Quick answer
To consolidate several Xero or QuickBooks Online companies, you need a reporting layer on top of your ledgers. The cheapest is a spreadsheet you rebuild every month. The most reliable for most small and mid-sized groups is a consolidation app that connects to each company, maps the charts of accounts and eliminates intercompany balances automatically. Our top pick for most groups and accounting firms is Joiin, which starts at $23 a month and charges by company, not by user.
Start where your problem is
I run several Xero organisations
Xero keeps each organisation separate. Here are the three ways to see them as one group.
I run several QuickBooks companies
Each QuickBooks Online company is its own subscription with its own data. What that means for reporting.
I'm an accountant with many clients
Tools that let a practice produce client and group reports without a spreadsheet per client.
I just want the best tool
Our ranked shortlist, with pricing checked on 4 November 2026.
The tools at a glance
These are the apps we cover most often. Each solves a different problem, so the best one depends on whether you need consolidation, forecasting, client advisory or spreadsheet modelling.
| Tool | What it's built for | Main integrations | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joiin | Consolidation and group reporting | Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage, MYOB, FreeAgent, Zoho Books, Pennylane, Fortnox, Stripe, spreadsheets | From $23/month (1 company, annual). Priced by companies; unlimited users |
| Fathom | Management reporting, KPIs, forecasting | Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Sage, Excel | From about $50/month for 1 company; bundles of 10, 25 and 50 companies |
| Spotlight Reporting | Advisory reporting and forecasting suite for firms | Xero, QuickBooks | UK advisor plans from £295/month (up to 10 orgs) |
| Syft Analytics | Reporting and analytics, now owned by Xero | Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage, FreeAgent and more | From $23/month; multi-currency from the Plus plan |
| Calxa | Budgeting, forecasting and cash flow | Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB | Tiered by number of organisations |
| LiveFlow | Live accounting data in Google Sheets and Excel | QuickBooks Online, Xero | Custom quote, no public pricing |
For the full reasoning behind each pick, read our best financial consolidation software guide, or go straight to the Joiin review, Joiin vs Fathom or Joiin vs Spotlight Reporting.
Why consolidation is hard in small-business ledgers
A consolidated financial statement presents a parent company and its subsidiaries as if they were one business. To get there you add each company's figures together, translate any foreign currencies, and remove transactions between group companies so the group doesn't report sales to itself. Under IFRS 10 and similar standards, that elimination step is required.
Xero and QuickBooks Online were built around one company per subscription. They're excellent ledgers, but they have no group layer, so finance teams usually export trial balances into Excel each month. That works for two companies. By five, with different charts of accounts and a couple of currencies, it becomes a day or more of work every month, and one broken formula can go unnoticed into a board pack.
Our learn section covers the concepts in plain English, starting with intercompany eliminations and a worked consolidated financial statements example.
Free templates
If you're not ready for software, start with a template. Each one is a working Excel file with formulas, not a picture of a spreadsheet.
- Board report template: a five-tab board pack
- Budget vs actual report template: monthly variance with traffic-light thresholds
- Management accounts template: P&L, balance sheet, cash and KPIs for one company or a small group
How we choose what to recommend
We check every price and feature against the vendor's own website, and we say where a competitor is the better choice, even on pages that recommend Joiin. We do earn a commission if you sign up to Joiin through our links. Read how we review software and our affiliate disclosure for the details.
Frequently asked questions
Can Xero consolidate multiple companies?
Not natively. Xero reports on one organisation at a time. To consolidate you either combine exports in a spreadsheet or connect an app such as Joiin, Fathom or Spotlight Reporting from the Xero App Store.
Can QuickBooks Online consolidate multiple companies?
Standard QuickBooks Online plans can't. Each company is a separate subscription with separate data. Intuit Enterprise Suite includes consolidation, but it's priced for larger businesses. Most small groups use a consolidation app instead.
What is the cheapest consolidation software?
Joiin and Syft both start at about $23 a month on annual billing. Joiin charges by the number of companies you consolidate with unlimited users and reports, which tends to work out cheaper for groups and firms as they grow.