About the multiple-currency feature

If you deal in multiple currencies, it’s important to track the effects of currency exchange fluctuations on your business. Your AccountEdge software provides detailed reports to help you manage both unrealised gains and losses (potential changes in the value of overseas transactions) and realised gains and losses (the actual changes in the value of your assets, liabilities and equity that occur when you exchange foreign currency for Australian dollars).

The multiple-currencies feature is optional. If all your business is conducted with customers and suppliers in Australian dollars, there’s no need for you to use this feature. If you do want to use the multiple currencies feature, you need to set a preference.

You will also have to perform a number of setup tasks described in this section. For example, you need to set up special accounts to track the transactions you make in each currency. If, for instance, you plan to make sales in euros, you will need to create a separate receivables account for your sales to customers in Europe. Every foreign-currency account you create requires a companion account, known as an exchange account, to track changes in the value of the transactions assigned to the account.

Your local currency, the Australian dollar, is automatically set up for you. As this currency is used to determine the value of all other currencies, it cannot be deleted and its exchange value is fixed at 1. Before you begin entering transactions, you need to specify the appropriate currency for all your overseas customers and suppliers. To ensure accurate records, and speed up entering of transactions, only one currency can be selected for each customer or supplier card. An additional customer or supplier card must be created for each foreign currency used.