> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://tribalfs.gitbook.io/accountant/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://tribalfs.gitbook.io/accountant/transactions/multi-currency.md). # Multi-currency Accounts in other currencies, exchange rates, and your reporting currency. **What you'll learn:** how to keep accounts in other currencies (including crypto), how exchange rates are recorded, and how your reports stay accurate. ## Reporting currency and account currencies * Your **reporting currency** is the currency for totals and reports. You chose it during setup, and it's shown in **Settings › Reporting currency**. * **Asset and liability accounts** (cash, bank, cards, loans, investments) can each have their own currency. Pick it in the **Currency** field when you add the account. For crypto, tap **⋮ › Show cryptocurrencies** in the currency list. * **Income and expense accounts** always use the reporting currency. {% hint style="info" %} An account's currency can't be changed once it has amounts recorded. To move to another currency, create a new account and record a **Transfer** between the two. {% endhint %} ## Recording a foreign-currency transaction When a transaction involves an account in another currency, the editor shows an **Exchange rate** card. It quotes one unit of the foreign currency, for example *$1 = ₱63.95*. 1. The app fetches the rate for the transaction date. You'll see where it came from: **Downloaded**, **Entered manually**, **Saved rate**, **From template**, or **from your amounts**. 2. To use your bank's actual rate, tap the card and type the rate. A new rate keeps the amount in the cash account, such as the dollars that left your wallet, and works out the other side again. 3. In the rate dialog, the refresh button (**Get latest rate**) downloads the rate again. 4. If the card shows **Rate needed. Tap to enter.**, the app couldn't download a rate (for example, you're offline). Enter it yourself. *"No exchange rate is available. Enter it manually."* means no source has a rate for that date. Paying a credit card or loan in another currency? The payment is made in the card's or loan's own currency, so the statement amount stays as it is. ### When neither account is in your reporting currency For example, a transfer from a EUR account to a GBP account when you report in USD. The card asks for one more rate, **For reports (USD)**. It's needed because *"neither account uses USD, your reporting currency."* This is what values the transaction in your reports. ## Transfers between currencies Use **Transfer money** to exchange currency, for example when you top up a travel account. 1. Choose the **From account** and **To account**. 2. Tap the amount. The dialog has **Sent** and **Received**, each in its account's currency, for example **Sent (USD)** and **Received (PHP)**. Enter what your bank actually sent and what actually arrived. The rate is then worked out *from your amounts*. If no rate can be downloaded, the amount received is required (*"Enter the amount received"*). 3. Add the exchange fee under **Finance charges** with **Add charge**, if there is one. The amount then reads, for example, *$114.47 → ₱7,397.30 (net)*: the pesos are what arrived after the fee. The amount received you entered is kept when you reopen the transfer, change a charge or the amount sent, or pick another source account. In the transaction lists, the transfer shows the amount sent on top and the amount that arrived below. For scheduled transactions between currencies, see [Two currencies](/accountant/transactions/scheduled-and-recurring.md#two-currencies). ## How balances are valued in reports Foreign balances are converted to your reporting currency using a rate for each date, so a report for last March uses last March's rates. * **Rates stay current by themselves.** When you open the app, at most every 6 hours, it downloads today's rate and any missing month-end rates for your foreign-currency and crypto accounts. * **Exchange rate history:** open a foreign-currency account in **Accounts** and tap the button at the end of its **Currency** row (for example **EUR → USD**) to see the rate used on each date, described as *"Value of 1 EUR in USD, used for this account in reports."* Tap a rate to change it; a rate you type for today is saved as your own rate for that day. **⋮ › Update now** downloads the latest rates (*"Rates updated"*). Turn on **Show transaction exchange rates** to see the rates from your own transactions too. * **Foreign exchange gain (loss):** when rates move, the value of your foreign balances changes even though you didn't spend or earn anything. **Profit & loss** shows this as a separate line, after **Net income before exchange gain (loss)**. * If a rate is missing, the value shows as **—** instead of a guess. Add the rate in the account's exchange rate history. {% hint style="info" %} **Stocks and funds** work the same way, with a **Price** instead of an exchange rate. See [Stocks and funds](/accountant/accounts/stocks-and-funds.md). {% endhint %} ## Changing your reporting currency 1. Open **Settings › Reporting currency** and choose the new currency. 2. Read the preview. It says how many transactions and accounts are affected. Asset and liability amounts in their own currencies don't change; past values are converted using historical rates. 3. Confirm. A checklist shows each step: *Reading your ledger*, *Getting historical rates* (with the number of days done), *Restating amounts in …* and *Saving the change*. If a step fails, it says why, for example *"No exchange rate for 3 Mar 2026"* or *"The ledger changed in the meantime."* The currency isn't changed. Check your rates and transactions, then tap **Try again**. ## Where the rates come from Rates are downloaded from free public exchange-rate services when you're online. If the main service can't answer, the app asks ExchangeRate-API (*"Rates By Exchange Rate API"* appears when it supplied the rate) or the European Central Bank. For dates before March 2, 2024, only the ECB's currencies have rates; enter others yourself. Only currency codes and dates are sent, never your amounts. See the [Privacy Policy](/accountant/agreements/privacy-policy.md). --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. 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