Suddenly, you need to track currencies
Today, more than ever, businesses of all sizes are required to deal in a foreign currency with customers, vendors, or both. Oftentimes, a business starts out life simply with one currency, and then the complexity of multiple currencies, exchange rates, and foreign prices creeps up on them. Certainly, new businesses, especially those that engage in e-commerce, must deal in different currencies and foreign prices. Regardless of whether the business is new or has been in existence for some time, a business dealing in more than one currency is often is required to maintain bank and credit card accounts in one or more foreign currencies, in order to minimize currency conversion costs. If this describes you and your business (or, if you’re an accounting professional and this describes any of your clients), you’re likely one of countless QuickBooks users who are just starting to discover its Multicurrency function.

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    Deal in Your Customers’ Currency
    Like anyone else, people who buy from you want to know exactly what their purchase will cost them. And that means they must be presented with pricing in their own money (the currency in which they earn, save, and spend), not some other currency that has to be converted into theirs at constantly fluctuating exchange rates. This Shopify blog article indicates the top reasons customers abandon their e-commerce shopping cart before paying, and they all are encountered when dealing in currencies other than one’s own. Among the top reasons are:
    • Presented with unexpected costs
    • Found a better price elsewhere
    • Overall price too expensive
    • Price presented in a foreign currency
    And so, it is crucial to present foreign customers with pricing in their chosen currency. At the same time, it is also crucial to report on foreign sales, expenses, and balances in a way that will keep the business profitable and not lose money on foreign exchange fluctuations.
    Keep on Top of Everything with “Intelligent Business Intelligence”
    When you turn on the Multicurrency function in QuickBooks and learn how to set it up and use it properly, you’ll then have sales and purchase forms that you can share with your foreign customers and vendors. You’ll also have price lists to offer to your foreign customers in their currency, and you’ll be able to generate meaningful internal reports that you can use to run and track your business. These reports will be available in the foreign currencies in which you transact as well as your home currency (the one in which you report to your own government). You’ll be able to track profitability and spot any issues or areas of potential trouble, pivot and take proactive action before it’s too late to fix anything. That’s “Intelligent Business Intelligence.”