Exchange Gains and Losses

See how Officaid books realised exchange gains and losses when foreign invoices and bills are paid, and where to find them in your Profit & Loss.

When the bank's rate differs, Officaid books the difference

Each foreign currency invoice and bill has a fixed exchange rate. When it is paid at a different rate, the difference in SGD is a realised exchange gain or loss. Officaid books it for you and shows it in your Profit & Loss.

How a Gain or Loss Arises

Say a fictional client owes you USD 1,635.00 on an invoice, and the payment arrives as SGD 2,125.50 because your bank converted it at 1.3000. On Record Payment, the Conversion Rate is pre-filled with the invoice's fixed rate. Enter your bank's rate instead, and the difference is booked as a gain. The payment activity shows:

"USD 1,635.00 @ 1.3000 = SGD 2,125.50 (FX gain SGD 27.63)"

It works the same way for bills. Paying a USD 100.00 bill fixed at 1.2799 (SGD 127.99) at a bank rate of 1.3000 costs SGD 130.00, and the activity shows:

"USD 100.00 @ 1.3000 = SGD 130.00 (FX loss SGD 2.01)"

Write-offs and credit notes clear at the document's rate, so they make no exchange difference. If you remove a payment, its gain or loss is reversed.

Seeing It in Your Profit & Loss

1 Go to Finance → Reports and select Profit & Loss Statement.
2 Under Other Income/Expenses, find Foreign exchange gain/loss.
3 Click it to see the detail.

The detail lists each item with the columns Date, Type, Reference, Amount, Exchange Rate, Received / Paid, Cleared At The Document Rate, Realised, Unrealised and Gain/(Loss). You'll see Payment Received and Payable Payment rows for realised differences, and a Trade - revaluation of open invoices and bills row for the unrealised difference on items still open at the closing rate. Click Download to keep a copy.

Enter the rate your bank actually applied when you record a payment, so your gain or loss matches your bank statement.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between realised and unrealised?

A realised gain or loss comes from a payment at a rate other than the document's fixed rate. An unrealised one comes from revaluing invoices and bills that are still open at the closing rate of the period end (see Closing Rates).

How are these treated for tax?

The Foreign Exchange Tax Schedule breaks your exchange differences down for your tax agent. Its total is the same as the Foreign exchange gain/loss line for the same period.

What's Next?

Understanding Multi-Currency in Officaid – how rates are fixed on each document
Closing Rates – the month-end rates used for revaluation
Profit & Loss Statement – read the full report

multi-currency exchange rates foreign exchange profit and loss payments