# How to roll up subsidiary budgets into one group budget

> One layout, fixed budget rates, matched intercompany lines and the outside owners' share. A worked first quarter for five companies in four currencies.

Source: https://finconsol.com/blog/roll-up-subsidiary-budgets-into-a-group-budget/ (updated 20 November 2026)

## In short

To roll up subsidiary budgets, have every company budget by month on one layout in its own currency, translate each at the group's fixed budget rates, add them, and remove the sales between companies that both sides have budgeted. Then show the outside owners' share of any partly owned subsidiary, and keep each version.

Key takeaways

- **Agree the layout first.** Roll-ups fail on shape, not on arithmetic.
- **Translate once, at fixed rates,** so every company is treated alike and the rate effect can be isolated.
- **Eliminate on a matched pair.** If one side leaves the sale out, the roll-up carries the difference.
- **Show the outside owners' share** for any subsidiary below 100%.

This post is part of the series that starts with [Group budgeting for multi-company groups: the complete guide](/blog/group-budgeting-for-multi-company-groups/). Zoho's community has a thread titled “Budget roll up”; we could not see a documented answer in Zoho's help centre on 29 Oct 2026, so the method below is general practice, not a Zoho feature.

## What does it mean to roll up subsidiary budgets?

A roll-up combines the budgets of the parent and its subsidiaries into the budget of the group. It is the budget twin of consolidation: same companies, same chart of accounts, same translation, same eliminations, but with planned numbers. The result should be shaped like the group accounts so that, month by month, the two can sit side by side.

## What does each subsidiary send?

Ask for the same four things from everyone, on one template.

- **Twelve months** of revenue, costs and profit lines, on the group chart of accounts (or a sheet that maps to it).
- **The company's own currency,** stated on the sheet.
- **Intercompany lines**, each with the counterparty named.
- **A contact and a version label,** so that a late revision is recognisable.

The group chart of accounts is the difference between a roll-up and an exercise in matching names. If Fernhollow calls it “Consulting income” and Quillfern calls it “Service revenue”, the template should carry the group line, “Services revenue”, and let each company map to it once. See the [glossary entry](/blog/glossary/group-chart-of-accounts/) for how the mapping works.

## How do you translate budgets of foreign subsidiaries?

Translate every company at the same fixed budget rates. For actuals, the standards translate profit and loss at the rates on the dates of the transactions, and an average rate is allowed as an approximation[1](#src-1). A budget has no dates to speak of, so one rate per currency for the year is the natural equivalent.

Here is a quarter of the example group's 2027 budget. Each company's first-quarter revenue is shown in its own currency, then translated at budget rates set from the 30 September 2026 closing rates.

*Exhibit 1. First-quarter 2027 revenue budget, rolled upGBP*

| ZenvaraGBP 1,900,000 | 1,900,000 |
| --- | --- |
| FernhollowUSD 1,450,000 at 0.7560 | 1,096,200 |
| PalmridgeAED 15,200,000 at 0.2040 | 3,100,800 |
| KestrelwickSGD 950,000 at 0.5870 | 557,650 |
| QuillfernEUR 1,600,000 at 0.8470 | 1,355,200 |
| Revenue before eliminations | 8,009,850 |
| Less Zenvara's services to PalmridgeAED 1,200,000 at 0.2040 | (244,800) |
| Group revenue budget, first quarter | 7,765,050 |

Example group used across Finconsol guides. The budget figures and budget rates are illustrations. Figures rounded to the pound.

The budget roll-up tool below works through the same steps with your own companies and rates.

[fc_tool name="budget-rollup"]

## What should be eliminated from a budget?

Only what both sides have planned. Zenvara budgets AED 1,200,000 of services to Palmridge for the quarter, and Palmridge budgets the matching cost. The group removes AED 1,200,000 at 0.2040, which is GBP 244,800, from revenue and from costs. Revenue before eliminations is 8,009,850 and after is 7,765,050.

If Palmridge has budgeted AED 1,100,000, the sides differ by AED 100,000 (GBP 20,400). Eliminate the amount both agree on, as for actuals, and list the difference with an owner[2](#src-2). The profit effect of an elimination on goods or services is nil when both sides are budgeted, but an unmatched half moves group profit by its full amount.

