How to set up account hierarchy
Setting up hierarchy is mapping the real corporate structure of your larger customers into linked account records.
The care goes into getting the relationships right - true parent-child versus duplicate - and deciding how rollups work.
Short answer
Set up account hierarchy by identifying the parent organizations and their subsidiaries or divisions, creating a parent-child link between the related accounts, deciding how deals and revenue roll up, and distinguishing true hierarchy relationships from duplicates. Model the real corporate structure so large accounts are seen whole while each entity stays workable.
Step by step
Identify parents and children
Determine which accounts are corporate parents and which are their subsidiaries, divisions, or regional offices.
Link them in a parent-child structure
Create the hierarchy relationships so each child points to its parent and the whole tree is connected.
Decide how rollups work
Choose how deals and revenue aggregate up the hierarchy, so leaders can see enterprise-wide totals as well as per-entity numbers.
Separate hierarchy from duplicates
Confirm that similar-named related accounts are genuine distinct entities to link, not duplicates to merge.
Do not merge what you should link
The central hierarchy mistake is merging a subsidiary into its parent because the names match. They are distinct entities that should be linked, not one record. Before merging any similar accounts, confirm whether they are duplicates or a real hierarchy - the wrong call loses a relationship.
How Ardovo helps
Ardovo links parent and child accounts, rolls up deals and revenue across the tree, and distinguishes hierarchy relationships from duplicates. Rook maintains the structure as the organization changes, so enterprise accounts stay accurately modeled and seen whole.
Frequently asked questions
How do you decide the parent account?
The parent is the top corporate entity - usually the headquarters or holding company - with subsidiaries, divisions, and regional offices as children beneath it. Model the real legal and organizational structure so rollups reflect how the company is actually arranged.
Should related accounts be linked or merged?
Linked, if they are distinct entities like a parent and its subsidiary. Merge only true duplicates - two records for the same entity. Merging related-but-distinct accounts destroys a real business relationship, so confirm which case you have before acting.
How do deals roll up in an account hierarchy?
Deals attach to their specific entity, and the hierarchy aggregates them upward so you can see totals for a single subsidiary or the whole organization. This dual view - per-entity and enterprise-wide - is the main reason to model hierarchy for large accounts.