These terms describe a company’s position in a group. Use them to understand the connection before making assumptions about how the business buys.
Explore a company’s relationshipsAn entity above another in the ownership or control structure. Ask whether there is a central buying function.
A separate entity controlled by another company. Ask what it does and whether it buys locally.
A business sharing a parent with your customer. Ask whether your existing contact can make an introduction.
Choose the strongest evidence you have. This browser-local aid sends and stores no company information.
Do not turn a matching brand, address or website into an ownership claim. Record the gap and seek the relevant registry or filing evidence.
Keep the observed facts, source and retrieval date, the unresolved link and the next evidence needed.
Missing evidence is not proof that no parent, subsidiary or sister relationship exists.
Inspect a company groupFictional example: Alder Holdings controls two separate legal entities, Alder Services and Alder Manufacturing. These names illustrate direction only; they are not EntityReach records.
| From | To | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Alder Holdings | Alder Services | Parent to subsidiary |
| Alder Services | Alder Holdings | Subsidiary to parent |
| Alder Services | Alder Manufacturing | Sister to sister, through the shared parent |
Alder Services is both a subsidiary and a sister company, relative to different entities. None of these labels determines who can buy or whether an existing agreement covers the company.
The full guidance remains available without using the selector.
One legal entity—not a second company account. A location, trading name or establishment may belong to the same entity. A shared number alone is insufficient: confirm jurisdiction, register and identifier type. This does not by itself prove a branch.
Retain: Keep the legal name, jurisdiction, registry, identifier type and evidence linking the location or name to that entity.
Limit: The same address, brand or website does not establish legal identity.
This is subsidiary evidence. Retain the subsidiary and controlling company identifiers and the source supporting control. Do not use one universal share-percentage shortcut; control can depend on voting, board or agreement rights and the relevant legal context.
Retain: Keep both legal identities, relationship direction, the basis of control, source classification and the source/reporting date when supplied.
Limit: A subsidiary relationship does not establish a shared budget, procurement process or buying authority.
These companies are sisters relative to each other. The same company can be a subsidiary relative to its parent and a sister relative to another subsidiary. Record the shared parent and both relationship paths rather than assigning an exclusive company type.
Retain: Keep both company identifiers, the shared parent, both supported paths and any missing intermediate links.
Limit: A sister relationship does not prove common operations, contract coverage or commercial fit.
Keep the classification open. Do not turn a matching brand, address or website into an ownership claim. Record the gap and seek the relevant registry or filing evidence.
Retain: Keep the observed facts, source and retrieval date, the unresolved link and the next evidence needed.
Limit: Missing evidence is not proof that no parent, subsidiary or sister relationship exists.
A parent sits above another company in the ownership or control structure. The direct parent is the immediate relationship. Further parents can appear higher in the chain. The highest returned node is not necessarily a confirmed ultimate parent when data is incomplete.
A subsidiary is a separate entity controlled by another company. It may have its own operations, staff and commercial responsibilities. Whether it can purchase independently is a separate question requiring evidence.
Sister companies share a parent. Their connection can support a request for an introduction, but they may operate in unrelated sectors or follow different buying processes. Product fit should be assessed company by company.
A branch is generally part of the same legal entity. A brand is a commercial identity. Affiliate is a broader term whose meaning depends on context. Do not assume these are interchangeable with subsidiaries when planning outreach.
Instead of assuming another entity is an opportunity, ask: what does it do, which problem could our product solve, who owns the purchasing decision and is it already covered by our agreement?
Start with the legal name, jurisdiction and registration identifier for each company. Then retain the source and date for the parent, control or shared-parent relationship. A shared address, website or brand can be a clue, but it does not by itself establish that one company controls another. If the relationship evidence is incomplete, keep the classification open.
A subsidiary is a separate company controlled by another company. Its legal identity remains distinct from the parent. Whether it buys independently depends on the group’s commercial arrangements.
A wholly owned subsidiary is a company whose ownership is entirely held by its parent. A company-group connection does not establish 100% ownership unless the relevant ownership evidence supplies it.
Sister companies share a parent. They may have different activities, countries and purchasing processes, so each needs its own account-fit and contract-coverage review.
An ultimate parent is the highest company in the full ownership chain. The highest entity in a returned tree may differ when links are missing; do not assume the result establishes a complete chain.
Generally a branch is an establishment of an existing company, while a subsidiary is a separate legal company. Check the record type, registration and jurisdiction before counting independent accounts.