Intercompany documents record transactions between entities in your corporate group. This article explains how to configure intercompany accounts and create intercompany journal entries.
What is this page about
This page covers intercompany journal entries: setting up the account rules that drive them, entering a FROM line and its TO lines, checking the net impact before you post, and how elimination removes these amounts from consolidated reporting. Read it if you post transactions between your own entities.
On this page
- What Are Intercompany Transactions?
- Setting Up Intercompany Configuration
- Creating an Intercompany Journal Entry
- Voiding a Posted Entry
- Statuses
- Net Impact Preview
- Entry Detail Tabs
- Filtering the Journal Entries List
- Elimination and Consolidation
- Regulatory and Tax Context
- Best Practices
- Related Articles
What Are Intercompany Transactions?
Intercompany transactions are financial activities between entities within the same corporate group:
Examples:
- Parent company loans cash to subsidiary
- Subsidiary sells products to another subsidiary
- Division A charges Division B for shared services
- Entity A transfers assets to Entity B
These transactions stay inside the group, so they are eliminated during consolidation.
Setting Up Intercompany Configuration
Before creating intercompany journal entries, configure which accounts are used for intercompany postings.
- Go to Settings (gear icon) → Chart of accounts (under the Records section)
- Open the Intercompany rules tab
- Click + Add intercompany rule
- Fill in the fields:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| From account code | Start of the account code range this rule applies to |
| To account code | End of the account code range |
| Debit intercompany account | Account used for debit-side intercompany postings |
| Credit intercompany account | Account used for credit-side intercompany postings |
| Eliminate source line | Toggle on to mark the source line for elimination during consolidation (defaults to on) |
At least one of debit or credit intercompany account must be set. You can click any existing config row to edit it.
Creating an Intercompany Journal Entry
- Go to Accounting → Journal entries
- Click Create journal entry, then choose Intercompany from the dropdown
- Fill in the header fields:
| Field | Required |
|---|---|
| Currency | Yes |
| Description | No |
| Posting date | No |
| Valuation date | No |
| Custom properties | No |
-
Configure the FROM line (source entity):
- Entity: the originating company entity
- Account: the GL account
- Eliminate: whether this line is eliminated at consolidation (Yes or No)
- Description: optional line note
- Tax code: optional
- Debit / Credit amount
-
Configure one or more TO lines (receiving entities) with the same fields. Use + Add line item to add more TO lines.
-
Review the Net impact panel at the bottom of the form, which previews the net effect per entity and account in real time as you enter amounts.
-
Click Save to keep as Draft, or Post to finalise.
Good to know: Debit and credit totals are shown at the bottom of the lines table. The entry must balance before it can be posted.
Voiding a Posted Entry
If you need to reverse a posted intercompany journal entry:
- Open the posted entry from Accounting → Journal entries
- Click Void
- Confirm the action in the dialog, which reverses all the individual journal entry postings
This action cannot be undone. The entry's status changes to Void and the GL impact is fully unwound.
Statuses
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Draft | Saved but not yet posted. Still editable, can be deleted. |
| Posted | Finalised and reflected in the GL. Read-only. |
| Void | Posted entry that has been voided. All generated journal entry transactions are reversed. |
Note: If you need to reverse a posted intercompany entry, you can void it. Open the posted entry and click Void in the top-right actions, then confirm in the dialog. This reverses all the journal entry postings that were created when the entry was posted, unwinding the GL impact. Only posted entries can be voided, and draft entries can be deleted instead.
Net Impact Preview
While a journal entry is in Draft, the Net impact panel updates in real time as you edit lines. It shows the net effect of the transaction per entity and account before you commit.
After posting, the panel shows the actual posted net impact. The tooltip reads:
"Displays the net effect of intercompany transactions. These are reversed via elimination entries to ensure accurate reporting, while this view highlights their original impact."
Entry Detail Tabs
When viewing an intercompany journal entry, three tabs are available on the right panel:
| Tab | Contents |
|---|---|
| Activity | Audit log of all changes to the entry |
| Documents | Attachments linked to the entry |
| Postings | The individual GL postings generated (visible after posting) |
Filtering the Journal Entries List
The intercompany journal entries list can be filtered by:
- Posting date (defaults to current quarter)
- Valuation date
- Currency
- Status (Draft / Posted / Void)
Free-text search is also available.
Elimination and Consolidation
The Eliminate field on each line and the Eliminate source line toggle in intercompany config determine which lines are flagged for elimination when producing consolidated statements.
At consolidation:
- Lines marked for elimination are excluded from the consolidated GL
- Intercompany receivables and payables offset each other
- Only external transactions remain in consolidated output
Entity-level GL reports still show intercompany amounts in full.
Regulatory and Tax Context
GAAP / IFRS:
- Intercompany transactions are eliminated in consolidated statements
- Entity-level statements still show intercompany amounts
- Intercompany profits may be deferred (upstream/downstream sales)
Tax:
- Intercompany transactions must be at arm's-length prices
- Transfer pricing regulations apply to significant intercompany amounts
- Documentation required for tax authorities
Best Practices
- Standardise accounts: use consistent intercompany account naming across entities
- Set up config first: configure account ranges before creating entries so elimination flags apply correctly
- Reconcile monthly: check that intercompany balances across entities agree
- Review net impact: use the preview panel to verify the effect before posting
- Document the purpose: use the description field and attachments to record the business reason