What is Currencies?

Estimated reading: 3 minutes 123 views

Introduction

Zoho Billing allows you to work with multiple currencies, so you can easily handle sales and purchases with international customers — all while maintaining clear records in your base currency.

What is the Base Currency?

Your base currency is the primary currency of your organization, determined by the business location selected during setup.

Example: If your location is set to the U.S.A., your base currency will be USD ($).

To view your base currency:

Go to Settings > Organization > Currencies

Adding a New Currency

By default, Zoho Billing provides a list of world currencies. If you don’t see the one you need, you can add it manually.

Steps to Add a New Currency

Go to Settings > Organization > Currencies
Click + New Currency
Fill in the following fields:

Field	Description
Currency Code	Select the currency you want to add
Currency Symbol	Automatically generated, but can be customized
Decimal Places	Choose the number of decimal places (e.g., 2 for USD)
Format	Define placement of commas and dots for currency display

Click Save

You can now assign this currency to customers during transaction setup.

Editing an Existing Currency

You can edit default or added currencies to match your preferred formatting.

To Edit a Currency:

Go to Settings > Organization > Currencies
Hover over the currency and click Edit
Modify the necessary fields (symbol, decimals, format, etc.)
Click Save

Understanding Exchange Rates

An exchange rate is the conversion rate between your base currency and another currency. Zoho Billing supports both automatic and manual exchange rate handling.

Automatic Exchange Rate Feeds

Zoho Billing can fetch real-time exchange rates from Open Exchange Rates.

Enabled by default

To re-enable if disabled:

Go to Settings > Organization > Currencies
Click Enable Exchange Rate Feeds
Confirm

Disabling Exchange Rate Feeds

If you want to manually control exchange rates, you can disable the feed:

Go to Settings > Organization > Currencies
Click Disable Exchange Rate Feeds
Confirm

Manually Add Exchange Rates

Once feeds are disabled, follow these steps:

Go to Settings > Organization > Currencies
Hover over a currency and click View Exchange Rates
Click + Add Exchange Rate

Enter the date and rate
(e.g., 1 AUD = 0.64 USD on Aug 25, 2023)
Click Save

All added rates will be listed under View Exchange Rates. To delete a rate, click the (Trash icon) next to it.

Import Exchange Rates (Bulk Upload)

Prefer uploading rates in bulk? Use the import feature:

Go to Settings > Organization > Currencies
Click the ⚙️ (Gear icon) > Import Exchange Rates
Upload your file (formats supported: CSV, TSV, XLS)
Max size: 5 MB

Map file fields to Zoho fields

Preview > Click Import

Download a sample file to ensure proper formatting before upload.

Export Exchange Rates

Need to back up or analyze exchange rates?
Go to Settings > Organization > Currencies
Click the ⚙️ icon > Export Exchange Rates
Choose format: CSV, XLS, or XLSX

Optionally, add a password to secure the file
Export

Deleting a Currency

To delete a currency (except the base currency):

Go to Settings > Organization > Currencies
Hover over the currency
Click the 🗑️ icon
Confirm deletion

You cannot delete your base currency.

Use Cases:

When Are Currencies Applied?

Customer-Level Currency Settings

If a customer transacts in a foreign currency:

Go to their profile
Under Other Details, select their currency
All invoices/transactions will reflect that currency

Accounting is still done in your base currency, with conversion based on that day’s exchange rate.

Transactions in Foreign Currency

When you create a transaction for a customer with a different currency:

The amount shows in their assigned currency
Internally, it’s converted to your base currency using exchange rate