Best practices for multi-entity shared company reports

When creating and running reports for multi-entity companies, here are some best practices that many companies find useful.

  • Use location groups to make reporting across entities easier.
  • Create distinct location groups for each location combination that you need.
  • Use filter-based location group membership or specific membership.
  • Use custom fields for filter attributes.

Top level or entity level?

How do you know when to create a report structure at the top level or the entity level? That depends on who needs access to the structure.

If a report structure should be available to all entities, create it at the top level. Account groups and dimension structures created at the top level automatically appear in the corresponding lists in each entity. Note that report structures created at the top level can only be edited at the top level.

If an entity has particular reporting needs, you can create report structures at the entity level. These report structures can then be used within that entity, along with any report structures that were inherited from the top level.

When a user switches to an entity, the user can't see report structures that were created in another entity.

Top level report structures

From the top level of a multi-entity shared company, you can edit and use all reporting structures, including those created at the entity level.

By default, lists initially display only report structures that were created at the top level.

Click Include private at the top of the list to see report structures that were created in an entity. You can edit and use these report structures, provided that you have access to the entities in which they were created.

You can add new top-level report structures, and edit existing structures that were created at either the top level or entity level.

Entity level report structures

When you switch to an entity, you can use report structures that were created at the top level, plus any report structures that were created in that entity.

You can add new report structures, and edit existing structures that were created at the entity level.

View (but not edit) report structures that were inherited from the top level. You'll recognize these by the Not owned status. This means that the entity can use these report structures, but they can only be edited at the top level.

In a multi-entity company, shared records such as customers, suppliers, and other items can be edited only at the top level of a company. Some journal transactions, for example, recurring journal entries created at the top level, are also owned at the top and can't be edited from within an entity.If you display the list of shared records (customer, supplier, or entry) within an entity, you can see the shared records in the list. However, these will be listed as Not owned by the entity and the Edit option won't appear. Move to the top level, which owns the record, to make any changes.