Bookkeeping for multiple businesses
Owning two or more businesses multiplies the bookkeeping, and most tools were built for one. You end up with separate logins, separate bookkeepers, and no single place that shows how the companies, and your family, are doing together.
The rule that matters most: every business keeps its own books. The goal is separate books with one view on top, not one blended set.
Keep each company separate
- A separate bank account and card for each business, used only for that business.
- A separate set of books for each, with its own chart of accounts, closing each month on its own.
- Each company's return filed from its own books: an 1120-S, a 1065 or a Schedule C.
Money moving between your companies
Sooner or later one company pays a bill for another, or lends it cash for a slow month. That's fine, as long as it's recorded on both sides: a receivable in the company that paid, and a payable in the company that owes. Without that, one company's profit looks too high, the other's too low, and the books disagree with each other at tax time.
Settle these balances regularly, and when one company pays another for real services, use a written agreement and a fair price.
Common mistakes
- Paying one company's bills from another company's account and calling it an expense in the wrong books.
- Moving money from one company to another through your personal account without recording it in either.
- Sharing one credit card across companies.
- Looking at each company alone and never at the total: the cash, the taxes you'll owe together, and what you can safely take out.
How Cratchit handles it
Each business gets full double-entry books of its own, with its own banks and cards. When money moves between your companies, Cratchit records both sides, so the books agree with each other. One sign-in shows every company and your family's personal finances, separately and together, and shows what each company can safely pay you after taxes, bills and a cash cushion.
Pricing is $149 a month for the first business, your family's finances and up to 20 connected accounts, plus $49 a month for each additional business, books included.
Common questions
Can I use one QuickBooks file for two businesses?
You shouldn't. Each business needs its own books so each return is filed from the right numbers. Class tracking is not a substitute for separate companies.
How do I record a loan from one of my companies to another?
Record a receivable (due from the other company) in the lender and a payable (due to the other company) in the borrower, for the same amount on the same date. Write down the terms if it's large or long-lived.
Can my CPA see all my companies?
In Cratchit, you choose which companies and which parts of your personal finances each person sees.
Is there a limit on how many businesses I can add?
No. Each additional business is $49 a month.
Related
Books for every company, a tax picture all year, and what's safe to take out. $149 a month after the trial, $49 for each additional business. Rather look around first? Take the guided tour with a sample family, or book a 15-minute call.
Start your free trialEducation, not advice. Confirm the details for your business with your CPA.