Two currencies, exchange rate and your own currencies in Invoices

Some clients pay in a different currency than the one you keep your books in. Invoices handles this on one document: the invoice has a main currency, and the sheet also shows the total in your accounting currency.

Your accounting currency

Your accounting currency is the Currency you set in Settings. A new draft copies it when you create the draft. Changing the setting later does not change drafts that already exist.

The Currency field in the document form is the currency of the invoice. A new draft starts with the currency of its client, or with your default if the client has none. If the invoice currency is the same as your accounting currency, nothing changes: there is one currency and no rate.

Entering the exchange rate

When the two currencies are different, an Exchange rate block appears under Currency. The rate field starts empty, and you must fill it in.

• Rate. A number above zero, with up to 12 significant digits and up to 10 decimal places.
• Rate date. The day the rate is from. If you leave it empty, the issue date is used.
• Quote. The direction of the rate. Pick the phrase you can see on your bank’s site. For EUR and USD the choices are “1 EUR = … USD” and “1 USD = … EUR”. The rate is printed the same way you typed it.
• Prices in. The currency you type unit prices in: the invoice currency or your accounting currency. The other total is calculated from it.

Save the form, and the sheet shows both totals. On the document card the main total is in the invoice currency, with the accounting total below it in grey, and a line such as “Rate: 1 EUR = 1.08 USD”.

Why the rate is entered by hand

Invoices does not fetch rates. The rate that counts is often the one from a specific source on a specific day, for example your bank or the tax office. A rate that the tool picked for you could differ from that, so you enter it and the sheet shows exactly your number.

The rate is required before issue

A document with two currencies cannot be issued without a rate. If the rate is missing, the card shows “Enter the exchange rate in the document form.” with a link to the form. A credit note cannot have its own rate: it uses the rate of the invoice it corrects.

Limits on amounts

Documents with units, two currencies or your own currency have limits. In such a document, each line and each total must stay at or below 99 999 in the whole part, in both currencies. A quantity can go up to 99 999.999. If an amount is too large, the form asks you to split the line or the document. A document in one standard currency with no units has no such limit. A very large or very small rate can also be refused, because the converted amounts would be too big. Check the rate and its direction.

Your own currencies

Open Settings and use the Your currencies link next to Currency. Each currency you add has:

• Code. 2 to 10 Latin letters and digits. An ISO code such as EUR is not allowed.
• Decimal places. From 0 to 8. You cannot change this later, because amounts are already stored with it.
• Network. Optional text, up to 20 characters, for example “Tron (TRC20)”.
• Payment address. Optional. No spaces, from 15 to 128 characters.

Network and address can be edited at any time in the table. A currency can be hidden, but not deleted, because it may be used on issued documents. A hidden currency stays on documents that already use it.

Once a currency exists, you can use its code as the Currency of a client or of a document. The address turns into a payment block on the invoice; see Pay in cryptocurrency.

Can I change the currency of a document that already has a rate?

Yes, on a draft. Change the Currency and enter the rate for the new pair. If the new currency is the same as your accounting currency, the rate block goes away.

Try it

Invoices is free for up to 5 documents a month. Open Invoices — one fewbase account for every tool. Pricing is on Plans.