Create a Consolidation

Build a consolidation project to budget/forecast for multiple business units

 

If your organization needs to budget and forecast for multiple business units that roll up into a consolidated view, PlanGuru makes it easy to set up a Consolidation Project.

This is ideal for departments, divisions, locations, or subsidiaries — and can be structured for single-level or multi-level consolidations.

When to Use a Consolidation Project

A consolidation project is useful if:

• You budget at the department/class level (e.g., from QuickBooks) and then roll them into company-level totals.

• You have multiple companies or entities that need to be combined into a top-level view.

• You want the flexibility to build each business unit individually or use a template for consistency.

💡 Tip: For more complex multi-level consolidations, consider PlanGuru’s Launch implementation service — our team can assist with setup or build your model for you.

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1️⃣ Starting a Consolidation Project

From the Home Page:

1. Expand the company.

2. Click Add New Project.

3. Configure the standard project settings:

   • Project Name

   • Whether you are using Account Numbers (if yes, define your Account Mask — e.g., AAAA for 4-digit numbers)

4. Select “Consolidation Project” to enable multi-entity structure.

   ⚠️ This may adjust your subscription pricing depending on your plan (monthly or annual). Pricing info is available on the PlanGuru website.

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2️⃣ Configuring Consolidation Settings

After selecting Consolidation Project and clicking Submit, set the structure all business units will inherit:

• Name: Default is Consolidation, but you can prepend your company name for clarity.

• Budget Year: First year of projections.

• Projection Years: Up to 10 years.

• Monthly Breakdown: Up to 3 years (may expand to 5 in future).

• Forecast Month: First month of projections in the budget year.
  Example: If your fiscal year starts in January but you begin in April, choose April to include actuals for Jan–Mar.

• Historical Years: Up to 5 years, with monthly or annual detail.

• Consolidate Assumptions & KPIs:

  • Yes if business units operate identically and you want to aggregate variables (e.g., units sold, payroll drivers).

  • No if each business unit has unique logic.

Click Submit — all future business units in this project will inherit these settings.

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3️⃣ Adding Business Units

After the consolidation is generated:

1. Click Add Business Unit.

2. Name the business unit.

3. Choose a source:

   • From Scratch

   • Duplicate from Same Project (template approach)

   • Duplicate from Another Project (useful for migrating from a single-entity project)

💡 Duplicating without values lets you copy structure, groupings, and projection methods — but keeps historical data blank for new imports.

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4️⃣ Importing Data

For each business unit:

• Import chart of accounts and historical data via:

  • Excel (departmental P&Ls, balance sheets)

  • QuickBooks Online

  • Xero

Repeat for all business units:

• Sibling Business Unit = same level

• Child Business Unit = nested under another unit (multi-level consolidation)

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5️⃣ Using Templates for Multiple Units

Before duplicating a template unit:

• Create Account Groupings (highlight accounts → right-click → Add Group Name).

• Set Projection Methods and create Assumptions Tabs if consistent across units.

Then:

1. Add Sibling Business Unit.

2. Duplicate from template unit.

3. Re-import unique historical data for the new unit.

   

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6️⃣ Syncing and Consolidating

Before consolidating:

1. In each child unit: Menu → Utilities → Sync Data (manual sync if you don’t want to wait for auto-sync).

2. In the consolidation unit: Menu → Utilities → Consolidate.

Consolidation behavior:

• If using account numbers → matches & sums by account number.

• If not using account numbers → matches & sums by account description.

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7️⃣ Managing Consolidated Accounts

• Consolidated cells are white (non-editable, auto-calculated).

• You can add manual accounts (yellow cells) for:

  • Intercompany eliminations

  • Hypothetical new revenue/expense items

• Imported balance sheet accounts behave like normal child-unit accounts.

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8️⃣ Reporting on Consolidations

Reports can be run at:

• Child business unit level

• Consolidated level

Default reports are included, but you can:

1. Add Report → choose name, chart type, data source, date range.

2. Save & Add to List.

3. Use PlanGuru Advanced Reporting Excel Add-in for cross-unit comparisons.

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🔄 File Structure in the Home Page

From the Home Page:

• Company → Projects → Business Units

• Consolidated unit appears at the top; child units are indented below.

• Consolidate Button available from Home screen.

• Green Check = synced, Red ! = needs sync.