> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.francis.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Build a P&L per department

> Deploy one P&L template across every department using a dimension breakdown, with actuals flowing in automatically.

As a company grows, finance usually wants to plan and hold each department accountable for its own numbers. If your accounting system tags entries with a department dimension, you can deploy a single P\&L template across every department in Francis, with actuals flowing into each one automatically.

## Split the P\&L by department

Most companies already carry a department dimension in their accounting system, with a value for each department on the relevant journal entries. Francis reads those values directly, so the departments are available to break down by without any setup.

Break the P\&L down by department with a [breakdown](/features/using-francis/breakdowns). The sheet becomes a template: you build the P\&L structure once on the parent sheet, every department inherits it, and each department's actuals filter into its own sub-sheet. Department heads plan their own numbers, the entity rolls them up, and the consolidated sheet rolls up all entities.

On a multi-entity model, split by entity first and then by department, as covered in the [breakdowns](/features/using-francis/breakdowns) walkthrough. A dimension breakdown always sits under an entity, never on the consolidated sheet.

<Tree>
  <Tree.Folder name="Consolidated" defaultOpen>
    <Tree.Folder name="Veloton ApS" defaultOpen>
      <Tree.File name="Sales" />

      <Tree.File name="Marketing" />

      <Tree.File name="Finance" />
    </Tree.Folder>

    <Tree.Folder name="Veloton Inc" defaultOpen>
      <Tree.File name="Sales" />

      <Tree.File name="Marketing" />

      <Tree.File name="Finance" />
    </Tree.Folder>
  </Tree.Folder>
</Tree>

## Keep the balance sheet and cash flow at entity level

Split the P\&L by department, but keep the balance sheet and cash flow in a separate sheet broken down by entity only. Companies rarely tag balance sheet values with a department, so a full balance sheet per department is just noise, with the **Unallocated** sub-sheet carrying nearly every value.

Keep the model clean instead: the P\&L splits by entity and department, and the balance sheet and cash flow split by entity alone. The cash flow then pulls its P\&L inputs (net profit, the depreciation add-back) at entity level, giving you cash flow per entity without a departmental split it doesn't need.

<Tree>
  <Tree.Folder name="Consolidated P&L" defaultOpen>
    <Tree.Folder name="Veloton ApS" defaultOpen>
      <Tree.File name="Sales" />

      <Tree.File name="Marketing" />

      <Tree.File name="Finance" />
    </Tree.Folder>

    <Tree.Folder name="Veloton Inc" defaultOpen>
      <Tree.File name="Sales" />

      <Tree.File name="Marketing" />

      <Tree.File name="Finance" />
    </Tree.Folder>
  </Tree.Folder>
</Tree>

<Tree>
  <Tree.Folder name="Consolidated BS + CF" defaultOpen>
    <Tree.File name="Veloton ApS" />

    <Tree.File name="Veloton Inc" />
  </Tree.Folder>
</Tree>

## Departments that are only cost centres

Sometimes departments are pure cost centres, so you only want to plan their OPEX rather than a full P\&L. Even then, deploy the full P\&L template for simplicity and just leave the lines that don't apply (revenue, direct costs, financial items, depreciation) at zero on those sub-sheets.

The zero rows roll up correctly and don't affect totals. Each department sub-sheet becomes an OPEX planning view by default, which is usually exactly what the department head needs, while the entity and consolidated sheets still show the full P\&L. This keeps the number of sub-sheets to a minimum and everything rolls up cleanly.