Foreign Currency.. How Do You Deal With It?

[Gemma Rowlands]

If you have clients who wish to pay in foreign currency, how do you deal with this? Do you have to account for any other charges? I try to make sure that all clients, even those from America, pay in GBP. However there are some who insist on paying in dollars. My bank charges a small fee for accepting such payments, but are there any ways to avoid this?

 

[YrHenOgledd]

Open a business account in the currency or currencies you accept. Then you get to decide when and how often you transfer to your GDP account. This is what I do (I have customers who pay in EUR).

There are people who advocate using Forex companies, but AFAIK they don't offer the protection that a bank does, i.e. if the Forex company goes bust while your money is in transit ...

 

[Pete Brindle]

We have only ever had this issue once, when a client from overseas (she wanted a taster session for her daughter, who was trying to make a decision about whether she would be happy to move to the country from Spain) wanted to pay me in Euros. I stated my price, and showed her the most local and cheapest place to get the currency converted. I only accept our currency - nothing else.

 

[Gemma Rowlands]

We have only ever had this issue once, when a client from overseas (she wanted a taster session for her daughter, who was trying to make a decision about whether she would be happy to move to the country from Spain) wanted to pay me in Euros. I stated my price, and showed her the most local and cheapest place to get the currency converted. I only accept our currency - nothing else.

It is a little strange that she is in the country without changing the money already really!

 

[Pete Brindle]

It is a little strange that she is in the country without changing the money already really!

I know, but the good news is that at least the lesson went well, and the girl is now on our books and thriving!

 

[Jennie Stamp]

Hi Gemma, I thought you might be interested to hear that we have just introduced multi-currency banking in FreeAgent. Users now have the option to record bank accounts in a foreign currency. Thought this might be quite useful in these situations

http://www.freeagent.com/central/multi-currency-banking-arrives?utm_campaign=cptag_co_multicurrencybanking_article__sbf_outreach&utm_source=SBF&utm_medium=outreach

 

[Gemma Rowlands]

Hi Gemma, I thought you might be interested to hear that we have just introduced multi-currency banking in FreeAgent. Users now have the option to record bank accounts in a foreign currency. Thought this might be quite useful in these situations

http://www.freeagent.com/central/multi-currency-banking-arrives?utm_campaign=cptag_co_multicurrencybanking_article__sbf_outreach&utm_source=SBF&utm_medium=outreach

Thanks Jennie that looks like it will prove to be very useful indeed!

 

[Jennie Stamp]

Thanks Jennie that looks like it will prove to be very useful indeed!

You're very welcome. As well as banking, our invoicing is also multi-currency which could be very useful for you.

 

[Lauren Turner]

I occasionally get people asking whether they would be able to pay in Euros, and even dollars on very very odd occasions. If I am posting orders out then they pay via PayPal which isn't an issue as obviously they then convert the money for me. If people want to pay I will accept common currencies that I know the rough exchange rate for. I keep the euros because we go to France a lot so I can always use them there, and then I just leave the dollars. I'm sure to go to America some day and it will be nice to have some spending money. I hardly get any dollars at all though so it's really not a problem.

 

[Gemma Rowlands]

I occasionally get people asking whether they would be able to pay in Euros, and even dollars on very very odd occasions. If I am posting orders out then they pay via PayPal which isn't an issue as obviously they then convert the money for me. If people want to pay I will accept common currencies that I know the rough exchange rate for. I keep the euros because we go to France a lot so I can always use them there, and then I just leave the dollars. I'm sure to go to America some day and it will be nice to have some spending money. I hardly get any dollars at all though so it's really not a problem.

Nothing's worse than getting paid in a currency and then exchanging it, only to find that the rate was nothing like what you thought you were charging. I have been on the wrong end of that process a number of times, and it's horrible. You're right though, if you're going to the country and you know that you're not selling yourself short then it's worth a go accepting the payments.

 

[Pete Brindle]

I occasionally get people asking whether they would be able to pay in Euros, and even dollars on very very odd occasions. If I am posting orders out then they pay via PayPal which isn't an issue as obviously they then convert the money for me. If people want to pay I will accept common currencies that I know the rough exchange rate for. I keep the euros because we go to France a lot so I can always use them there, and then I just leave the dollars. I'm sure to go to America some day and it will be nice to have some spending money. I hardly get any dollars at all though so it's really not a problem.

To be honest I'd be careful about that, because exchange rates can change, so if you don't go abroad for a few years you might find that it's worth much less than you thought. It works the other way round obviously, in that it could be worth more, but it's a bit of a risk, especially if you're in the early days of trying to build up a viable business.

 

[Mike Turner]

To be honest I'd be careful about that, because exchange rates can change, so if you don't go abroad for a few years you might find that it's worth much less than you thought. It works the other way round obviously, in that it could be worth more, but it's a bit of a risk, especially if you're in the early days of trying to build up a viable business.

We do go quite a lot to Europe, so the Euros aren't a problem at all. And the amounts she's talking are rather small anyway to be honest, nothing that I would bother worrying about exchange rates for, or anything like that.

 

[Jeorge Waters]

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