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Currencies and Exchange Rates

xAssets Fixed Asset Management User Guide
Section 3 – Financial Setup

Currencies and Exchange Rates

Every financial amount in xAssets has an associated currency code. This page explains how to configure currencies and manage exchange rates. Even single-currency organisations need to define their home currency — the system requires at least one currency to function.

Prerequisites

  • You must be in the Fixed Asset Management profile (see Fixed Asset Management Profile).
  • Your home currency should be defined in Admin > Settings before configuring exchange rates.

Single-Currency vs. Multi-Currency

Environment What You Need to Do
Single currency Define your home currency with an exchange rate of 1. No further currency setup is needed.
Multi-currency Define all currencies you use, maintain exchange rates for each, and ensure your home currency has a rate of 1.

Accessing Currencies and Exchange Rates

Navigate to Financial > Depreciation Setup > Currencies and Exchange Rates:

Currencies and Exchange Rates list showing currency codes and exchange rates

Setting Up Your Home Currency

Your home currency is defined in Admin > Settings. Ensure this currency exists in the currencies list and has an exchange rate of exactly 1. All other currencies are valued relative to the home currency.

Warning: If your home currency does not have an exchange rate of 1, all financial calculations and reports will produce incorrect values. Verify this as part of your initial setup.

Creating a New Currency

To create a new currency:

  1. Navigate to the Currencies and Exchange Rates screen.
  2. Click New or use the Add Currency menu option.
  3. Enter the currency code (use ISO 4217 codes such as USD, GBP, EUR for compatibility with the automatic exchange rate import feature).
  4. Enter the currency name.
  5. Click Save.

TODO Screenshot (manual): Dialog for creating a new currency, reached via New button or menu option within

Editing a Currency

Click a currency record to open it for editing:

TODO Screenshot (manual): Requires clicking into a specific currency record to open the edit dialog. Depen

Managing Exchange Rates

Exchange rates determine how foreign currency amounts are converted to your home currency for reporting purposes.

Adding an Exchange Rate

To add an exchange rate to a currency:

  1. Open the currency record.
  2. Select Add Exchange Rate.
  3. Enter the rate and the effective date.
  4. Click Save.

TODO Screenshot (manual): Dialog opened from within a currency edit screen via Add Exchange Rate option. M

The system maintains a history of exchange rates. When calculating financial values, it uses the rate that was in effect at the transaction date.

Tip: Enter exchange rates as the number of home currency units per one unit of foreign currency. For example, if your home currency is GBP and the rate for USD is 0.80, then 1 USD = 0.80 GBP.

Automatic Exchange Rate Import

If you use ISO currency codes, you can import the latest exchange rates automatically:

  1. Select Import Exchange Rates from Web Service Now from the Currencies and Exchange Rates menu.
  2. The system retrieves rates from a bank web service that publishes exchange rates four times per day.
  3. Previous rates are preserved in the exchange rate history — the import adds new rates without overwriting existing ones.

Scheduling Automatic Imports

To automate exchange rate updates:

  1. Select Create Schedule for Import of Exchange Rates from the menu.
  2. Configure the schedule (e.g. daily at 9:00 AM).
  3. The system will automatically import the latest rates on the configured schedule.

This ensures your exchange rates stay current without manual intervention.

Tip: For organisations with assets denominated in many currencies, scheduled exchange rate imports save significant time and reduce the risk of using stale rates in financial reports.

How Exchange Rates Affect Financial Calculations

Exchange rates are used when:

  • Reporting — Asset values in foreign currencies are converted to your home currency for consolidated reports
  • Period-end processing — Depreciation is calculated in the asset's transaction currency
  • Valuation reports — Net book values are presented in the home currency using the applicable exchange rate

Warning: Exchange rate changes do not retroactively recalculate past transactions. If you correct an exchange rate, only future calculations and reports will reflect the new rate. Past journal entries remain at the rate that was in effect when they were posted.