Add 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:

View individual divisions on the Insights Dashboard
- Standalone divisions imported onto a Portfolio or a Fathom Pro plan will be displayed on the Insights Dashboard. You can tag standalone divisions to filter them on the dashboard, assign them to a threshold group, and create summary reports for standalone divisions.
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.

The following functionalities are only available when standalone divisions are imported onto a Fathom Pro plan:

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.
Create Pro Reports for divisions
- When standalone divisions have been imported onto a Fathom Pro plan, you can create custom Fathom reports for each division.
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.
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. Contact our Support Team at support@fathomhq.com if you want to discuss billing options for standalone divisions.

If a division has been imported as a standalone entity on a Fathom Pro plan, you can import a budget for the division from QuickBooks Online, Xero, or Excel.

❗Notice: Only Xero, QuickBooks Online, and MYOB Business 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: Import financials from Excel.

Import a division as a standalone company

You must first import the parent company onto a Fathom Pro plan 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
Choose to import the standalones onto a Fathom Pro or Portfolio plan
Select an existing company you have imported into Fathom that you want to import the standalone divisions from
Select division(s) from that company and click Next
1. For MYOB companies, you will only be able to select active jobs/categories.
You can continue using Fathom while the divisions import or import more companies

The selected division will now be visible as a company on the 'My Companies' page 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 the 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.

Consolidate standalone divisions

Divisions imported as standalone entities can be consolidated by adding them to a Consolidated Group.

You may want to do this to:

Combine forecasts from multiple standalone divisions into a single consolidated forecast

Consolidate divisional budgets into one overall budget

💡Smart Tip: Divisions can be reported on at the Consolidated Group-level without importing them as standalone entities. View our dedicated article for more details: Divisions in a Consolidated Group

To consolidate standalone divisions:

Ensure all the divisions you would like to consolidate have been imported as standalone entities
Create the Consolidated Group, selecting the divisions that were imported as individual companies.

What if I have unclassified data?

If you have data that is unclassified or not assigned to a division in your source accounting system, then you will not be able to import that data as a standalone division to consolidate.

To consolidate the unclassified data, there are a few options:

Option A: Assign the data to a division in your source accounting system so that it is no longer unclassified or

Option B: Create an 'Unclassified' division in your source accounting system (e.g. create an 'Unclassified' class in QuickBooks) and assign all unclassified data to that division. You will then be able to import the 'Unclassified' division as a standalone entity into Fathom and include it in the consolidated group. Or

Option C: Import the unclassified data into Fathom via Excel as an Excel-based company. You will then be able to include the Excel-based company, made up of the unclassified data, in the consolidated group.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will this affect billing?

Yes. Please note that each division imported as a standalone company will have access to additional functionalities. 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, if the standalone division is imported onto a Fathom Pro plan. You can view the Add Budgets for Divisions help article for more detailed information on this process.

Can I create a forecast for a standalone division?

Yes, if the standalone division is imported onto a Fathom Pro plan. Fathom enables you to create a forecast for standalone divisions like any other Fathom Pro 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 article: Forecasting in a Consolidated Group

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
View your standalone divisions on the Insights Dashboard	Use the Insights Dashboard

Learn more

Import a division as a standalone entity