## How is the outside owners' share budgeted?

Kestrelwick is 80% owned, so the other 20% of its profit belongs to outside shareholders. Suppose its first-quarter budget profit is SGD 190,000. At 0.5870 that is GBP 111,530. The [non-controlling interest](/blog/glossary/non-controlling-interest/) is 20% of it, GBP 22,306, and the owners of the parent are left with GBP 89,224.

*Exhibit 2. Kestrelwick, first-quarter 2027 budget profitGBP*

| Budget profitSGD 190,000 at 0.5870 | 111,530 |
| --- | --- |
| Non-controlling interest20 percent | (22,306) |
| Attributable to the owners of Zenvara | 89,224 |

IFRS 10 requires profit to be attributed to the owners of the parent and to the non-controlling interest[2](#src-2). A budget does not have to follow that, but the group accounts will, and a budget without the line cannot be compared with them.

## How do you keep the versions straight?

Number each submission. Keep the version the board approved, add the revised one next to it, and record who changed what. When a company sends a corrected sheet in March, the roll-up should be re-run from the new file, not edited by hand over the old total.

Zoho Books can hold a budget per organization, but Zoho's budgets page does not describe a view that adds organizations together, and a community thread asks the related multi-tag question without a visible answer[3](#src-3). Checked against Zoho's help centre on 29 Oct 2026.

## How does Finconsol handle this?

Finconsol takes a budget or latest estimate for each company as a CSV, wide with months across or long with one row for each line and month, or typed into a grid. Every row is checked, and a company can be budgeted per account under each group line. With no group plan uploaded, the group budget is the sum of the companies' plans.

A year can hold several versions, and one is active for the board. Actuals come from the same group accounts, whether the company is on Zoho Books (read only, nightly refresh), on Xero or QuickBooks (trial balance upload today, direct connections coming soon), or on another system by trial balance.

**In Finconsol**[How group budgeting works →](https://finconsol.com/group-budgeting/)

******Group budget, Q1 2027, GBPv1 active

| Company | Local | Rate | GBP |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Zenvara | GBP 1,900,000 | 1.0000 | 1,900,000 |
| Fernhollow | USD 1,450,000 | 0.7560 | 1,096,200 |
| Palmridge | AED 15,200,000 | 0.2040 | 3,100,800 |
| Kestrelwick | SGD 950,000 | 0.5870 | 557,650 |
| Quillfern | EUR 1,600,000 | 0.8470 | 1,355,200 |
| Eliminated: Zenvara to Palmridge | AED 1,200,000 | 0.2040 | (244,800) |
| Group revenue budget |  |  | 7,765,050 |

*The companies' plans added up in group pounds, with the intercompany sale removed, as in Exhibit 1.*

The [group budget template](/blog/resources/group-budget-template/) gives you the layout for each company and the roll-up sheet.

## Questions

**Can Zoho Books roll up the budgets of several organizations?**

Zoho's budgets help page, checked 29 Oct 2026, does not describe it. A group can export each organization's budget and combine the figures in a spreadsheet, translating at its own rates.

**Which exchange rate should be used to roll up foreign subsidiary budgets?**

Use one fixed budget rate for each currency for the whole year, the same for every company. Keep the actual rates for actuals, so that the gap between the two can be shown as the currency effect.

**Should intercompany sales be in the group budget?**

They should be budgeted by both companies and eliminated, so the group budget shows only sales to outside customers. If one side has left it out, show the difference and its owner.

**Is a group budget the same as adding up the subsidiary budgets?**

Only if nothing needs eliminating and every subsidiary is wholly owned and in one currency. Otherwise the sum must be translated, the intercompany lines removed and the outside owners' share shown.

## Sources

## Sources

1. IAS 21 [The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates](https://www.ifrs.org/issued-standards/list-of-standards/ias-21-the-effects-of-changes-in-foreign-exchange-rates/), paragraph 40.
2. IFRS 10 [Consolidated Financial Statements](https://www.ifrs.org/issued-standards/list-of-standards/ifrs-10-consolidated-financial-statements/), paragraphs B86 and B94.
3. Zoho Community, [Zoho Books budget creation and reporting tags](https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/zoho-books-budget-creation-and-reporting-tags), and Zoho Books [Budgets](https://www.zoho.com/books/help/accountant/budgets.html). Checked 29 Oct 2026.