Currency Management

The Currency Management page allows you to view and control all exchange rates used throughout your accounting platform. This powerful feature gives you unprecedented flexibility in managing how currency conversions are calculated for your international transactions, reports, and financial statements.

Access Currency Management using the gear icon on the left menu, then select "Currency Management" from the dropdown options.

Currency Management Features

The Currency Management screen provides several key functions:

1. Currency Overview

In this section, you can:

• View a complete list of all currencies used in your platform
• See the current system exchange rate for each currency
• Compare your custom rates against the official system rates
• Track which currencies have custom rate overrides active

2. Rate Management

Take control of your exchange rates by:

• Setting custom rates for specific dates (e.g., override the USD/EUR rate for a particular transaction date)
• Defining rate periods (e.g., set a consistent USD/SGD rate for the entire month of January)
• Updating or removing custom rates as needed
• Returning to system rates at any time

3. Historical Rate Tracking

The platform maintains records of:

• All rate changes made in the system
• Who made each change and when
• Previous rate values for auditing purposes

Why Currency Rate Management Matters

Custom currency rate management is essential for several accounting scenarios:

Stable valuation for long-term projects

For businesses with long-term international projects, currency fluctuations can create reporting volatility that doesn't reflect the economic reality of the project. By setting a consistent exchange rate for a project period, you can:

• Create more meaningful budget-to-actual comparisons
• Eliminate artificial gains or losses from daily rate fluctuations
• Focus reporting on operational performance rather than currency movements
• Maintain consistent internal valuation metrics

Hedge rate application

When your business uses financial instruments to hedge currency risk, you'll want your accounting system to reflect the effective exchange rate you've secured:

• Apply forward contract rates to future transactions
• Match the accounting treatment with your financial risk management strategy
• Accurately represent the economic impact of your hedging activities
• Create more predictable financial statements

Fixed rate agreements

Some business contracts specify fixed exchange rates for the duration of the agreement:

• Honor contractually agreed-upon rates in your accounting system
• Ensure invoicing matches the terms of your agreements
• Maintain consistency between your legal obligations and financial reporting
• Avoid discrepancies between contract terms and transaction records

Group accounting policies

Many corporate groups have specific policies for handling inter-company transactions:

• Apply standard monthly/quarterly rates for all related-party transactions
• Implement consistent group-wide accounting methodologies
• Simplify reconciliation between entities in different countries
• Support consolidated financial reporting with uniform currency treatments

Using Currency Management

Follow these steps to manage your currency rates:

1. Navigate to the Currency Management page via the gear icon
2. Select the currency pair you wish to modify
3. Choose whether to update a single date or define a date range
4. Enter your custom exchange rate
5. Save your changes

Remember that while the platform maintains official system rates, your custom rates will take precedence for the specified periods. Individual transaction-level currency overrides remain available and will override even your custom rate settings.

Best Practices

To make the most of currency rate management:

• Document your rationale for custom rate settings
• Align custom rates with your financial policies and risk management strategy
• Regularly review your custom rates to ensure they still serve your business needs
• Consider the reporting implications of rate changes before implementation
• Maintain consistency in your approach to rate management for similar transactions

For specific accounting advice related to multi-currency management, consider consulting with your financial advisor or accountant to ensure compliance with relevant accounting standards and tax regulations.