The multi-currency for expenses sub-feature in BigTime gives you the option to enter expenses in any global currency and convert the amount back to your firm’s base currency. Let’s say your firm is based in Chicago, but you traveled to London on business. While there, you took a client out for dinner, which wound up costing £55.00. You now need to log the expense and convert the amount from GBP to USD. Here’s how you’d use BigTime’s multi-currency feature to enter that expense.
1. Go to your expense entry page by clicking on TIME/EXPENSES…EXPENSES from your main navigation toolbar.
2. Click on the blue ADD NEW EXPENSE button in the top left corner of your screen. This will take you to a new screen where you can add details about the expense you’re logging.
3. You’ll enter details about your expense’s type, the date it was logged, and the project it’s associated with as you normally would. In the middle of your Expense Details window, you’ll see the option to enter an expense amount and currency type under the AMOUNT and CURRENCY headers.
The currency type will default to your base currency, which we’ve set to USD – but since your client dinner was paid for in GBP, you will have to change your currency type. Click the GRAY ARROW and a picklist will appear with all your currency options. Select the currency you want to use – in this case, GBP – from the picklist.
NOTE: BigTime pulls exchange rates from xe.com. Since these rates fluctuate over time, BigTime also pulls the exchange rate for the date you logged your expense. If you decide to edit the date of your expense later on, the exchange rate will adjust accordingly.
4. You can now enter the amount you spent on dinner (£55.00) under the CURRENCY header. BigTime will automatically convert that amount to your base currency of USD, which amounts to $67.19. In addition to your base currency amount, you’ll be able to see the conversion rate between both currencies. It is possible to manually edit the exchange rate in this field, so if that’s something you’d like to do, take a look at this article for more info.
NOTE: BigTime pulls exchange rates from xe.com. Since these rates fluctuate over time, BigTime also pulls the exchange rate for the date you logged your expense. If you decide to edit the date of your expense later on, the exchange rate will adjust accordingly.
5. Fill out all the other relevant details about your expense. Save your changes and submit the expense by clicking the blue SAVE button at the bottom left side of your screen.
NOTE: BigTime’s multi-currency for expenses sub-feature only allows you to convert another currency into your base currency. You won’t be able to convert amounts between currencies that aren’t your set base currency.