Fortnox Koncern or a consolidation tool?
If every company is in Fortnox, Fortnox Koncern is a natural first choice. The question is what happens when the group buys a company on another system, or when management wants budget, forecast and follow-up in the same picture as the group.
Many smaller groups start with the group close in Excel. Each company exports a report, someone maps the accounts, reconciles the intercompany invoices and adds it all up. When the companies already keep their books in Fortnox, Fortnox Koncern is the obvious place to look, and for many it is the right choice.
This guide is written by people who build a different consolidation tool, so read it with that in mind. We have tried to be honest about when Fortnox Koncern is enough and when it is not.
What Fortnox Koncern does
Fortnox Koncern collects the group companies' data, consolidates it and reports on it. According to Fortnox, the service analyses the transactions in each company and proposes eliminations based on rules you set up. It handles currency translation and supports budgeting, forecasting and key ratios. A strength few consolidation tools share is that the group annual report can be prepared and filed digitally with the Swedish Companies Registration Office, with notes, directors' report and certificate of adoption.
For a group where every company keeps its books in Fortnox and the main need is a correct group close and annual report, it is a strong option.
When Fortnox Koncern is enough
- Every company keeps its books in Fortnox, and will keep doing so.
- The need is mainly the group close and the group annual report.
- Budgeting and follow-up are done per company, and management does not need to drill from group figures down to individual vouchers.
- The group rarely acquires companies, or acquires companies that already run Fortnox.
When a group needs its own consolidation tool
- The companies run different finance systems. One subsidiary has Visma, another Business Central and an acquired company in Finland something else entirely. Consolidation then has to read each system directly and map the accounts to a shared group chart of accounts, so no company has to switch systems.
- The group grows through acquisitions. Every acquisition brings capital elimination, goodwill with amortisation and often a minority interest. That should be calculated by date and carried into every month, not rebuilt in a separate spreadsheet.
- Management wants to follow the group every month, not just at year end. The group then has to be recalculated as the companies post, with checks that show the balance sheet ties out, every account is mapped and intercompany items net to zero.
- Budget, forecast and liquidity should sit in the same picture as the group. With the same group chart of accounts and the same exchange rates in budget, forecast and actuals, you avoid reconciling between two tools.
- Other data sources need to come in. Payroll, CRM, point of sale or project systems that explain why the numbers look the way they do.
Comparison at a glance
| Fortnox Koncern | Dedicated consolidation tool | |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit when | Every company runs Fortnox | Companies run different systems or are acquired |
| Eliminations and currency | Yes, with proposed eliminations | Yes, varies between tools |
| Group annual report filed with the Companies Registration Office | Yes | Rarely, often done by the accounting firm |
| Acquisitions, goodwill and minority by date | Check with Fortnox | Yes, in most tools built for groups |
| Budget, forecast and follow-up for the group | Yes | Yes, in the same group chart of accounts |
The table is based on Fortnox's own description of the service and on what we see in the groups we work with. Ask Fortnox directly about what is decisive for you, especially how companies on other finance systems are brought in.
Questions to ask before you choose
- Which finance systems do the companies run today, and which could arrive with the next acquisition?
- Who prepares the group annual report, you or the accounting firm?
- How often do management and the board want to see group figures, every month or at year end?
- Should budget, forecast and liquidity be followed up at group level?
- How do you show that the group figures are right when the auditor or the bank asks?
How it works in Fintower
Fintower connects each company's finance system, such as Fortnox, Visma, Hogia or Business Central, and maps the accounts to a shared group chart of accounts. The group is recalculated automatically every night, with eliminations, acquisitions, minority interest and currency translation. After every run the balance sheet and account mapping are checked, and closed months are locked.
You can drill from group figures down to company, account and voucher, and budget, forecast and liquidity sit in the same platform. If every company already runs Fortnox it works just as well, and your accounting firm can keep preparing the group annual report as it does today.