# How to Combine Reports From Multiple Company Files in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise > Combine balance sheet, profit and loss, cash flow and trial balance reports from several QuickBooks Enterprise company files into one Excel workbook. - URL: https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/combine-reports-multiple-companies/ - Section: QuickBooks Desktop Guides, Setup, users & reports - Applies to: QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise - Steps checked against: Intuit's QuickBooks Desktop help articles, updated August 2026 - Updated: 2026-10-20 **Short answer:** To combine reports from multiple company files in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, go to Reports > Combine Reports from Multiple Companies. Add each company file, pick the reports, set the dates and report basis, then select Combine Reports in Excel. It covers six financial reports, including the Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss and Trial Balance. On Pro or Premier, export each report to Excel and combine them there. ## Before you start - Make the chart of accounts in each file as alike as you can. Intuit says this makes combined reports easier to read. - Have Microsoft Excel on the computer you'll use. The combined report opens as an Excel spreadsheet. - Know where each company file is, and have a login for each. Intuit says you may need to sign in to the files and switch them to multi-user mode. - Decide the date range and report basis before you start. Intuit's steps set one From and To range and one basis for the combined reports. ## Which reports you can combine - Balance Sheet Standard - Balance Sheet Summary - Profit & Loss Standard - Profit & Loss by Class - Statement of Cash Flows - Trial Balance Intuit lists only these six. Sales, inventory and customer reports aren't among them, so for those you export each file's report to Excel, as shown further down. To use Profit & Loss by Class, see how to [set up class tracking](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/set-up-class-tracking/). ## Step 1: Line up the chart of accounts QuickBooks merges accounts that have the same name, the same type, and sit at the same level in each report. Names aren't case-sensitive. It keeps accounts on separate lines when: - They're at different levels, such as an account in one file and a subaccount in another. - They're spelled differently, such as Phone and Telephone. - They have different account numbers. - One has an account number and the other doesn't. Accounts are listed by type. Within each type, they follow the order in the first company file. Accounts from the other files are added in the order QuickBooks finds them. Before your first run, we suggest comparing the account lists and fixing names, numbers and levels that don't match. ## Step 2: Combine the reports 1. Open QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise and go to Reports > Combine Reports from Multiple Companies. 2. Select Add Files, find another company file and select Open. Repeat for each file. 3. Under Select reports for combining, check the reports you want. 4. Set the From and To dates, then choose a report basis. 5. Select Combine Reports in Excel. Excel opens with the combined figures. We suggest saving the workbook where your team can find it. Intuit lists combined reports as available in both single-user and multi-user mode. ## Step 3: Check the combined report Intuit's steps end when Excel opens. We suggest these checks before you share the workbook: - Look for the same account on two lines under slightly different names. That points to names, numbers or levels that don't match across files. - Compare each entity's totals with the same report run inside its own file. - Intuit's steps don't mention removing amounts your entities owe each other. Any such adjustment would happen in the workbook. ## On Pro or Premier: combine in Excel by hand Intuit points Pro and Premier users to this method. It also works in Enterprise for reports the combine tool doesn't cover, since Intuit says any QuickBooks report can be exported to Excel. 1. Open the first company file and run the report. 2. Select the Excel dropdown, then Create New Worksheet, then OK. Save the workbook. 3. Open the second company file and create the same report. We suggest using the same dates and settings. 4. Export it to a new worksheet in the same workbook, and save. 5. In Excel, combine the reports on a third worksheet and save the workbook. To refresh an exported report later, keep that company file open and select Update Report on the QuickBooks tab in Excel. For report setups you rerun every month, see how to [create and memorize custom reports](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/create-memorize-custom-reports/). ## If your entities bill each other Intuit's article says that in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise 2023, linked company files can send each other intercompany bills and checks. It says this is only in Enterprise Accountant, Diamond and Platinum. - Set it up under Company > Intercompany Transactions. Create a relationship, choose Due To and Due From accounts, and have the other file approve it. - Intuit warns that a relationship can't be removed, and recommends a backup first. Undoing it means restoring a backup from before the relationship was created. - The file that receives a bill or check approves it and picks an expense account. QuickBooks then creates the journal entry. - For a list of intercompany transactions across related files, go to Company > Intercompany transactions > Transactions > View Reports. ## Where QuickBooks Desktop leaves the work to you - Only six financial reports can be combined. Sales, inventory and customer reports have to be exported and merged by hand. - Keeping the chart of accounts aligned across files is ongoing work. An account added or renamed in one file gets its own line unless the other files match it. - The result lives in Excel. Someone has to run it, check it and file it each period. - Adjustments between your own entities happen in the workbook. - Each file needs its own login, and files may need to be in multi-user mode. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Can QuickBooks Desktop combine reports from multiple companies? Yes, in Enterprise, through Reports > Combine Reports from Multiple Companies. On Pro and Premier, export each report to Excel and combine them by hand. ### Which reports can I combine in QuickBooks Enterprise? Balance Sheet Standard, Balance Sheet Summary, Profit & Loss Standard, Profit & Loss by Class, Statement of Cash Flows and Trial Balance. ### Why do some accounts show up twice in my combined report? QuickBooks merges accounts only when the name, type and level match. Different spellings, account numbers or levels keep them on separate lines. ### Do I need Excel to combine reports in QuickBooks Desktop? Yes. The combined report opens as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. ### Does combining reports remove balances between my companies? Intuit's combine steps don't mention it. Any adjustment for balances between your companies would be made in the Excel workbook. ### Can my QuickBooks Desktop companies bill each other? Intuit says intercompany transactions in Enterprise 2023 Accountant, Diamond and Platinum let one file send a bill or check to a linked file for approval. It warns that the link between files can't be removed. ## Sources - [Intuit: Combine reports from multiple company files in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Accountant](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/multi-user-mode/combine-reports-multiple-company-files/L3h3olGiz_US_en_US) - [Intuit: Export reports as Excel workbooks in QuickBooks Desktop](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/export-reports/export-reports-excel-workbooks-quickbooks-desktop/L4cLJEeXt_US_en_US) - [Intuit: Features available and tasks you can perform in single or multi-user mode in QuickBooks Desktop](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/small-business-processes/features-available-tasks-perform-single-multi-user/L2OQW4SYg_US_en_US) - [Intuit: Create transactions between different company files in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/company-file/create-transactions-different-company-files/L4LhQ3iDG_US_en_US)