Base currency adjustments

Plan availability: this feature depends on your subscription and requires multi-currency. If you don't see Base Currency Adjustments in your Journal Entries panel, your plan may not include it — see Subscriptions & billing, or ask your workspace owner.

A Base currency adjustment (also called FX revaluation) restates your foreign-currency balances at a new exchange rate, so the books reflect what those balances are worth in your base currency today — not what they were worth when they were originally posted.

Use a base currency adjustment when:

• you have foreign-currency receivables (invoices to customers in USD when your base is JOD) and the exchange rate has moved since posting,
• you have foreign-currency payables (bills from suppliers in EUR) that haven't been paid yet and the rate has changed,
• you have foreign-currency bank accounts that need to be marked-to-market at month-end.

The difference between the original-rate value and the new-rate value is booked as an unrealized FX gain / loss (the balance hasn't been settled yet). This is only relevant if your organisation operates in more than one currency — see Multi-currency.

Step by step

Browse adjustments

Open the Journal Entries panel → Base Currency Adjustments. Each row shows the adjustment number, As-of date, the currencies included, the total gain / loss, and the status (Draft / Posted / Void).

Create an adjustment

1. Click New adjustment.
2. Set the As-of date — typically a month-end or year-end.
3. Pick the currencies to revalue (e.g. USD, EUR).
4. The system lists every open foreign-currency balance as of that date:
   • open AR invoices and credit notes,
   • open AP bills and debit notes,
   • foreign-currency bank / cash account balances.
5. The new rate defaults to the closing rate for the as-of date — override per currency if needed.
6. Click Preview — each row shows: original amount in foreign currency, original base value (at posting rate), new base value (at adjustment rate), and the gain or loss.
7. Save as Draft or Save and Post.

Post an adjustment

Posting writes the journal:

• Debit or Credit the AR / AP / Bank account (in base currency) to restate it at the new rate.
• Credit Unrealized FX Gain (or Debit Unrealized FX Loss) for the difference.

The foreign-currency amount on the underlying document does not change — only its base-currency value does. When the document is later settled at the actual settlement rate, the realized gain/loss is booked at that point.

Void an adjustment

Voiding reverses the journal and rolls every affected balance back to its previous base-currency value. Use Void if you used a wrong rate or ran the adjustment for the wrong period.

How the journal looks

Your base currency is JOD. You hold a USD 1,000 customer invoice posted at a rate of 0.710 → AR carries it at JOD 710. At month-end, the closing rate is 0.725 → the invoice is worth JOD 725 at today's rate, an unrealized gain of JOD 15:

The customer still owes USD 1,000 — that doesn't change. Only the base-currency value on the books moves.

A revaluation downward — a EUR 2,000 supplier bill was posted at 0.800 → AP at JOD 1,600. Closing rate is 0.780 → JOD 1,560 today, an unrealized gain of JOD 40 (the EUR you owe is now cheaper in JOD):

A foreign-currency bank revaluation — a USD bank account holding USD 5,000 was last valued at JOD 3,550 (rate 0.710). At today's rate of 0.725 it's worth JOD 3,625, an unrealized gain of JOD 75:

A loss scenario — the same USD 1,000 invoice when the closing rate has dropped to 0.700 → JOD 700 today, unrealized loss of JOD 10:

When the invoice is later settled at the actual payment-date rate (say 0.715), the difference between that settlement rate and the most-recent revaluation rate becomes a realized gain/loss on the payment journal — see Payments.

Common mistakes

• Running too early. If you run revaluation before all foreign-currency documents for the period are posted, the unrealized gain/loss will be incomplete. Post all foreign-currency activity first, then revalue.
• Running twice for the same period. Each revaluation is calculated against the most recent base value. Running twice doesn't double-count — but it's wasted noise on the journal. Void the duplicate.
• "Foreign-currency invoice still has its old base value after revaluation." That's correct — the underlying document keeps its original posting rate. Only the base-currency balance is restated on the books via the adjustment journal.
• Revaluing a settled balance. Only open balances are revalued. Already-paid invoices / bills don't re-revalue (their FX is already realized).

Tips

• Schedule revaluations at every month-end so cumulative drift stays small.
• Pair revaluation with the period lock — run, then lock the period before next month's activity starts.

Behaviour and rules

• As-of dating. The adjustment uses balances as they stood on the as-of date — later activity is not affected.
• Realized vs unrealized. A revaluation against an open balance produces an unrealized gain/loss. The realized gain/loss is booked separately when the document is actually paid, based on the rate difference between posting and settlement.
• Journal label. On the Journal entries page, the adjustment entry is tagged with an FX Adjustment chip.
• Period lock. Posting and voiding require the as-of date's period to be open.
• Run it before period close. The standard pattern is: post month-end revaluation → close the period → run reports. Reports use the post-adjustment base values.
• If you can't see or post adjustments, ask your workspace administrator for access.

Related

• Multi-currency — how foreign-currency documents are posted and what rates are used.
• Fiscal years and lock dates — period rules for revaluation.
• Journals — adjustment entries appear here with the FX Adjustment label.
• Reports — Balance Sheet and P&L reflect the post-adjustment base values.