As e-commerce continues to thrive, more and more businesses are expanding their reach beyond their local market and selling their products and services to customers on marketplaces worldwide. However, this expansion comes with its own set of challenges, especially for omnichannel vendors that operate on multiple e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, eBay, or Shopify. For accountants, processing transactions in multiple currencies can be a complex and time-consuming task.
Today, we’re going to explore the case of Carla P., an experienced CPA who provides her professional services to a US-based business selling through various online platforms in multiple currencies, the difficulties she faced in tracking and reconciling these transactions, and how she managed to tackle them.
Challenges of managing multicurrency transactions
Carla often has to deal with multicurrency transactions, so she knows firsthand how challenging this task can be. As she puts it: “Multicurrency transactions can be a headache for accountants, as there are many factors to consider.” She knows that reconciling transactions from multiple payment processors with their conversion rates is time-consuming and it gets even more challenging when you’re reconciling such sales. She shared with us her experience of dealing with multicurrency transactions of a client of hers.
Her client’s business sold through Amazon, eBay, and Shopify, with inbuilt payment methods like AmazonPay, Shopify Payments, eBay Managed payments and additional external providers like PayPal and Authorize.net linked to sales channels. They received sales in seven different currencies, making it even harder to monitor all the transactions and fees, transfer all this information accurately to the books and later match it with the bank feed.
“One of the biggest issues in managing multicurrency transactions is fluctuating exchange rates, which can result in either an enormous amount of time it takes to track each particular rate or in randomness of amounts going to some adjustment account like “Exchange Gain or Loss” with no proper way to validate it,” Carla comments.
Because of that, it was hard for Carla to confidently reconcile her client’s books with multicurrency transactions. And she understood very well how rigid the requirements for data accuracy are in the accounting business.
So in order to stay on top of the multicurrency issues, Carla decided that it would be really convenient to have a data entry automation software that will thoroughly book all the exchange rates for every transaction.
And that was another major concern of Carla’s as accounting software apps may not always be fully equipped to handle multicurrency transactions. “I had to constantly double check everything to handle transactions in different currencies effectively, which took me a great deal of time and effort,” she says.
Solution for streamlining multicurrency transactions record
Carla had tried several apps to find the one that would provide the widest functionality for reasonable money. Some of the apps weren’t picking up any conversion rates, so they were of no use for transactions in multiple currencies. Others did pick up the rates, however, they wouldn’t connect to all the platforms her client operated with. And some apps were making entries only daily, while she needed an app that could be customized to suit other clients of hers.
Finally, Carla happened to come across Synder Sync, an accounting app that picks up exchange rates, is compatible with more than 25 integrations, and allows for the sync mode customization per client. Synder’s competitive edge is that it automates the process of gathering exhaustive transactional data from the connected sales channels and payment gateways, and transferring it to the books either as individual transactions or as daily summarized entries.
Having had a chance to compare Synder with some other software apps she’d tried, Carla understood that Synder’s main advantage is its ability to fully automate the process of dealing with multicurrency transactions and customize it based on clients’ needs. Carla shares: “I was in luck! With Synder, now I can easily convert my client’s multicurrency transactions into home currency or original-currency summaries’.
Setting up the multicurrency sync in Synder was a very simple process. “I completed it in just a few steps and it was so easy for me to learn to use this app,” says Carla. All she needed to do was to connect her clients’ e-commerce platforms (Amazon, Ebay, and Shopify), and payment processors (PayPal and Authorize) to Synder, and the tool started to automatically import transactions. The transactions were imported in the original currency and converted into the client’s home currency based on the rates from the payment processors.
This works perfectly for this client, however another Synder’s great asset is that you can choose to post the transactions in your home currency or the original currency.
If you set up the home currency option, Synder will automatically convert all transactions into your home currency using the exchange rate from the payment processor (if it technically allows access to it) and display them as a journal entry in a single currency. This option makes it easy to get a clear overview of all your transactions in one place. So you’ll receive one journal entry in home currency that will encompass all the transactions with different currencies already converted using the rates from payment processors (if available). In this case, it’s easy to reconcile all the sales against a single bank account in home currency.
Alternatively, if you prefer to view your transactions in their original currency, you can set up the original currency option. With this option, Synder will display all transactions in their original currency, giving you a clear picture of how much you’re earning in each currency. In this case, the app will post a journal entry for each currency according to the mapping. This way, it’s easy to reconcile sales against bank accounts in different currencies linked to your client’s books.
Synder Daily Summary turned out to be a game changer for Carla’s practice. “It simplified the process of managing multicurrency transactions so much. With this tool, all my client’s transactions are automatically converted based on the current rate of a particular platform. Now it’s so easy for me to manage transactions in different currencies.”
Another key benefit of Synder Daily Summary that Carla commented on is flexibility. Users can choose from a variety of mapping options depending on their needs. In her case, Carla chose to map all every product to its own sales account, so tracking sales results in Profit and Loss was easy. This approach made it easy for her to reconcile transactions and keep her client’s books organized.
Synder also helped Carla automate posting payouts to the books, which clears the holding account and transfers the required amount to their checking account bank feed. “I’m certain that my client’s bank feed is pre-matched, and the clearing account clears out automatically. And the conversion gains and losses account track any differences that may occur due to the conversion for systems that don’t provide the conversion rate right away. It made managing multicurrency transactions a breeze for me!”
Wrapping Up
As you can see, Synder Sync with its Daily Summary mode helps Carla easily track and reconcile transactions in different currencies, which greatly reduces the risk of errors and minimizes the time it takes to manage them. The tool has streamlined her accounting process, giving her more time to focus on other important accounting tasks.
Whether your client is dealing with multiple currencies or looking for a simple and effective way to track their transactions, Synder has got you covered. With its advanced features, you can easily manage finances, accurately record and report all transactions, and make informed decisions to grow your client’s business.
And if you want to join the cohort of happy accountants like Carla, who already take advantage of the Synder Daily Summary mode with its powerful functionality for managing multicurrency transactions, sign up for a 15-day free trial or book office hours with the Synder support team.
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