3 Benefits of Multi-Company Accounting Software

1 | What is multi-company accounting software and when is it helpful?

Multi-company accounting software is a type of accounting software, both cloud and desktop, that enables the management of transactions and reporting for multiple entities within a single interface, without having to log in and log out to switch accounts.

Essential for managing books for large companies with multiple subsidiaries, divisions, or branches, multi-company accounting software is also a must for handling mergers and acquisitions, as it allows to accumulate data, streamline transactions, and run consolidated reports.

Adopting a multi-entity solution may become critical to support mergers and acquisitions, as otherwise, according to Deloitte, a company may face lots of issues, with accounting operations becoming even more than the mess under the bed: it may become the proverbial monster hiding under there.

Other situations when multi-company accounting software is a must-have:

• Franchise operations, where you need a consolidated view while keeping the records separate.
• Global operations, to handle cross-border financials with multiple currencies and tax regulations.
• JVs and partnerships, to ensure transparency between the entities.
• Non-profits, real-estate, and property management companies.
• Advisory and other professional services firms which need to harness financial data.

2 | Benefits of multi-company software for accounting firms

When it comes to the accounting services environment, multi-company accounting software is ideal for accounting firms that manage a multitude of low-volume SME clients. It can also prove helpful for companies that involve different teams in tasks such as data entry, approval, and reconciliation. If these scenarios resonate with your business, take a look at the three benefits of a multi-company accounting solution outlined below.

1. Increased team capacity

According to a big study held among white-collar workers by Slack in India in 2021, 4-10 hours a week and up to 10 weeks per year are wasted on simply moving back and forth between the apps needed to do the job.

Now, imagine the level of chaos for an accountant who handles 30 or even 50 clients (might happen with yearly accounts), juggling several cloud apps. In this case, the set of tools would also include Excel: as it doesn't make sense to pay a $30-$50 subscription for an entity with few transactions during the year, accountants fall back on Excel to stay profitable.

With a multi-company accounting solution, an accounting team can handle a bulk of small entities in a breeze. There are also apps that offer live data broadcasting, meaning that you can open two browser windows to work with two fiscal years or subsidiaries instead of clicking back and forth.

2. Easy reviews and better transparency

Switching between accounts is also problematic for accounting supervisors. To review the books for every client, they'll need to log into each account. On top of that, managing partners don't get a consolidated picture of a firm's practice, as it's broken into several apps and tens of accounts.

A web-based multi-entity software solution enables supervisors to easily access accounting data for each accountant, facilitating reviews and workload tracking. It's also easy to assign or reassign rights to better optimize resources and allocate tasks within an accounting team.

3. Less hassle managing subscriptions

Dealing with individual subscriptions for each client can become cumbersome, especially when they unexpectedly expire or become more expensive. With multi-company accounting software, you can streamline all subscriptions under one roof, reducing it to just one subscription instead of 50.

3 | Make multi-company accounting easy with Eleven

The cloud accounting software market is extremely saturated. Finding one that works for an accounting firm like yours can be a daunting task. Do more with Eleven: a cloud accounting software designed specifically for accounting firms.

Apart from the three above mentioned benefits, that may results in a considerable productivity growth, Eleven offers a set of other professional features that will help your firm become more efficient and profitable.

Here are some other benefits of equipping your team with Eleven accounting solution:

• All of the Eleven's functionalities are available on every plan, there are no transaction or feature limits.
• Eleven's general Ledger can handle thousands of transactions without compromising on speed or performance.
• Extended multiple currencies support allows you to transact and report in 170+ currencies.
• There is a BI module that consolidates all your clients' financial data, allowing you to create custom reports and dashboards.

Do you have questions about how Eleven works? Book a free demo to see Eleven in action or give us a call.