Bookkeeping for one client with several companies: keep each set of books separate
Confirm which businesses are separate legal entities. Keep their registrations, reporting dates, tasks and access decisions clear without combining the accounts.
A client says they have “opened a second company.” Is it a new corporation, a numbered company holding real estate, a partnership or just another trade name? A legal entity is the person or organization recognized in law, not simply the name on a sign. Confirm the structure first. It affects how many sets of books and government registrations are needed, and who should see each file.
This guide explains how to keep separate legal entities apart in daily bookkeeping. It does not cover consolidation, which combines their financial results into one set of statements. That is a different accounting task with its own rules.
Confirm the entity before touching the books
Before opening a file, ask whether this is a separate legal entity or a division, location or trade name of an existing one. Canada Revenue Agency guidance says a business is generally issued one Business Number, its tax identifier. Each distinct legal entity needs its own registration and program accounts, such as those for payroll or goods and services tax or harmonized sales tax (GST/HST). One Business Number for a “second company” may mean one entity with two operating names, not two entities.
Get written confirmation from the client or their adviser. Do not rely only on a spoken description. This answer determines whether you need another company record, recurring task list and filing calendar.
Structure: one client profile, several company records
In Bookwits, one client profile can hold several “Company” records. Each can represent a separate entity with its own documents and related tasks. Owning several entities does not force the firm to create a separate client relationship, with separate onboarding, billing and communication, for each one. Keep one client relationship while organizing each company's work separately.
What Bookwits does not do is merge or consolidate the financial results of those entities. It is not a ledger and does not produce combined financial statements. If the client needs consolidated reporting across entities, that is a separate accounting exercise performed in the accounting software or by the accountant, using the entity-level books as inputs.
Different entities can run on different clocks
Check each company's dates and schedule rather than expecting them to match. One may file GST/HST annually and another quarterly. One may have a December fiscal year-end, the end of its financial year, and another a June year-end because of when it was incorporated. Their bookkeeping schedules may differ too. Build recurring tasks for each entity. One company's deadline does not cover the other.
Do not title a recurring task with only the client's name. Include the entity too. A task called “quarterly GST/HST filing” must identify the Business Number and filing frequency. Make it clear enough for someone else to complete six months from now.
Check who can see each company's records
Staff working for one client do not all need to see every company. A junior bookkeeper might handle one company's daily entries while a senior colleague handles a more complex entity. Canada Revenue Agency guidance ties authorization to a specific Business Number or the individual's own identifiers. Shared ownership does not automatically share that access.
Check the access settings available in Bookwits and confirm who can see each company's records. Assigning work to someone is not the same as restricting access. Do not assume that a separate Company record has its own permissions. If the available settings do not provide the separation the firm needs, resolve the access plan before sharing records.
A short checklist before starting work on a "new" entity
| Question | If yes | If no |
|---|---|---|
| Does it have its own Business Number or incorporation? | Treat as a separate entity/Company record | Likely a division or trade name of the existing entity |
| Does it have its own fiscal year-end? | Build a separate recurring task calendar | Confirm whether it truly shares the existing one |
| Will different staff work on it? | Check available access settings and who can see each company's records | Confirm that existing access is appropriate for the records |
Answer these three questions before creating a new record. That helps avoid mixing two entities' transactions in one file. It also avoids duplicate records for a single entity that uses two names.
Frequently asked questions
Does Bookwits consolidate financial statements across a client’s companies?
No. Bookwits organizes separate Company records and their tasks and documents under one client profile; combining financial results across entities is a separate accounting process performed outside Bookwits.
Is every second business a separate legal entity?
Not necessarily. Confirm whether it has its own Business Number or incorporation; some "second companies" are really a second trade name or location under the same existing entity.