# Xero and QuickBooks group set-up checklist

> This free Excel checklist covers the decisions and steps for running a group of companies on Xero or QuickBooks: organisations or companies, base currency, tracking categories, classes and locations, intercompany accounts for every counterparty, lock dates and closing dates, and the trial balance export that Finconsol reads. Vendor pages are linked and dated, with an owner and a status for every step.

Source: https://finconsol.com/blog/resources/xero-quickbooks-group-setup-checklist/ (updated 28 October 2026)

| Area | Step | Vendor page | Status |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Structure | Decide the unit: one Xero organisation or one QuickBooks company for each legal entity | Xero Ideas: consolidate multiple Xero organisations | Done |
| Intercompany | Create an intercompany receivable and payable account for each counterparty | Group decision | In progress |
| Trial balance export | Check the file on the Upload check sheet before you upload | Group decision | Not started |

*Three of the 36 steps, as they appear in the checklist*

## How to use it

1. **Fill in the Group map:** each company, its system, base currency, tracking or class set-up, lock date and the date of its last trial balance. Enter the agreed lock date and the period you are closing.
2. **Work through the Checklist** area by area. Read the linked vendor page where there is one, decide, and write the decision in the last column.
3. **List the intercompany accounts** for every company and counterparty. The sheet shows any pair whose other side is missing.
4. **Check each trial balance** on the Upload check sheet before you upload it: totals, duplicates and account types.
5. **Read the Progress sheet** for the percentage done in each area and overall.

## Who is it for?

Group controllers, finance heads and the accountants who look after each company in a group that runs on Xero or QuickBooks, or on a mix of systems. Neither product combines companies natively, so the last area of the checklist is about how you will do that. If you also have [companies on Zoho Books](/blog/resources/zoho-books-group-setup-checklist/), see [consolidating companies that use different accounting systems](/blog/consolidating-different-accounting-systems/). [Finconsol reads Xero and QuickBooks companies by trial balance upload](https://finconsol.com/financial-consolidation-software/); direct connections are coming soon.

## Questions

**Can Xero combine several organisations?**

Not natively, as far as Xero has said. On 23 July 2025 a Xero Community Manager wrote on Xero’s idea thread that work on consolidated reporting is not currently planned. Xero’s Australian Ultra plan page lists multi-entity consolidations with Syft for up to five entities. Read both pages on the day you decide.

**Does QuickBooks Online combine several companies?**

Intuit’s QuickBooks Online Advanced page does not describe consolidated reporting and refers customers with several entities to Intuit Enterprise Suite. As of 5 October 2026 Intuit describes Enterprise Suite multi-currency as a beta in which every company must use US dollars as its functional currency.

**What does the Upload check sheet do?**

It adds up the debits and credits of a trial balance and flags duplicate account codes, unknown account types and amounts that are not numbers. Finconsol’s own upload checks the same things on every row.

**Are the companies and figures real?**

No. They come from a fictional group and are marked as examples.

**Do I need a Finconsol account to use it?**

No. It is an Excel file. It works in Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers.