The International Trade Blog arrow Shipping Solutions Software

Using Multiple Currencies on Your Export Invoices

On: April 7, 2015    |    By: Lisa Nemer Lisa Nemer    |    3 min. read

Using Multiple Currencies on Your Export Invoices | Shipping SolutionsJust because the world is getting flatter doesn’t mean it’s getting simpler. Doing business internationally means our Shipping Solutions customers sometimes need to prepare their Commercial and Proforma invoices in currencies other than U.S. dollars. However, the U.S. Census Bureau requires reporting through AESDirect in U.S. dollars only.

Shipping Solutions Professional makes it easy for exporters to manage one shipment using multiple currencies, and here’s how.

Prepare the shipment as you normally would entering U.S. dollars on the EZ Start-Product Detail screen in the Unit Price and Extended Price boxes. Next, go to the EZ Start-Invoices screen. In the lower-right corner of the screen there is a field called Invoice Currency. Select the appropriate currency from the drop-down list, which includes most world currencies. When you tab out of that field a Currency Exchange Rate box will appear.

There are two ways to enter the exchange rate. You can enter it directly in the Currency Exchange Rate box on the EZ Start-Invoices screen, or you can store it in the Currencies Database. To store it in the database, click the Databases tab and choose Currencies. You can search for the currency you are looking for by either Country Code or Currency Name.

Once you have found it you can click the Conversion Rate box and enter the correct rate. Now, whenever you choose that currency on the EZ Start-Invoices screen, that currency rate will carry over to the Currency Exchange Rate box. Because currencies can vary on a daily basis or be specified in sales contracts, it may be easier to bypass the Currencies database and enter the exchange rate directly on the EZ Start-Invoices screen.

The Invoice Currency and Currency Exchange Rate fields control how the currency is displayed on the Commercial and Proforma invoices. Shipping Solutions will take the amounts listed on the EZ Start-Product Detail screen, multiply them by the Currency Exchange Rate, and display them by line item on the Commercial and Proforma invoices along with the proper symbol for the currency chosen.

Any fees you have entered on the EZ Start-Invoices screen will also be multiplied by the Currency Exchange Rate and displayed with the proper symbol on the invoices. The currency code (e.g. USD) will also be displayed below the total invoice value.

If you don't need the entire export invoice to be displayed in a currency other than U.S. dollars, you can choose to display the invoice total in a second, additional currency. On the EZ Start-Invoices screen there is an Alternative Currency drop-down list in the lower-right corner of the screen. Select the appropriate currency and when you tab out of the box, the Alternative Currency Exchange Rate box will appear.

The rate will be filled in if you have entered it in the Currencies database as described above. Otherwise, you can enter the Alternate Currency Exchange Rate right on the EZ Start-Invoices screen. Shipping Solutions will take the total value on the Commercial or Proforma invoice and multiply it by the Alternate Currency Exchange Rate. The invoice total, including fees, will be displayed at the bottom of the invoices along with the currency code (e.g. USD).

Meanwhile, the values in U.S. dollars are preserved on the EZ Start-Product Detail screen, are displayed on all the other documents, and are used for your AESDirect filing.

By using the currency features of Shipping Solutions Professional you are able to provide values in three different currencies on one shipment.

Lisa Nemer

About the Author: Lisa Nemer

Lisa Nemer leads the customer service and finance teams at Shipping Solutions, a software company that develops and sells export document and compliance software targeted specifically at small and mid-sized U.S. companies that export. If you have ever called Shipping Solutions with a question or problem you've probably talked to Lisa! Prior to joining Shipping Solutions, Lisa spent 14 years in finance and technology-related jobs for a Fortune 500 company in Minneapolis.

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