Multi currency / Foreign exchange rates and options

• To access the exchange rates
• The exchange rate options
• FX Reserve account

Spotlight will complete multi-currency conversions when working in a multi-currency consolidated report. Spotlight uses XE.com to do conversions within the product, you can view and edit the exchange rates that Spotlight uses for converting organisations with different currencies into the group report currency.

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To access the exchange rates

You can access the exchange rates from within the group's Settings page.

1. From the main dashboard, locate your group then click the Settings link under the group name.
2. Under the Categories / FX tab, click Edit Exchange Rates. You can then make any required changes. For information about the options available, please refer to the next section.
   
   Note: The Edit Exchange Rates option only appears when the group currency is different to at least one of the individual organisation currencies.
   

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The exchange rate options

There are several options available when you edit your exchange rates.

Financial Year

Choose the financial year for which you want to amend the exchange rates.  You can access the current financial year, plus three prior years.

Profit and Loss Default

Set the type of exchange rate to use on profit and loss reports.

• Month-end - Use the month end exchange rates from XE.com
• Monthly Avg. - Use a monthly average exchange rate.

Note: Balance sheet reports automatically use the month-end rate.  If required, you can override this in the USER DEFINED section.

Rate Type

Choose how you want to view the exchange rates.

• Units per <Group currency> - Show the value of one unit of the group's currency in the organisation currency.
• <Group currency> per Unit - Show the value of one unit of the organisation's currency in the group's currency.

USER DEFINED

Change the exchange rate used for the profit and loss, balance sheet or both.

• Apply Profit & Loss Rates to Balance Sheet - To use the Profit and Loss Default setting for the balance sheet reports, select this check box.Note: If you don't select this option, the balance sheet automatically uses the month end rates from XE.com.
• Profit & Loss Rate and Balance Sheet Rate - The monthly exchange rates used for the reports.  If required, to enter your own exchange rate simply type the value into the relevant box.

The FX Reserves account

When working in a multi-currency consolidated report, you may notice accounts that have been added to the P&L and Balance Sheet.

The FX Reserves account that appears in the balance sheet report is the foreign exchange rate difference between showing the Current Year Earnings based on monthly converted profit vs. year to date converted profit.  This line is needed to balance the report.

If you want to combine this line with the adjustment row held in the Eliminate Accounts screen, ensure that each account has the same name.  To amend the name of the balance sheet account, open the Customise Rows option, click the pencil icon and amend the name of the account.

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