JustConsolidate

Xero handles dimensional tagging differently from QuickBooks Online, and that difference is why this workflow exists.

Xero gives every organisation two tracking category slots and caps each one at 100 options. Those limits apply to your consolidation entity just as they do to any other organisation. Since your subsidiaries might collectively use more tracking values than will fit — or name the same thing differently from one another — you need a way to decide what carries through to the parent and under what name.

For most customers this needs no decisions at all — the mapping is pre-filled and works as-is. The table is always available so you can see exactly what will happen before you consolidate.

How the two category slots are used

Turning Category 2 on or off

Category 2 has an Off / Enabled toggle at the top of the screen.

Leave it Enabled if you want a second reporting dimension in your consolidated financials. Switch it Off if you don't — your consolidation entries will still be tagged by subsidiary in Category 1, and no second dimension is applied. Turning it off is a perfectly reasonable choice if your subsidiaries don't use tracking categories, or if entity-level reporting is all you need.

Naming Category 2 in the parent

Use Set Category 2 name in Parent as to choose what this dimension is called in your consolidation entity. Click the edit icon beside the field to change it.

It's created as Category 2 by default. Rename it to whatever suits your reporting — Department, Region, Class, Segment — and that is the tracking category name that will appear in Xero and on your consolidated reports.

The mapping table

The Category 2 Option Name Mapping table lists every tracking value across all your connected subsidiaries, with one row per value. Each column has a filter, so you can narrow the list to a single subsidiary or a single category while you work.

What happens by default

Every row arrives already mapped. The Option Name (in Parent) column defaults to the same name the option has in the subsidiary, so each value carries straight through to your consolidation entity unchanged.

If your subsidiaries use consistent naming and their combined values total fewer than 100, that default produces a working consolidation and there is nothing for you to do. Scan the table to confirm it looks right, and move on.

Changing how a value maps

To handle a value differently, pick a different name from the dropdown in the Option Name (in Parent) column.

To roll several subsidiary values up into one, point them all at the same parent name. In the example above, a subsidiary's FINTYPE category contains G&A, R&D and S&M, all pointed at a single parent option called OPEX, while COGS keeps its default and maps straight through to COGS.

That is how merging works — there is no separate merge action. Several subsidiary values pointed at the same parent name simply become one consolidated value.

Adding parent names of your own

You aren't limited to the names your subsidiaries already use. The dropdown lets you create a new parent option name as you go, which is how you map values to something that doesn't exist in any subsidiary — OPEX in the example above is exactly this case. Once created, the name is available in the dropdown on every row

Watching the 100-option limit

Above the table you'll see a running count, along the lines of Parent company option name list. Xero will not accept more than 100 options in a tracking category, so keep an eye on this as you build your parent option list. If you're approaching the limit, merge values that belong together at group level. Granular detail that earns its place inside a subsidiary often doesn't need to survive into consolidated reporting.

Things worth knowing

Archived values still appear. A tracking option that has since been archived in Xero is still valid history — it was in use during periods you may be consolidating. Archived options appear in the table with their status shown, so you can map them exactly as you map active ones and keep the dimensional detail in your historical periods intact.

Subsidiaries using two tracking categories. Your consolidation entity has only one slot available, so values from both of a subsidiary's categories appear in the same table and map into the same parent dimension. Use the Category Name column filter to work through them one category at a time.

Subsidiaries with no tracking categories. Nothing to configure. Their consolidation entries are still tagged with the subsidiary name in Category 1; Category 2 is simply left unassigned for those lines.

Values are matched exactly. Matching is case-sensitive, so Admin and ADMIN are two separate subsidiary values and each needs its own mapping. If your subsidiaries have drifted apart on naming, you can either tidy them up in Xero or point them at the same parent option here.

Re-consolidating a historical period. Your mapping applies whenever a period is consolidated, including re-runs. If you change a mapping and then re-consolidate an earlier period, that period is posted using the new mapping.