Bookkeeping
Intercompany accounting
Intercompany accounting keeps books straight across two or more related US entities, tracking loans, allocations and transfers between them so a consolidated report is not overstated. Finbryn maintains each entity's books separately and eliminates intercompany balances on the combined view each period.
Bank reconciliation summary
Illustrative client · August 2026
USD
| Account | Difference | Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating account··4821 | 184,220.16 | 184,220.16 | 0.00 | Reconciled |
| Reserve account··0937 | 60,000.00 | 60,000.00 | 0.00 | Reconciled |
| Company card··1006 | (12,418.52) | (12,418.52) | 0.00 | Reconciled |
| Card processor clearing | 8,905.40 | 8,905.40 | 0.00 | Reconciled |
| Payroll clearing | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | Reconciled |
Last weekly runFri, Aug 28, every account agreed to its statement.
Two open itemsTwo card receipts requested from you, marked on the card account until they arrive.
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
Why this gets messy fast
Once a business has more than one legal entity, whether that is a holding company and an operating subsidiary, or several franchise locations under separate LLCs, money moves between them constantly: a shared payroll, an intercompany loan, a management fee. Recorded carelessly, those transfers show up as revenue or expense on both sides and inflate the combined numbers.
Keeping each entity's books straight
Every entity gets its own set of books on a matching chart of accounts, so figures can be compared and combined cleanly. Intercompany loans, allocations and charges are tracked on dedicated accounts and kept in balance on both sides of the relationship.
Elimination on the consolidated view
When we produce a consolidated report, intercompany transactions get eliminated so the combined revenue and expense reflect only what happened with outside parties, not money the group simply moved between its own entities.
Multi-entity businesses this fits
Restaurant and franchise groups running each location as its own entity, real estate operators with a separate LLC per property, and startups with a foreign subsidiary, all need this. It pairs with multi-currency bookkeeping when one of the entities operates outside the US.
What you receive
Separate financial statements for each entity, plus a consolidated set with intercompany balances eliminated, so you can see both the individual and the combined picture without one distorting the other.
Getting the structure right early
The earlier an intercompany structure is set up correctly, the less rework is needed later. We would rather build it properly at the start than untangle years of informally recorded transfers once a lender or auditor asks for a clean consolidated view.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Intercompany accounting
Do intercompany loans need interest charged?
Often yes, for tax and legal reasons specific to your structure. We flag where that applies and route the decision to your tax preparer or attorney rather than deciding it ourselves.
How do you handle a shared expense paid by one entity on behalf of another?
It is recorded as an intercompany receivable or payable at the time of payment, then cleared when the owing entity reimburses or the balance is settled.
Do you produce combined reporting even if we never formally consolidate for tax purposes?
Yes. Combined management reporting is a financial-reporting exercise separate from how the entities file, and we build it either way.
What does intercompany accounting actually include, month to month?
Intercompany accounting covers a chart of accounts that matches across every related entity, along with intercompany loans, allocations and charges tracked and kept in balance. The work runs inside QuickBooks Online, Xero or NetSuite, the file stays under your own subscription, and a senior principal reviews the output before it reaches you each period.
What access do you need to start intercompany accounting?
View or edit access to QuickBooks Online, Xero or NetSuite is enough to begin; nothing about your existing subscription or login changes on our side. Any additional access needed for a specific deliverable, such as a bank portal or receipt inbox, is agreed with you first, and the scope is set out in your engagement letter.
Can you keep books for a parent company and its subsidiaries?
Yes. We keep each entity's books separately and produce a consolidated set with intercompany balances eliminated.
What if our entities are on different accounting software?
We can work across software, though a shared platform makes consolidation faster and cheaper to maintain.
How do we get started with intercompany accounting?
Getting started with intercompany accounting begins with a short review of your current records and software access. Once that is done we confirm scope and timing in writing, and ongoing work begins on the schedule agreed with you.
What if our records for intercompany accounting are not up to date?
If your records are behind, we scope a catch-up first so intercompany accounting starts from a clean, reconciled base. That catch-up is priced and timed separately from the ongoing engagement, so you always know what each part costs.
Related services
- BookkeepingMulti-currency bookkeepingBookkeeping for businesses that bill, pay or hold funds in more than one currency, with exchange gains and losses tracked separately from operating results.
- BookkeepingClass and location trackingTransactions tagged by class, location, property or department, so profit and loss can be sliced by the parts of the business that actually matter to you.
Industries
- Real estate and property managementBookkeeping for property owners and managers tracking income, expenses and reserves at the level of each individual property.
- Restaurants and multi-entity franchise groupsBookkeeping for restaurant groups and franchise operators running several locations or legal entities at once.
- Startups and VC-backed companiesBookkeeping and reporting for early-stage, venture-backed companies watching burn, runway and investor reporting closely.
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.