Chain Accounting – Multiple Legal Entities, One Technical Platform

A restaurant chain in Vendion's world is an organization that runs several restaurants – each restaurant is its own legal entity (own org number) or part of a group. This creates a unique challenge: bookkeeping must be separate per entity, but the operator wants consolidated reporting and shared resources (gift cards, loyalty, menu).

Vendion's philosophy: each restaurant has its own chart of accounts, own vouchers, own VAT handling. The chain is an abstraction on top – it never changes the legal bookkeeping.

Legal structures in the Swedish restaurant industry:

1. Franchise

Structure: A head company (HQ) owns the brand and licenses it to independent franchisees. Each franchisee has:

• Own org number
• Own bookkeeping
• Own F-tax and VAT registration
• Own annual report to Bolagsverket

Vendion settings for franchise (all on by default):

• Shared main menu template
• Shared brand lock – logo, colors, fonts locked
• Shared gift cards – valid across the chain
• Pooled loyalty
• Shared analytics – HQ sees aggregated data

Example: Burger Buffet HQ AB owns the concept. 12 franchisees run local units under the brand. Each franchisee books independently.

2. Holding

Structure: A group company (holding) owns 100% of the subsidiaries. Each subsidiary has:

• Own org number
• Own bookkeeping
• Own VAT registration
• Annual report is consolidated at group level (CFO does it)

Difference from franchise: Economic interest – profit flows up to the group, not to independent operators.

Example: "Stockholm Restaurants AB" (holding) owns three restaurants: Bistro Stureplan AB, Bar Södermalm AB, Café Östermalm AB. Each subsidiary books independently, but group reporting is done at group level.

3. Custom

Structure: The user chooses themselves which sharing options should be on. Used for hybrid structures (e.g. a master franchisee with 3 own + 2 sub-franchise).

Why not just one common set of books per chain?

A theoretical design would be to run the entire chain as one set of books. But:

1. Legally impossible – each org number must have its own books according to the Swedish Bookkeeping Act Chapter 4 § 1
2. Wrong for VAT – each legal entity reports its own VAT to Skatteverket
3. Audit disaster – the auditor reviews per company, not per chain
4. Bankruptcy risk – if one unit goes bankrupt, its assets/liabilities must be separated
5. Tax-wise – subsidiaries may have different F-tax, social fees, tax districts

Vendion's solution:

Each restaurant in Vendion has:

• Own chart of accounts and own mappings
• Own vouchers
• Own fiscal archive (Swedish cash register law)
• Own SIE export – separate file per restaurant
• Own Fortnox/Visma connection – separate connection per restaurant

The chain provides:

• Consolidated analytics – HQ sees aggregated sales
• Shared resources – menu template, gift cards, brand assets
• Intercompany tracking – when resources cross org number boundaries, intercompany vouchers are created
• Permission control – chain admin can manage all member restaurants

Intercompany transactions (Chain accounting):

When something crosses the boundary between two legal entities in the chain, an intercompany transaction arises. The three most common cases:

1. Gift card issued at A, redeemed at B

Customer buys 1,000 SEK gift card at HQ, redeems 400 SEK at Restaurant A and 600 SEK at Restaurant B. See separate article "Intercompany gift cards".

2. Pooled loyalty

Customer earns points at A (reducing A's revenue), redeems at B (reducing B's revenue). At month-end, adjustment is made between units.

3. Shared marketing

HQ pays a campaign (100,000 SEK). Cost is allocated to members according to revenue share. Each member books its share as marketing cost.

Intercompany accounts in BAS:

• 1660 – Short-term receivables from group companies (receivable from another chain unit)
• 2860 – Short-term payables to group companies (payable to another chain unit)
• 1930 – Group account (for shared liquidity)
• 8912 – Received group contributions (for group contribution chains)
• 8913 – Paid group contributions

In the chain settings (Chain Admin → Accounting), the chain admin can configure which intercompany receivable and intercompany payable account should be used when automatic vouchers are created.

Consolidated reporting:

Even though each unit books separately, HQ wants to see:

• Total revenue for the chain (aggregated)
• Per-unit breakdown (comparison between restaurants)
• Top items (which dishes sell best across the chain)
• Intercompany balances (who owes whom)

Vendion automatically compiles all this data from all member restaurants' order data and shows it in the chain overview.

SIE export per unit:

When the bookkeeper closes the month for the chain, separate SIE exports per org number are run:

1. Open the chain overview in admin
2. Select month (April 2026)
3. The system generates 3 separate SIE files:
   • Sthlm-042026.se (org 555-1111)
   • Malmo-042026.se (org 555-2222)
   • Goteborg-042026.se (org 555-3333)
4. Each file is imported to its own Fortnox instance
5. Intercompany adjustments are made manually or via batch voucher

Group reporting (for holding structure):

At year-end closing, the group auditor:

1. Gathers all subsidiaries' closing
2. Eliminates intercompany transactions (receivables against payables)
3. Sums into group income statement and group balance sheet
4. Submits to Bolagsverket

Vendion helps with step 1 (data is gathered) but doesn't handle the consolidation itself – it's done in Fortnox/Hogia/Visma or by the auditor.

Common misunderstandings:

• "Since it's a chain, one set of books is enough" → WRONG. Legally impossible.
• "Intercompany transactions are just a technical detail" → WRONG. Skatteverket requires documented market-based conditions between group companies (transfer pricing).
• "Vendion consolidates my group closing" → NO. Vendion delivers data. Consolidation is done in the accounting software or by the auditor.
• "All restaurants in the chain have the same chart of accounts automatically" → Default yes, but each unit can customize its chart (some use Fortnox standard, others BAS 2023, others hybrid).

Read more: Intercompany Gift Cards – Chain Accounting, Monthly Closing – Checklist, Common Accounting Mistakes Restaurant Owners Make.