multi company setup is part of a bigger project. The contact page is the quickest way to talk about your entity list. We can map it with you. For the product detail, see Microsoft Learn: managing intercompany transactions in Business Central.