FAQ: Foreign-Currency Documents
Answers to common questions about creating and managing documents in foreign currencies.
FAQ: Foreign-Currency Documents
Q: Can I change a document's currency after I've created it?
A: It depends on the document's status. If the document has not yet been posted or paid, you can usually edit it and change the currency. However, if it has been posted to the accounting ledger or partially/fully paid, changing the currency may create inconsistencies. Contact your admin or check the document's edit permissions. As a best practice, create the document in the correct currency from the start.
Q: What exchange rate should I use when creating a foreign-currency document?
A: Use the exchange rate that was in effect on the date of the transaction (the invoice date, bill date, order date, etc.), not the rate at the time you enter it into the system. Usystems will fetch or allow you to enter today's rate by default, but you can edit it. If you are entering historical transactions, manually update the rate to match the transaction date.
Q: If I create a USD 100 invoice at an exchange rate of 1 USD = 80 AFN, and the customer pays USD 100 a month later when the rate is 1 USD = 90 AFN, do I have a gain or a loss?
A: You have a gain. Your invoice showed AFN 8,000 equivalent, but you received USD 100 which is now worth AFN 9,000. The AFN 1,000 difference is an exchange-rate gain. It is recorded separately from your sales revenue in a dedicated FX-gain account, so your accounting properly reflects what actually happened.
Q: Can I issue an invoice in one currency and receive payment in a different currency?
A: Yes, absolutely. For example, you can issue a USD 1,000 invoice but the customer may pay you EUR 900 (or any other currency) if that is what you agree to. When you record the payment, enter the currency and amount actually received. Usystems will calculate any gain or loss based on the exchange rate between the two currencies at the time of payment.
Q: Does Usystems automatically fetch today's exchange rates, or do I have to enter them myself?
A: This depends on your system configuration. Your admin may have set up automatic rate feeds from an external service (such as a currency API), or they may require manual entry. Check with your admin about how rates are managed in your system. Always verify the rate before saving a document—a wrong rate can cause significant accounting errors.
Q: If I pay a foreign-currency bill using my local-currency bank account, how is the transaction recorded?
A: When you pay a foreign-currency bill from a local-currency account, you enter the amount you actually paid out in the local currency (what left your bank account). Usystems compares this to the bill's original amount and calculates any gain or loss. The bill is marked as paid once the payment covers the full original amount (after conversion).
Q: Can multiple currencies appear on a single document (e.g., one item in USD and another in EUR)?
A: No. In Usystems, each document uses a single currency throughout. If you need to sell or buy items in multiple currencies, create a separate document for each currency.
Q: Where can I see the exchange-rate gains and losses my company has recorded?
A: Exchange-rate gains and losses are posted to dedicated accounts in your chart of accounts (usually called Foreign Exchange Gain and Foreign Exchange Loss or similar). You can see them on:
- General Ledger report — filtered by the FX-gain and FX-loss accounts
- Trial Balance report — these accounts appear in the liability or equity section
- Transaction list — if you search for transactions posted to those accounts
Q: My contact (customer or vendor) operates in multiple currencies. Should I create separate contact records for each currency?
A: No. One contact record can work with multiple currencies. You can set a default currency on the contact so that the most common currency is pre-filled, but you can override it when creating each document. For example, a vendor might have USD as the default, but you can create one bill in EUR if needed.
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