Multi-entity proposals let you engage a whole Client Group with a single proposal: one document, one signing session for your client, and separate invoices for each entity. If your client is a family group, a business owner with several companies, or a portfolio of entities managed by one person, you no longer need to send each entity its own proposal or list entities in a text description.
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With a multi-entity proposal, you can:
Send one proposal covering every entity in the relationship, with one signing flow for your client
Attribute each service to the entity that receives the work and the entity that pays for it
Automatically generate separate invoices per entity, each with the right payment method
Keep every entity's ledger, tax treatment, and billing clean, with no text-list workarounds
Before you start: set up a Client Group
Multi-entity proposals are sent to a Client Group, so your entities need to be grouped first. Learn how to create and manage Client Groups here.
A few things about groups that matter for proposals:
Each member of the group remains an independent client in Ignition, with its own client record, contacts, payment methods, and history.
Every group has a Primary Client: the member whose contact receives the proposal and signs by default, and the default entity that gets billed. A group must have a Primary Client before you can send it a proposal.
A client can belong to one group at a time, and a group can hold up to 70 member clients.
Create a multi-entity proposal
To create a multi-entity proposal, create a new proposal → in the Client field, select the Client Group instead of an individual client.
Groups appear in the same client search, with an "Includes # clients" label and a group icon.
Assign each service to an entity
On the Services step, every service carries two assignments:
Service for: the entity (or entities) the work is delivered to
Bill to: the single entity that is invoiced and pays for the service. If you don't set one, it defaults to the Primary Client.
This is what keeps a multi-entity engagement clean: the proposal document clearly shows which services belong to which entity, and after acceptance every invoice lands on the right client record.
The proposal document is visually sectioned by entity, so your client can see exactly what's being agreed for each member. The preview warns you if any service is missing an entity assignment, or if a member is included with no services.
Please note: If you change the client on a draft proposal after assigning services to entities, Ignition will ask you to confirm and clear the entity assignments to prevent stale references. Your projects and services stay the same. You'll just need to reassign the entities.
Engagement letter placeholders
Your existing terms templates work without modification. For group proposals:
client.name resolves to the group name (e.g. "Smith Family Group")
contact placeholders resolve to the Primary Client's primary contact
A new client.entity_list placeholder lists every entity bound by the proposal, so you can name all covered entities in your engagement letter. It's opt-in: add it to your terms template if you want the list rendered.
What your client sees
Your client receives one email with one signing link, clearly identifying the proposal as covering their group and listing the entities included. There's no separate email or signature per entity: one signing session covers the whole group. (If the proposal has more than one signatory, each signatory receives their own signing email as usual; see Multiple signatories below.)
When they open it:
A banner up front explains the engagement covers multiple entities.
Services and pricing are sectioned by entity, with each section showing which entity is billed ("Bill to: [entity name]"), so there's no ambiguity about scope.
Before signing, the signer confirms an authority attestation: a required checkbox confirming they have authority to enter the agreement on behalf of all listed entities. The attestation is captured in the audit trail with a timestamp and IP address.
Payments at signing
If you collect payment details on the proposal, the signer chooses one of two modes on the payment step:
Single payment method: one payment method covers all billed entities
Per entity: a distinct payment method for each billed entity (e.g. each company pays from its own bank account)
Only entities that are actually billed on the proposal are shown, not every group member.
Multiple signatories
Group proposals work with the existing Multiple Signatures feature. All signatories sign for the whole group; the primary signatory selects options and provides payment details, and additional signatories review and sign.
Billing after acceptance
Once the proposal is accepted, Ignition executes the engagement per entity, automatically:
Invoices and billing items are created on each Bill To entity's client record, exactly as if that entity had its own proposal. Their billing schedule, payment method, and invoice flow behave like any other client.
Each entity's invoices are paid with the payment method assigned at signing (or the single shared method, depending on the mode your client chose).
Invoice line items preserve the entity grouping from the proposal, so your clients can easily reconcile what they're being charged for.
If work is delivered to one entity but billed to another, the member's client record still shows the service, with a label showing who's paying, so you always have the full picture from either side.
The Client Group record brings all of this together: its Services, Billing schedule, and Invoices tabs show a read-only roll-up across every member, with Service for and Bill to filters to narrow down to a specific entity.
Note: If you're connected to XPM, you can deploy a separate XPM job for each billed entity. See "How do multi-entity proposals work with XPM?" in the FAQs below.
FAQs
Is there one consolidated invoice for the whole group?
No. Invoices are always issued per entity, to the Bill To client on each service. This keeps every entity's ledger, tax treatment, and payment method clean. What you get instead is the group roll-up view, and the option for the Primary Client to pay everything with one payment method.
What happens if I change the group's Primary Client?
Existing proposals (draft, sent, or accepted) are unaffected; they keep the client they were created with. New proposals use the new Primary Client.
What happens if I add a member to the group after sending a proposal?
Nothing changes on the sent proposal. It's a snapshot of the group at the time you built it. Include the new member in your next proposal or renewal.
Can I remove an entity from the group while a proposal is in flight?
If the entity is referenced on a draft proposal (services, billing, or as a signatory), removal is blocked until you update the draft. If it's on a sent proposal awaiting acceptance, you'll see a warning but can proceed; the sent proposal doesn't change.
How do multi-entity proposals work with XPM (Xero Practice Manager)?
When you build XPM workflows on a multi-entity proposal, choose how they're structured:
One workflow per proposal: one job deploys under a single billing entity's XPM client file. Use this when one entity pays for everything.
One workflow per unique billing entity: Ignition creates a separate workflow for each Bill To entity, containing only that entity's services and job templates. Each workflow deploys its own job under that entity's XPM client file, so each entity's invoices flow to its own job for WIP purposes.
If the proposal bills more than one entity, One workflow per unique billing entity is selected by default. Each workflow tab is named after its entity and has a Bill to field, so you can change the entity it targets without rebuilding.
Workflows follow Bill to, not Service for. If work is delivered to one entity but billed to another, the job deploys under the entity that pays. Workflows are optional, and not every billing entity needs one.
When a job deploys, Ignition uses the entity's existing XPM client link. If there isn't one, Ignition links an XPM client with exactly the same name, or creates a new XPM client if there's no match.
Note: If XPM has more than one client with the same name, or the matching XPM client is already linked to a different Ignition client, that job won't deploy. Ignition notifies you in the app so you can map the client manually and redeploy. Jobs for the other entities aren't affected.
Do I need a different plan?
Multi-entity proposals are available globally on all plans.