1. Go to the Setup menu and choose Preferences.
2. On the System tab, select the option I Deal in Multiple Currencies.
   

3. Click OK.

   Once you turn this preference on in the sample file, you won't be able to turn it off.

By turning on this preference:

• Foreign currencies now available from the Lists menu.
• Currency information is available in supplier cards and the Enter Purchases, Pay Bills, Spend Money, Receive Money, Purchases Register, Reconcile Accounts, and Find Transactions (Bill tab) windows.
• A new income account (4-9999 Currency Gain/Loss) is created to track gains and losses from exchange rate changes.

Currently you need to manually set exchange rates. In a future release, this will be automated using online exchange rates.

The exchange rate will be used when recording and paying bills, or a custom exchange rate can be used per transaction.

1. Go to the Lists menu and choose Currencies.
2. Use the Search field to find the currency by currency code or name.
3. Enter the currency’s Exchange Rate. The rate represents the foreign value for $1 of local currency, e.g. 1 AUD = entered exchange rate.
   
4. Click OK.
5. Repeat for other currencies.

You can set a supplier’s default currency in their card. If needed, you can choose a different currency when recording purchases.

1. Go to the Card File command centre and click Cards List.
2. Click the Supplier tab.
3. Click the blue zoom arrow to open a supplier’s card.
4. On the Profile tab, select the supplier’s Default Currency. Here’s an example:
   
5. Click OK.
6. Repeat for other suppliers.

If you have a bank account in a foreign currency, you can create a matching account in AccountRight. Currently these accounts can only be Bank type accounts, but credit card type accounts will be supported in a future update.

Once an account is created, you can’t change the account type or currency.

1. Go to the Accounts command centre and click Accounts List.
2. Click New.
3. Select Bank as the Account Type.
4. Enter an Account Number and Account Name.

5. Select the Currency for this account. Here’s an example account:
   

   Opening balances

   If the account has a balance, you can enter it here in both foreign and local values. You'll need to manually calculate the local value based on the currency's exchange rate.

6. Click the Details tab.
7. Select the Tax/GST Code for this account. This must be a code with a 0% tax rate. Check with your accounting advisor if unsure.
8. Click OK.
9. Repeat for additional foreign bank accounts.

Once an account has been used in a transaction, the Accounts List window shows the account balance in your local currency.

To see the account’s foreign currency balance, double-click to open the account.

Use a Receive Money transaction to transfer funds from one AccountRight bank account into a foreign bank account.

Here’s how:

1. Go to the Banking command centre and click Receive Money.
2. In the Deposit to Account field, select the foreign bank account. The Currency field updates based on the account chosen, and the exchange rate is shown.
3. If required, change the exchange rate (click the blue zoom arrow next to the Currency field). Changing the rate will result in an unrealised gain or loss.
   • Changing the Default rate will update the rate set against the currency list.
   • Setting a Custom rate will use that rate for this transaction only.
     
4. Enter the Amount of the transfer (in foreign currency).
5. On the first line of the transaction, select the Acct. No. the funds are coming from.
   • The local Amount is calculated and cannot be changed.
   • The foreign currency Amount is copied from what you entered above. This can be changed, if needed.
6. Ensure the correct Tax/GST code is selected. Here’s an example transaction:
   
7. Click Record.

By turning on the multi-currency preference as described earlier, currency information is available when recording purchases (quotes, orders and bills).

This means you’ll see the purchase value in both local and foreign currencies. The default exchange rate set against the currency is used, or you can choose a custom rate.

OK, let’s create a foreign currency purchase.

1. Go to the Purchase command centre and click Enter Purchase.
2. Click Layout and choose Item or Service.
3. Choose the Purchases Type (Quote, Order or Bill).
4. Choose the Supplier. The default currency set in their card is shown. If required, you can click the dropdown arrow to select a different currency for this purchase.
   
5. If required, change the exchange rate (click the blue zoom arrow next to the Currency field).
   
   • Changing the Default rate will update the rate set against the currency list.
   • Setting a Custom rate will use that rate for this transaction only.
   
6. Enter the details of the purchase.
   
   • Only the foreign currency amount can be entered. The local currency amount is calculated for you.
   • Only 0% tax/GST codes can be assigned in foreign currency transactions.
   Here’s an example:
   
7. (Optional) Recap the transaction (Edit menu > Recap Transaction) to view journal postings in local currency, then click Close.
   
8. Click Record.

The way you change a quote or order into a bill remains the same. Learn more about Changing the purchase type.

Paying foreign currency bills is similar to paying other bills, but with some handy extras.

Let’s take a look:

1. Go to the Purchases command centre and click Pay Bills.
2. Choose the Pay from Account. This can be a local or foreign currency bank account.
3. Choose the Supplier. Their open bills are listed.
   • Bills are grouped by currency (if you’ve recorded bills in multiple currencies).
   • Click a currency to see those bills - the exchange rate and amounts on the window update accordingly.
   • The Owed columns and Total Paid field show local and foreign values.
   
4. If required, change the exchange rate (click the blue zoom arrow next to the Currency field). Changing the rate will result in a realised gain or loss.
   • Changing the Default rate will update the rate set against the currency.
   • Setting a Custom rate will use that rate for this bill payment only.
     
5. In the Amount field, enter the total foreign currency amount being paid.

6. In the Applied column, enter how much of the payment you want to apply to each purchase in that currency.
   

   Click Pay All to pay all a supplier’s bills for the same currency. The total payment amount appears in the Amount field and the individual payment amounts are applied to each open purchase in that currency.

7. Ensure the Out of Balance is zero. An out of balance will show if the Total Paid and Amount fields don’t match.
   Notice the converted local value is also shown.
   

   Finance Charges can’t be applied to foreign currency transactions. What are your thoughts on this? Let us know on the community forum.
8. (Optional) Recap the transaction (Edit menu > Recap Transaction) to view journal postings in local currency, including any realised gains or losses. Then click Close.
   
9. Click Record.

We’re still working on adding multi-currency info to AccountRight’s reports. But we’ve enhanced the Purchases Register to give you some great insights into your multi-currency transactions.

Once you’re in the Purchases Register (accessible from the Purchases command centre), here’s just a few things you can do.

What can and can’t be done with multi-currency in AccountRight?

How do I sort my suppliers by currency?

You can add the Currency column to the Cards List so you can group your suppliers by currency.

Here's how:

1. Go to the  Card File command centre and click  Cards List.
2. Click the Supplier tab.
3. Right-click a column heading and choose Column Chooser.
4. Double-click Currency from the list. The Currency column is added to the list. If you like, click and drag the column heading to move the column to a new position.
5. Right-click the Currency column heading and choose Group By This Column.
   

Learn more about searching, filtering and grouping in the Cards List.