Multi-entity finance
We run several entities across Xero, MYOB and Business Central. How do we close month-end faster and get one group report?
Last updated
Agree one group chart of accounts mapping, settle intercompany balances before the close starts, and pull every entity's trial balance into one consolidation layer instead of a spreadsheet. Automation and AI can propose bank and intercompany matches and draft variance commentary, but an accountant still approves eliminations, journals and the final group report.
How to close a mixed-ledger group faster
Map every ledger to one group chart
Map each Xero, MYOB and Business Central account to a single group chart of accounts, with consistent entity, site and cost centre codes. Most consolidation delays trace back to mappings that live in one person's head.
Fix intercompany at the source
Agree counterparty codes, a cut-off date and a rule that both sides post in the same month. Between Business Central companies, the intercompany feature creates the matching document in the partner company. For Xero and MYOB entities, use a shared reference on every intercompany invoice.
Choose one consolidation layer
Bring every entity's trial balance into one place each month, either Business Central, a consolidation reporting tool or a governed data model, rather than a workbook rebuilt by hand.
Automate the routine reconciliations
Use bank feeds and matching rules in each ledger. In Business Central, Copilot bank reconciliation runs after automatch and proposes further matches that a person keeps or discards. Microsoft still labels this feature preview.
Match intercompany and propose eliminations
A script or AI agent compares both sides of each intercompany balance, explains mismatches by timing, currency or miscoding, and drafts elimination journals for the group accountant to review and post.
Draft commentary from approved numbers
Once the trial balances are locked, AI drafts variance commentary against budget and last year. The financial controller edits it before it reaches the executive team.
Run a close calendar
Publish a day-by-day calendar with one owner per task, so late accruals and approvals are visible early instead of on the last day.
Consolidation options for mixed Xero, MYOB and Business Central groups
| Option | Fits when | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Business Central as the consolidation company | Most entities already run on Business Central | Microsoft documents eliminations as a manual journal process. Xero and MYOB data must be mapped and imported |
| Consolidation reporting tool connected to each ledger | Entities will stay on different systems for years | Check how it handles eliminations, currency translation and an audit trail before buying |
| Data model and Power BI | A BI team needs management reporting by site and entity | Statutory consolidation still needs eliminations controlled by an accountant |
| Excel workbook | Few entities and a simple structure | Key-person risk, version control and weak audit evidence |
| Move every entity onto one ERP | Acquired businesses are being fully integrated | Longest path. Justify it on operations, not reporting alone |
Australian specifics
Where a group must prepare consolidated financial statements, AASB 10 sets control as the basis for consolidation, and NZ IFRS 10 applies the same principle in New Zealand. Intercompany sales, loans, management fees and dividends must be eliminated so group revenue and balances are not counted twice. The mapping and elimination rules are accounting policy decisions, so document them and share them with your auditor before you automate them.
If entities belong to a GST group, the ATO disregards transactions between members for GST, and the representative member lodges activity statements that leave those transactions out. Intercompany invoices still matter for the ledgers and eliminations, so the matching rules need to know which entities are inside the GST group. Groups with New Zealand entities also need agreed exchange rates for translating NZD results, which Business Central supports through consolidation exchange rates.
Xero does not offer built-in group consolidation, a long-standing request on its product ideas forum, so groups usually add a consolidation reporting tool or import Xero trial balances elsewhere. Confirm with MYOB what your edition supports before choosing a design.
Limits and when not to use AI
Judgement stays with accountants
Accrual estimates, provisions, impairment, revenue recognition and currency translation policy are judgement calls. AI can gather evidence and draft, but a qualified person decides.
No unapproved postings
AI proposes matches and journals. A person approves every posting, and the approval is recorded.
Bad mappings break automation
If the group chart mapping is inconsistent, automation produces wrong numbers faster. Fix the mapping first.
Process delays are not data problems
If the close is slow because approvals arrive late, a close calendar and clear owners fix it, not AI.
A few simple entities may not need it
A well-controlled workbook can be enough for a small number of entities with little intercompany activity.
Who should own it
Financial controller
Owns the close calendar, elimination rules and sign-off of the group report.
Finance systems lead
Owns the chart mapping, ledger integrations, matching rules and access controls.
Group accountant
Reviews intercompany matches, posts eliminations and maintains the mapping documentation.
BI lead
Owns the reporting model so every site sees the same approved numbers.
Related work
Sources
Microsoft Learn, Consolidate data from multiple companies, Business Central: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/finance-consolidated-company-reporting
Microsoft Learn, Manage intercompany transactions, Business Central: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/intercompany-manage
Microsoft Learn, Reconcile bank accounts with Copilot (preview), Business Central: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/bank-reconciliation-with-copilot
Australian Accounting Standards Board, AASB 10 Consolidated Financial Statements (compiled): https://standards.aasb.gov.au/sites/default/files/2026-03/AASB10_07-15_ACOMPnov24_01-26.pdf
Australian Taxation Office, GST groups: https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/gst-excise-and-indirect-taxes/gst/in-detail/managing-gst-in-your-business/gst-groups-and-branches/gst-groups
Xero Product Ideas, Reporting: ability to consolidate multiple Xero organisations: https://productideas.xero.com/forums/939198/suggestions/44960413
Questions
Can Business Central consolidate entities that run on Xero or MYOB?
Microsoft documents that Business Central can consolidate companies that use other accounting programs, as well as companies in different Business Central environments, charts of accounts and currencies. Data from Xero or MYOB has to be mapped to the consolidated company's accounts and imported. Eliminations are still entered as journals, which Microsoft describes as a manual process.
Can AI prepare intercompany reconciliations?
AI can compare both sides of each intercompany balance across ledgers, group differences by likely cause such as timing, currency or miscoding, and draft the elimination journals. It works best when entities use agreed counterparty codes and references. A group accountant still reviews the explanations and approves every journal before it is posted.
Which ledger should be the consolidation layer for a mixed Xero, MYOB and Business Central group?
Usually the most capable ledger in the group, often Business Central, becomes the consolidation layer, with Xero and MYOB entities feeding trial balances into it each month. Xero reports one organisation at a time, so groups on Xero alone tend to add a consolidation reporting tool or a governed Power BI model instead. Pick the option your finance team can run and audit every month.
What should stay with the accountant in an automated month-end close?
Approval of every journal, all elimination entries, accrual and provision estimates, impairment and revenue recognition judgements, currency translation policy and sign-off of the group report. Automation and AI handle matching, evidence gathering and first drafts, and the accountant keeps the decisions and the audit trail of who approved what.
How can a group move off a consolidation spreadsheet without risking the audit?
Document every mapping and elimination rule in the workbook first, then run the new consolidation in parallel with the spreadsheet for several closes and reconcile the two outputs line by line. Share the approach and reconciliations with the external auditor early, and retire the workbook only once the results match and the evidence is filed.
Have this problem across your branches?
A 30-minute review with a senior consultant. You leave with a written one-page summary you can share internally.
Fixed-fee phases, agreed before we start. Stop after any phase.