Running Several Companies: Choosing Software for a Multi-Entity Group
A group with several companies needs more than several copies of the same software. What to look for: one login, separate numbering and branding, shared controls, and a view across every entity.
Many Nigerian businesses grow into groups without planning to. A haulage company opens a separate company for its Port Harcourt depot. A school starts a training arm. A family business registers a new company for each line of trade. Each one needs its own invoices, payroll and returns, and the finance team is suddenly running three of everything. This guide covers what software for a group actually needs to do.
The problem with "one copy per company"
The simplest answer is a separate account for each company. It works for a month. Then:
- Your accountant keeps three logins, and approves invoices in the wrong company at least once.
- Approval rules drift. One company requires final approval above ₦1,000,000; another forgot to set it up.
- Nobody can answer "what did the group collect last month?" without exporting three reports into a spreadsheet.
- A staff member who works across two companies appears twice, with two sets of details.
Copying software doesn't copy control.
What a group actually needs
1. One login, many organisations
Each person should sign in once and switch between the companies they work for. Their role can differ by company: Chiamaka Obi might be the reviewer in Adebayo & Co. Logistics but only a viewer in AB Foods.
2. Separate where the law and customers expect it
Each company is a separate legal entity with its own TIN, RC number and tax obligations. The software must keep apart:
| Keep separate | Why |
|---|---|
| Invoice and voucher numbering | Each company's sequence must be unbroken on its own |
| Issuer details (legal name, TIN, RC, address) | Invoices must show the right legal entity |
| Branding and sending email | Customers should see the company they contracted with |
| Bank accounts for collection | Money must land in the right company's account |
| Payroll and statutory deductions | Employees, PAYE and pension are per employer |
| VAT and WHT reports | Each company files its own |
3. Shared where control matters
At the same time, the group wants one standard:
- The same approval structure across companies, so nobody can avoid it by raising a payment in the "quieter" entity.
- Separation of duties enforced everywhere: the person who raises a voucher can't approve it, in any company. Our guide to separation of duties explains why this matters more in groups.
- One audit trail per company that an internal auditor can read the same way.
4. A view across the group
The MD of a group wants to know what came in, what's outstanding and what's waiting for approval, across every company, without asking three people. That doesn't always mean full consolidated accounts; often a comparable set of numbers per company is what's needed first. Reporting across several companies covers what to consolidate and what not to.
A worked example
Adebayo Group runs three companies:
| Company | Location | Business | Monthly invoices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adebayo & Co. Logistics | Ikeja | Haulage | 180 |
| Adebayo Haulage Ltd | Trans-Amadi | Depot and fuel | 60 |
| AB Foods Ltd | Garki | Food distribution | 240 |
Tunde Bakare approves anything above ₦1,000,000 in all three. Chiamaka Obi reviews invoices for the first two; a separate accountant reviews AB Foods. Aisha Bello runs payroll for all 140 staff, split across the three employers.
With the right set-up:
- Each company has its own invoice sequence, logo and sending domain.
- Tunde sees one approval queue per company and switches between them without signing out.
- Aisha runs three pay runs, each with the right employer's PAYE, pension and NHF.
- The group's monthly review uses the same report from each company, side by side.
Common mistakes when setting up a group
- Sharing one bank account across companies for collections. It makes reconciliation harder and blurs which company was paid. Give each company its own collection account.
- Letting one company's branding leak into another's invoices. A customer of AB Foods who receives an invoice with the Logistics logo will reasonably ask who they contracted with.
- Setting approval rules once and never revisiting them. When a new company is added, copy the rules across on day one, not after the first unapproved payment.
- Giving everyone access to every company. Access should follow the work. An HR officer who only runs payroll for one employer shouldn't see the others' payslips.
- Assuming group reporting means consolidation. Most groups need comparable figures per company first; full consolidated accounts come later, from the ledgers.
Questions to ask a vendor
- Can one person belong to several organisations with a different role in each?
- Does each organisation keep its own numbering, branding, bank accounts and tax settings?
- Can approval rules be set the same way in every organisation?
- How is pricing counted for groups: per company, per user, or per transaction?
- What can the MD see across companies today, and what's planned?
How Flux helps
Flux runs several organisations under one login. Each keeps its own settings, numbering, approvers, branding and sending domain, and roles are set per organisation, with separation of duties and an audit log in each. See how groups use it on the multi-entity groups page.