How to prepare the consolidated accounts of a group of companies
What is it for?
It explains how to get the figures for a group's consolidated accounts, that is, the group's accounts as if it were a single company.
fiscaldoo does not consolidate. It does not eliminate balances or transactions between the group's companies, does not calculate minority interests and does not issue consolidated statements. Each company closes its accounts in fiscaldoo, and consolidation is done outside, in a spreadsheet or in the consolidator's tool.
When to use it?
- When the group must present consolidated accounts, or the consolidator asks for the trial balances.
- When you want an idea of the group's accounts, with no legal effect.
- The parent company of a small group is exempt from consolidating (Decree-Law (Decreto-Lei) no. 158/2009, arts. 6.º, 7.º and 9.º-B; Commercial Companies Code (Código das Sociedades Comerciais), art. 508.º-A). For periods starting on or after 1 January 2026, a group is small if, on a consolidated basis, it does not exceed two of these three limits: balance sheet total of €7,500,000.00, net turnover of €15,000,000.00 and an average of 50 employees (Decree-Law no. 126-B/2025). Pending validation by a certified accountant: the other exemptions and exclusions and how they apply to each group. Limits checked in the publications of the Order of Certified Accountants (Ordem dos Contabilistas Certificados), not in the Diário da República.
Where to find it?
Accounting › Review › Books and trial balances › Trial balance. The same applies to the balance sheet and the income statement. You choose the company in the top-right corner.
Before you start
- Your profile is Accountant, Certified accountant or Auditor, and you have access to all the group's companies. If one is missing, ask the administrator.
- Each company has the period closed and, preferably, the same period and the same currency.
- The invoices between the companies are entered in both. See how to handle invoices between group companies.
How to use it
- In the top-right corner, choose only one company of the group.
- Open Trial balance. Choose the period.
- Click Export › Export XLSX. The file name includes the company and the dates.
- Repeat for each company of the group, with the same period.
- In the spreadsheet, put the files together and eliminate the transactions between the companies (sales and purchases between them, debts and receivables between them, dividends).
- Add up the rest. From here, the consolidator prepares the group's accounts.
Elimination example
Illustrative example: in October 2026, company A invoiced company B €10,000.00, without VAT.
| Account | Company A | Company B | To eliminate | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | €10,000.00 | -€10,000.00 | €0.00 | |
| Purchases and expenses | €10,000.00 | -€10,000.00 | €0.00 | |
| Customers | €10,000.00 | -€10,000.00 | €0.00 | |
| Suppliers | €10,000.00 | -€10,000.00 | €0.00 |
Expected result
You have one trial balance per company, in XLSX and for the same period, and a sheet where the group's transactions are eliminated. Nothing changes in fiscaldoo: none of these operations creates journal entries.
Important notes
- Two companies selected add up, but do not consolidate. If you choose more than one in the top-right corner, the trial balance shows the sum, and More filters says Companies: 2 selected. The transactions between the companies are still there. So do not use that total as a consolidated figure.
- fiscaldoo shows what is entered in each company. It does not check whether A's sale is recorded as a purchase in B.
- If the companies have different currencies, the conversion is done outside fiscaldoo, in the spreadsheet.
Common problems
I cannot choose one of the companies. You do not have access to it. Ask the administrator.
The amounts are too high. You have more than one company selected. Check the top-right corner: it must show only one.
A's sale does not match B's purchase. There may be a document in only one company, or with dates in different periods. Check both sides before eliminating.