Multicurrency: Payments

When you enter a payment, the payment amount appears in the base currency of the selected general ledger account system. To enter the payment amount in another currency, select Currency and exchange rates next to the Amount field. Unless you apply the payment toward a donation, an unapplied matching gift, or an application type of Other, a valid exchange rate must exist to convert the transaction currency to the application’s base currency. For information about how to edit the transaction currency, refer to Multicurrency: Edit Currency and Exchange Rate on Revenue Transactions.

When you add or edit a payment, the Base amount field appears under the Amount field. If you change the transaction currency, Base amount displays the transaction amount in the base currency.

When you apply a payment toward a commitment such as a pledge or recurring gift, the payment’s transaction currency does not have to match the transaction currency of the commitment. For example, you can pay for a pledge made in pounds sterling with United States dollars. To apply the payment to a commitment with a different transaction currency, you must have either a valid exchange rate for the currencies or the base currency of the payment must match the transaction currency of the commitment. When you apply a payment toward a commitment, the Payment to application currency conversion section appears on the Amount to apply screen. Under Payment to application currency conversion, the amount of the payment applied toward the commitment appears, both in the transaction currency of the payment and converted to the transaction currency of the commitment or installment.

After you save the payment, you cannot change its transaction currency. If the transaction currency of the payment differs from the base currency of the selected account system, you can select Currency and exchange rates next to the Amount field to apply a different exchange rate to the payment. On the Currency screen that appears when you select this button, the Exchange rate field is disabled when the transaction and base currencies are the same.

Additional considerations exist for certain payment methods.

• For a credit card payment, when you select Authorize card on save, you can select the merchant account used to process the revenue transaction. Only merchant accounts configured to accept the revenue’s transaction currency appear as options in the drop down field. in Revenue, you establish merchant accounts for each currency on the BBPS Merchant Accounts page.

• For a gift-in-kind payment, you enter the appraisal threshold in the organization currency. Appraisal values appear in the gift-in-kind item’s transaction currency. To determine whether a payment of gift-in-kind exceeds the threshold, the program automatically converts the fair market value from the transaction currency amount to the base currency amount and then to the organization currency amount.

• When you sell shares of a stock payment, the sale amount and fees appear in the transaction currency in which you receive the stock payment. For example, if you receive a stock payment in United States dollars, the sale amount of the stock and any fees related to its sale are calculated in this currency. To apply a different exchange rate to the sale amount, select Currency and exchange rates next to the Sale amount field. For information about how to edit the exchange rate, refer to Multicurrency: Edit Currency and Exchange Rate on Revenue Transactions.

  Note: To calculate the amount gained or lost from the sale, the system requires an exchange rate for the stock’s transaction currency and the account system’s base currency. If the exchange rate is not defined, “N/A” appears for the base currency totals on the Sell Stock screen and under Stock sale totals on the Stock Sales tab.

• When you sell property received as a payment, you must sell the property in the same currency you received the payment. On the Sell property screen, the sale amount and fees appear in the transaction currency in which you received the property payment. After you sell property, the Payment method field on the payment record indicates that the property is sold and displays the amount for which you sold it in the property’s transaction currency.

Warning: When you sell a gift of stock or property, you should enter the transaction amount in the base currency of the selected account system. Currently, if the transaction currency does not match the base currency, the program does not generate a gain or loss distribution in the General Ledger. Instead, you must manually enter an adjustment for the difference.