Set up and use Multicurrency in QuickBooks Online

Learn when and how to turn on Multicurrency in QuickBooks Online Essentials and Plus to do business in foreign currencies.

Doing business with customers overseas is good for your business. But dealing with exchange rates and foreign currencies can be complicated. The good news: QuickBooks' Multicurrency helps you record foreign transactions easily without worrying about exchange rate conversions.

Please note before you turn on Multicurrency:

• Once Multicurrency is on, you can't turn it off again, or change your home currency. This is because the currency conversion information will have to be accounted in the system moving forward. If you’re not sure, we recommend talking to an accountant.
• Multicurrency is not available for Simple Start users. Here’s how to upgrade or downgrade your QuickBooks Online subscription so you can start tracking your foreign currency transactions.
• Seeing the “Something’s not quite right” error during Multicurrency setup? Clear cache and cookies to fix issues.

Learn how to:

• Understand Multicurrency
• Use Multicurrency fields
• Choose your home currency and turn on Multicurrency
• Add currencies
• Delete currencies
• Add an account that uses a foreign currency
• Add transactions in a foreign currency 
• Work with exchange rates
• Deposit payment to a bank with a different currency
• Pay employees using a different currency
• Change an assigned currency for a customer or supplier

About Multicurrency

Multicurrency allows you to pay and get paid in the foreign currencies of customers, suppliers, or bank accounts that don't use your home currency. Once it's on, you can add transactions in another currency and QuickBooks handles all currency conversions.

Note: You can assign a single currency to most types of accounts including customers, suppliers, and accounts in the chart of accounts (like bank and credit card accounts or accounts receivable.) You’ll need to add a new account for each different currency that you use in your transactions.

Multicurrency fields

Once Multicurrency is activated, new fields will appear on some screens:

• Chart of accounts: A Currency column appears on the Chart of accounts, identifying each account's currency. Once an account has had a transaction posted to it, you can no longer change the account's currency.
• Bank and credit card histories: A column Home Currency Exchange Rate and currency notation appears in the headings of the Payment, Deposit, Tax, and Balance columns on Bank and credit card histories.

Choose your home currency and turn on Multicurrency

Home currency is usually the currency your business uses for its transactions based on where your business is located. Income and expense accounts always use your home currency.

When you set up QuickBooks, it automatically sets your home currency. If needed, you can change your home currency:

1. Go to Settings ⚙ and select Account and settings.
2. Select Advanced.
3. In the Currency section, select Edit ✎.
4. From the Home Currency ▼ dropdown, select your currency.
5. Turn on the Multicurrency switch and confirm that you understand that you can't undo this option.
6. Select Save, then Done.

The Manage Currencies link that appears takes you to the Currencies page, where you can manage the currencies you use.

What happens after you turn on Multicurrency

• Your chart of accounts shows account balances in their assigned currency along with a currency column identifying each account's currency.
• Instead of separate reports for different currencies, QuickBooks uses your home currency for financial reports. They include exchange gains or losses based on rate changes.
• Some product features may not be available once this feature has been turned on.

More information about Multicurrency

See the following articles for more information about the Multicurrency feature:

• How to add a foreign currency account
• How do I add foreign customers?
• How do I add foreign suppliers?
• Understanding home currency adjustment

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Add currencies

1. Go to Settings ⚙.
2. Select Currencies.
   Note: This option is available after you turn on Multicurrency.
3. Select Add currency.
4. Select the new currency from the Add Currency ▼ dropdown menu.
5. Select Add.

Delete currencies

You can only delete a currency if there are no transactions attached to it.

1. Go to Settings ⚙.
2. Select Currencies.
3. Select the small arrow ▼ icon in the Action column and then select Delete.
4. Select Yes to confirm the deletion.

Add an account that uses a foreign currency

By default, existing accounts will be in your home currency in the Currency column in the Chart of Accounts. To create an account that uses foreign currency:

1. Go to Settings ⚙ and select Chart of accounts (Take me there).
2. Select New.
3. Select the appropriate Account Type and Detail Type.
4. Enter a Name for the new account and an optional Description as well as any other required fields.
5. Select the foreign currency to assign to the account from the Currency ▼ dropdown menu.
6. Select Save and Close.

The account is created, and the account balances will show their assigned currency in the Chart of Accounts. Learn how to add an account to your Chart of Accounts.

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Note: Once an account has a transaction posted to it, you can no longer change the account's currency.

Add transactions in a foreign currency

1. Go to Transactions, then Bank transactions (Take me there).
2. From the For review tab, open the transaction details and select Add.
3. In the currency fields, enter the foreign amount or the exchange rate your bank provides.

QuickBooks Online calculates the total, and the Bank Description or Detail fields display the transaction as your bank displayed it on your statement, usually with the amount and currency.

Split transactions

If you use foreign currency, you can still split deposit and expense transactions based on different account categories and tax, but you can't split a transaction based on different currencies.

To split a transaction between categories, see How to enter a split transaction into the account history.

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Working with exchange rates

In QuickBooks, the exchange rate is the number of home currency units it takes to get to 1 foreign currency unit. QuickBooks uses exchange rates to show how much a foreign currency transaction is in your home currency value.

Foreign currency values are automatically updated every 4 hours in QuickBooks from Wall Street On Demand. Quickbooks downloads and uses exchange rates from IHS Markit, an information services company. You can use this feature or manually enter in your own exchange rates for foreign currency transactions. 

Also, learn how to adjust your home currency on a regular basis so you can stay current with the most recent foreign exchange rates.

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Deposit payment to a bank with a different currency

With Multicurrency, you can deposit a payment to a bank with a different currency.

1. Deposit the invoice payment to your bank account that uses the same currency.
2. Select + New.
3. Select Transfer.
4. Choose the accounts for each field:
   • Transfer Funds From: The account where you take the money from.
   • Transfer Funds To: The account where you transfer the money.
   • Currency: The currency you select determines the value of what's in the Transfer Amount field. You also need to enter the exchange rate if you haven't set it up yet.
     For example, you select US Dollars as the currency, then enter $5.00 in the Transfer Amount field. QuickBooks will transfer funds that are equal to $5.00 US dollars.
   • Transfer Amount: The amount you'll transfer to the account. This amount isn't absolute as its total value depends on the currency and exchange rate.
5. Enter the value of the payment for the invoice in Transfer Amount.
6. Enter the same date as the invoice, then select Save and close.

Pay employees using a different currency

To pay your employees using a different currency, you'll need to create a new supplier using your employee's information.

Step 1: Copy your employee's info

Step 2: Create a supplier with your employee's info

Step 3: Pay your employee

1. Select + New.
2. Select Expense.
3. From the Payee ▼ dropdown, select the supplier you created with your employee’s info.
4. Under Category, select the account you track your payroll expense with.
5. Make sure to enter an exchange rate, then fill out the other fields accordingly.
6. Select Save.

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Change an assigned currency for a customer or supplier

You'll need to create a new customer or supplier and assign the new type of currency.

Step 1: Make your supplier or customer inactive

To make a customer inactive:

1. Go to Sales, then Customers (Take me there).
2. Find and select the name of the customer you want to change the currency for.
3. Select Edit, then take note of all their information.
4. Select Save, then return to the Customers list.
5. Find the same customer and select the Action ▼ dropdown.
6. Select Make inactive, then Yes to confirm the request.

To make a supplier inactive:

Step 2: Create a new customer or supplier

To create a new customer:

To create a new supplier: