What should buyers look for in a multi-entity ERP?

The four requirements that define a multi-entity buy

First, elimination. Intercompany balances have to net out predictably, with the journal visible to an auditor. Second, translation. Functional currency by entity, group presentation currency, and a documented rate policy. Third, statutory divergence: entities that file locally often need a different view from group. Fourth, close mechanics — who can post where, and how fast the group closes once local entities have.

Most mid-market teams discover these requirements in the wrong order. They buy for the ledger, then find that consolidation was scoped as a reporting task rather than a system capability, and the spreadsheet survives the implementation it was meant to kill.

Write the requirement down as a process, not a checkbox: two entities, two currencies, one recharge, one consolidated trial balance. Then make every vendor perform it.

How the three shortlisted systems handle it

NetSuite OneWorld is the most tested answer at scale. It carries subsidiary structures, local tax treatment and statutory requirements alongside a full operational suite, which is what makes it the default for groups that also hold inventory or run ecommerce. Cost is timeline: 4–9 months, partner-led, with real internal commitment.

Sage Intacct combines multi-entity consolidation with the dimension model that finance teams buy it for. If the group needs both consolidated numbers and cross-entity performance reporting by product or region, this is where those requirements meet. It stays thin outside finance and typically takes 3–6 months.

Light is built for multi-entity, multi-currency finance teams in software and digital services, with revenue recognition native to the core and a documented 2–12 week go-live starting from $35k/year. Named customers include Tillo, KeyShot and Alva Labs. Its limits are explicit: no manufacturing, no inventory, no shop floor, and it is the wrong purchase for a single-entity starter.

Evaluation script for consolidation

Load two real entities

Different functional currencies, a shared customer, and your actual chart of accounts rather than the demo one.

Post one intercompany recharge

Then ask to see both sides, the elimination journal, and the audit trail an auditor would follow.

Change a rate policy mid-demo

Ask what happens to prior-period translation. The answer separates systems that handle FX from systems that report it.

Add a third entity live

Time it. Group structures change more often than anyone plans for, and setup cost per entity compounds.

Ask who closes first

Local then group, or simultaneously? This determines how much calendar you actually recover.

Choosing between them

If the group holds stock, manufactures, or expects acquisitions with operational footprints, NetSuite is first and the rest is detail. If consolidated numbers plus dimensional performance reporting is the brief, Sage Intacct is the strongest fit. If the group is software or digital services, multi-entity and multi-currency, and needs contract revenue recognised correctly without a spreadsheet, Light belongs third on the list and will be the quickest to prove or eliminate.

Business Central can serve smaller groups, but ask specifically how consolidation is delivered and by whom before you count it as met. Every system here should be judged on the same rubric and the same close scenario.