The Currency List holds the currencies your business deals in. Your home currency (the one your books are kept in, such as CAD) is always on. Any other currency is off until you turn it on, and only a currency that is on can be given to a customer or vendor. For each foreign currency the list shows today's exchange rate and where it came from, and lets you enter your own rate for any date.
Every foreign invoice, bill and journal entry takes the rate for its own date from this list.
Opening the list
- Company ▸ Manage Currency ▸ Currency List opens the list over the Home Page. Esc goes back to the Home Page. It needs permission for Home Currency Adjustment.
- Edit ▸ Preferences… ▸ Multiple Currencies ▸ Currency List opens the same list on top of Preferences; Esc goes back to Preferences.
- The same list is the first card on the Foreign Currency screen (Company ▸ Manage Currency ▸ Home Currency Adjustment).
The list
The card is headed Currency list, with Turn on a currency on the right and the note The currencies this business deals in. A customer or supplier is kept in one of them, and every invoice, bill and journal takes the rate for its own date from here.
Each row shows:
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Code | The three-letter currency code, such as USD or EUR. |
| Name | The currency's name. The home currency's row says · home currency. |
| Rate | Today's rate as 1 USD = 1.3612 CAD (to four decimals). The home currency is always 1.00. — means no rate is known. |
| Source (under the rate) | Where today's rate came from (see below). |
| Rates | Opens the currency's rates by date. |
| Turn off | Turns the currency off. |
The home currency's row has no buttons.
Where a rate comes from
For any date, SeroBooks uses the first of these that exists:
- A rate you entered for that day — shown as entered for today.
- The Bank of Canada's rate for that day, where it publishes the currency — shown as Bank of Canada.
- The latest rate you entered before that day — shown as last entered date.
If none exists, the row shows no rate yet — enter one.
A rate is always home currency per one unit of the foreign currency: 1 USD = 1.36 CAD.
Turn a currency on
- Choose Turn on a currency.
- In the Currency window, search by code or name (Search — USD, euro, rupee…) and choose the currency.
- The currency joins the list with today's rate.
Giving a customer or vendor a currency that is not on yet turns it on for you.
Turn a currency off
Choose Turn off on its row. A currency cannot be turned off while a customer or vendor is kept in it; the message says N customer(s) or supplier(s) are kept in USD. It stays on while they are. Change or remove those contacts first. The home currency can never be turned off.
Enter your own exchange rates
Use your own rate when your bank or your accountant uses a different one, or when the Bank of Canada does not publish the currency.
- Choose Rates on the currency's row. The window USD rates (named for the currency) opens with the note 1 USD = how many CAD, by date.
- Choose the date button (it shows today) and pick the day. You can pick any day up to a year ahead.
- Type the rate in the box after 1 USD =.
- Choose Save. The rate appears in the list below, and the box clears for the next one.
- Choose Close.
The list in the window shows every rate you have entered, by date. If you have entered none, it says that days without one use the Bank of Canada rate, where it publishes the currency. Saving a second rate for the same day replaces the first.
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| A rate is more than zero. | Type a positive rate. |
| A date is YYYY-MM-DD. | Pick the date with the date button. |
| The home currency is always 1. | You cannot enter a rate for your home currency. |
Where currencies are used
- Customers and vendors. A customer or vendor has a Currency (see Add or edit a customer and Add or edit a vendor). Once they have transactions, their currency cannot change: As in QuickBooks, a customer's or vendor's currency cannot change once they have transactions — create a new customer or vendor for the other currency.
- Bills. On a bill, Invoiced in another currency records the vendor's currency and the amount they invoiced, beside the converted amount your books carry. See Enter Bills.
- General journal entries. A journal's Currency field fills the rate for the journal's date from this list. See Make General Journal Entries.
- Paying and revaluing. When a foreign bill or invoice is paid at a different rate, the difference is a realised exchange gain or loss; open balances can be revalued at period end. See Home Currency Adjustment.
The first time a foreign currency is used on a customer, vendor, document or journal, SeroBooks makes sure there is an Exchange Gain or Loss account for those differences, adopting an existing one or creating it.
What happens in the books
Turning a currency on or off, and entering rates, posts nothing. Your books are always kept in the home currency: each foreign document is converted at the rate for its date when it is saved, and the ledger holds the converted amount. Entering a new rate for a past date does not change documents already saved.
Permissions
Everyone who can open the Foreign Currency screen can see the list. Turning currencies on and off and entering rates need a right under Foreign Currency or Accounting Setup; an administrator always has it. Without it, the message is You do not have permission for this. Ask an administrator to grant it under Users & Roles.
Common problems
- "no rate yet — enter one". The Bank of Canada does not publish that currency and you have entered no rate. Choose Rates and enter one.
- "XYZ is not a currency." The code is not a real currency code. Pick from the list instead.
- "The currency list is not set up on this server yet." Currencies are not available for your company yet. Contact SeroBooks support.
- I cannot turn a currency off. A customer or vendor is still kept in it.