Adding divisions as standalone entities to Fathom

It is possible to analyse a single division (class, department, location, tracking category, job, or cost centre) as a standalone entity. Importing divisions as standalone entities enables you to:

Forecast for divisions
- Importing a division as a standalone entity allows you to build a forecast for a division. Each standalone division’s forecast functions similarly to a regular company’s forecast in Fathom. You can then consolidate the divisional forecasts to create an overall company forecast.
Benchmark divisions
- You can create a benchmark group of your divisions if they are imported as standalone entities, enabling you to better compare how divisions are performing against one another.
Consolidate divisions
- Because the standalone divisions will be treated like individual companies, you can consolidate divisions. The divisional results will appear in the 'Financials by Company' tables in a consolidated group. You can also filter Financials tables to display divisional results in a consolidated report.
Limit visibility to specific divisions
- Because you can invite users to view specific companies, you can do the same for standalone divisions. You can ensure team members or stakeholders can only view the performance of one or a few divisions, not the overall company performance or the performance of divisions they cannot access.
Have custom terminology for specific divisions
- Because each standalone division is treated as its own company, you can apply specific terminology to each division. For example, if you have a division for a specific industry, such as a nonprofit division, you can apply nonprofit terminology to that division. The terminology for the standalone division does not need to match the parent company's terminology.

📝 Note: Each standalone division has the functionalities of a single company and is considered a company in Fathom for billing purposes.

After a division has been imported as a standalone entity, you can import a budget for the division from QuickBooks Online, Xero, or Excel (for standalones from MYOB AccountRight Live).

❗Notice: Only Xero, QuickBooks Online, and MYOB AccountRight Live companies can import divisions as standalone entities into Fathom directly from the source accounting system. If you're not using one of these accounting systems, you can also import standalones as individual Excel companies.

Importing a division as a standalone company

You must first import the parent company into Fathom to import a division as a standalone entity. Then,

On the 'My Companies' page, select the green 'Add' button in the upper right corner
Choose 'Company'
Select either Xero, QuickBooks, or MYOB, depending on the parent company
Select the 'import a single division option'
Select an existing company that you have imported into Fathom
Select one division from that company
Click 'Import' to commence the division import into Fathom as a standalone entity.

The selected division will now be visible as a company on the 'My Companies' page in Fathom. You can update the divisional data, add a budget, analyse metrics, create a forecast, and generate reports for the standalone division like any other company in Fathom.

Continue setting up your standalone division

QuickBooks Online standalones with class and location hierarchy

If you are importing parent and child divisions as standalone entities, the standalone parent divisions will include the child and parent amounts.

Example: A plant nursery has a 'Flowers' parent class. The child class amounts under the parent class will roll up into the parent class for the standalone parent class entity. If the child classes are imported as standalone entities, they will reflect the child class amounts in QuickBooks.

See table below.

Division	QuickBooks Online	Fathom Standalone
Flowers	100*	550**
Roses	175	175
Violets	125	125
Tulips	150	150

*The parent class has data allocated to it in QuickBooks

**The parent class imported as a standalone in Fathom includes the parent class amounts, and the child class amounts imported from QuickBooks

If you are importing divisions as standalone entities and planning on consolidating the standalones, we recommend importing only the child divisions (If amounts are not assigned to the parent divisions in QuickBooks) or only the parent divisions as standalone entities. This will prevent double-counting when consolidating the standalone entities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will this affect billing?

Yes. Please note that each division imported as a standalone company will have access to all of the analysis, forecasting, and reporting tools in Fathom. Therefore, each standalone division is treated as a separate entity for billing purposes.

If you have questions or concerns about billing for standalone entities, please contact us at support@fathomhq.com.

Can I import a budget for a standalone entity?

Yes. Fathom enables you to add budgets for divisions imported as standalone entities. You can view the Adding Budgets for Divisions help article for more detailed information on this process.

Can I create a forecast for a standalone division?

Yes. Fathom enables you to create a forecast for standalone divisions like any other company. You can then create a consolidated group out of the standalone divisions and use a consolidated forecast to forecast at the parent company level. For more detailed information on this process, view the following help articles:

Can I import another division from within a standalone entity?

No. Fathom does not allow you to nest divisions within standalone entities. Each division must be imported as an individual entity.

Next Steps

Congratulations on adding your division as a standalone entity to Fathom! Finish setting up your standalone division for analysis, reporting, and forecasting:

What you want to do:	Next step in the process:
Import a budget for your standalone entities	Import Budgets for Standalone Divisions
Set up the Company Profile for your standalone entities	Set up your Company Profile
Benchmark your standalone divisions to better analyse and report on how divisions perform against one another	Benchmarking Standalones
Create a forecast for each standalone division as you would for a regular single entity in Fathom	Begin Forecasting
Report on each standalone entity	Begin Reporting
Consolidate standalone divisions from multiple companies to combine them into one entity	Consolidating Standalones

Additional knowledge & common questions: