Pricing bookkeeping for multiple entities owned by one client starts with a base fee for each entity, because each one has its own accounts, close and reports. Add a separate line for intercompany transfers and shared costs, another for any consolidated report, and keep group discounts small. One owner does not mean one set of books.
Why price bookkeeping for multiple entities per entity?
Pricing per entity matches the fee to the work, because each legal entity has its own bank accounts, its own ledger, its own reconciliation and its own reports. An owner with three companies gives you three closes each month, not one bigger close. A single group fee hides that and tends to drift below cost.
Start by pricing each entity as if it were a separate client. Count its bank and card accounts, its average monthly statement lines and any payroll or bills, then apply the same method you use for any new client. A spreadsheet such as the one in building a bookkeeping pricing calculator makes this quick, since you run it once per entity.
Dormant and holding entities
Some entities barely move. A holding company that owns a building, or a company with one account and a few transactions a quarter, still needs a reconciliation and a balance sheet. Give these a smaller base fee, but not zero. Even a quiet entity takes time to open, check and close.
Intercompany work in a multiple entity bookkeeping fee
Intercompany work is the time spent recording money that moves between the owner's entities: transfers, loans between companies, rent one company pays another and costs paid by one company for all of them. Each side must be booked in both sets of books and must agree. Price it as its own line, because it grows with the number of entities.
The effort depends on the owner's habits more than on the structure. An owner who pays every bill from the right account creates little intercompany work. An owner who pays one company's supplier from another company's card creates a correcting entry each time, in two ledgers.
Ask during the quote how the owner moves money between the companies, and look at two or three months of statements for transfers. A rough count of intercompany lines per month gives you a basis for the fee. If the count is high, consider pricing the line per transaction band so it rises when the habits get worse.
Consolidated reports for a multiple entity client
A consolidated report combines the results of several entities into one view, with intercompany balances removed so money moved between the companies is not counted twice. It is extra work on top of each entity's own reports. Charge for it separately and only when the owner, a lender or an investor actually needs it.
Many owners ask for a combined view without needing a formal consolidation. A simple side-by-side report, with each entity in its own column and a total, may answer their question at much lower cost. Offer both and price them differently. A formal consolidation that eliminates intercompany balances each month should cost noticeably more than a side-by-side summary.
A multiple entity bookkeeping fee, line by line
A multiple entity fee is easiest to explain when every line is visible: one base fee per entity, then intercompany work, then reporting. The example below is for an owner with a restaurant, a catering company and a property company that owns the restaurant's building. All figures are examples.
| Line (example) | Basis | Monthly fee |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant LLC | 3 accounts, about 400 lines, payroll entries | $1,100 |
| Catering LLC | 2 accounts, about 150 lines | $500 |
| Property LLC | 1 account, about 15 lines, loan schedule | $250 |
| Intercompany entries | Rent, shared payroll, about 20 transfers | $200 |
| Side-by-side group report | Three columns plus total | $100 |
| Total | $2,150 |
A client who sees this table knows exactly what each company costs to keep. If they later sell the catering company, the change to the fee is obvious and needs no new negotiation.
Which multiple entity discounts lose money?
Discounts lose money when they cut the base fee of every entity, because the base fee pays for work that does not shrink when one owner holds several companies. Each entity still needs its own reconciliation, close and reports. A group discount that looks small on each company can turn a group of clients into a loss.
Discounts that tend to cost you:
- A percentage off every entity. It is applied to the fixed work and grows as the owner adds companies.
- Free consolidated reports. They are real work every month, and they are often the deliverable the owner values most.
- "The small one is free." A quiet entity still takes a close and can suddenly become busy.
If you want to reward a client for bringing several entities, give the discount on the one-time setup work instead, where shared intake and shared rules do save you time. Then track the hours on the group, as described in measuring bookkeeping client profitability, to see whether the price still holds a year later.
Multi-entity owners are also a client type you can build a niche around, since the same structures repeat across owners in one industry. Choosing a bookkeeping niche covers how to test one. When you take on a group, you can set up each company as its own client workspace in AutoBankConvert, with its own accounts, rules and history, so statements from several entities never mix their books.