Configuring Currencies

⏱️ 2 minute read

Your company's currency is defined by an Admin in the Company Details settings page. This currency is known as your company currency. It is the default currency for all new rate cards and the currency displayed in all Standard and Advanced Reporting.

Additional currencies can be added along with their exchange rates in the company's Finance settings, also within the Admin panel. These currencies, also known as project currencies can be applied to specific projects, as needed. You must define a single company currency but you may create as many additional "project currencies" as needed. 

Forecast uses a date-effective financial model for project currencies, tying exchange rates to specific date ranges. This locks past revenue and margins, ensuring an immutable audit trail and accurate point-in-time reporting without the need for manual spreadsheet reconciliation.

This article covers:

• Configuring your company's currency

• Adding currencies and exchange rates

• Managing exchange rate history (Closed Beta)

• Deleting currencies

Configuring your company's currency

Company currency is defined in the Company Details settings within the Admin panel.  This is the default currency used for all rate cards when initially created as well as the currency used in Standard and Advanced Reporting. 

To set your company currency

1. Click Admin in the top bar. 
2. Select Company Details from the dropdown. 
3. Scroll down to Currency.
4. Select a currency from the dropdown.
   

Adding currencies and exchange rates

Often, projects may be managed and paid for using a currency other than your company's default currency. This requires you to calculate project budgets based on a currency conversion, or exchange rate, where the result become the project currency.

Admins manage these currencies and their exchange rates within the Finance settings of the Admin panel.  These currencies are available for selection in rate cards, which are then assigned within each project. You can create as many project currencies as needed. 

To create a new currency

1. Click Admin in the top bar.
2. Select Finance from the dropdown.
3. Go to Currencies.
4. Select the desired currency from the dropdown. 
5. Enter the conversion, or exchange rate. 
6. Click +.
   

Managing Exchange Rate History (Beta)

Exchange Rate History allows you to maintain precise financial calculations in Forecast by accounting for currency fluctuations over time. By adding date-effective exchange rates, you ensure that Forecast automatically applies the exact historical rate to your data based on when specific costs or revenues occur. This dynamic approach means your budgets, margins, and financial reports will accurately reflect the ongoing evolution of exchange rates, ensuring your project financials are always grounded in reality rather than relying on a single, static conversion rate.

To insert a new exchange rate

1. Click the ellipsis to the right of the currency row and select View/Add Rate.

2. Click + Add New Rate.

3. Enter the effective date and the new rate, then click the blue button to confirm.

4. Click Save to apply the changes.

Key features of the Currency History Modal:

• Status Indicators & Auto-Stitching: Rates are easily distinguishable via "Current Rate" and "Past" tags. Whenever a new rate is added, the system automatically end-dates the previous rate, guaranteeing a seamless and continuous timeline.

• Effective Date Controls: New rates can be applied immediately ("Now") or backdated, provided the date falls after the most recently recorded past date. Setting rates for future dates is not currently supported.

• Immutable Audit Trail: To maintain historical accuracy, all past FX rate entries are strictly read-only. Edit and delete capabilities are disabled for historical records.

• First Row Lock: The earliest entry in your rate history is permanently labeled "Initial." If your system contains only one rate, its active period will display from "Initial" to "Onwards."

• Timezone Localization: All timestamps displayed within the modal automatically adapt to the individual user's local timezone.

Deleting currencies

You can delete a currency as long as it is not being used by a rate card. Currencies used in rate cards appear with the lock icon. Currencies available for deletion will display three dots when hovering. 

To delete a currency

1. Click Admin in the top bar.
2. Select Finance from the dropdown.
3. Click Currencies.
4. Find the currency you wish to delete. 
5. Hover over the right side of the currency. Three dots will appear. 
6. Click the three dots and select Delete. 
   
7. Currencies being used by rate cards will display the lock icon next to the currency name and cannot be deleted.