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Foreign currency: the twin document, the rate, and where the difference lands · presentation 2 of 4 · for the whole-system operator — you run the books Read the transcript · Back to the series

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Foreign currency: the twin document, the rate, and where the difference lands · presentation 2 of 4

Which rate, whose date, and which way round it is stored

You can say where the rate on a foreign-currency document came from, which date it belongs to…

Before it is stored

Step 1 — Find out where your rate came from

You will know which of three things filled that box.

Where this step sits
    flowchart TD
  s1["1. Find out where your rate came…"]
  s2["2. Notice that the rate has no…"]
  s3["3. Meet the column with two readers…"]
  s4["4. See how the product itself works…"]
  s5["5. Run the thirty-second test"]
  s6["6. Do the right thing with the…"]
  s1 --> s2
  s2 --> s3
  s3 --> s4
  s4 --> s5
  s5 --> s6
  classDef here fill:#1e40af,stroke:#1e40af,color:#ffffff,font-weight:bold;
  class s1 here;

Step 2 — Notice that the rate has no date of its own

You will stop assuming the rate matches the document.

What this step names
  1. If that matters to you
  2. Record the rate for the day before you key the documents for…
  3. Type the rate on the document

The direction problem

Step 3 — Meet the column with two readers that disagree

You will understand the single hardest thing about foreign currency here.

Where this step sits
    flowchart TD
  s1["1. Find out where your rate came…"]
  s2["2. Notice that the rate has no…"]
  s3["3. Meet the column with two readers…"]
  s4["4. See how the product itself works…"]
  s5["5. Run the thirty-second test"]
  s6["6. Do the right thing with the…"]
  s1 --> s2
  s2 --> s3
  s3 --> s4
  s4 --> s5
  s5 --> s6
  classDef here fill:#1e40af,stroke:#1e40af,color:#ffffff,font-weight:bold;
  class s3 here;

Step 4 — See how the product itself works around it

The workaround will tell you how real the problem is.

What this step names
  1. One path into the system
  2. The invoice file import
  3. Deals with it explicitly: it reads an application setting that says
  4. For this currency
  5. Whether the incoming rate needs inverting
  6. Flips it if so

Proving it on your own data

Step 5 — Run the thirty-second test

You will know which direction your tenant is on.

Screen capture pending the demo tenant

A finalised foreign-currency document beside its twin, the two totals side by side

Step 6 — Do the right thing with the answer

You will not make it worse.

What this step names
  1. Do not start hand-editing rates on documents: every twin
  2. Every journal and every realised exchange difference already built from them is…
  3. Changing the rate on a document that is already finalised does not…

NarrationSlide 1 of 10

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