CAD Vendor Paid with USD credit card

Thanks for reaching out to us here in the Community, Okoolat.

In QuickBooks Online (QBO), we are unable to pay the bills or enter expenses using foreign credit card. Each transaction in QBO can only handle one currency.

As a workaround, you'll have to set up a clearing account to handle transactions between two foreign currencies.

First, create a clearing account using your home currency:

1. Go to Accounting on the left pane.
2. Under Chart of Accounts, click New at the upper-right hand corner.
3. In the Account Type box, choose Bank.
4. Enter a name of the account.
5. Make sure to select your home currency
6. Leave the Balance blank.
7. Hit Save and Close.

Next, enter an expense or bill payment using the clearing account.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Plus sign icon and choose Expense under the pop-up window.
2. Select the vendor or payee name at the top.
3. Make sure to select the Clearing account as the Payment account.
4. Enter the needed details such as Payment date, method, category and amount.
5. Hit Save and close.

Lastly, use the clearing account when moving funds from one currency to another.

Check out this article for more details: Set up a clearing account. This article is for QuickBooks Desktop however, the information can be used for QuickBooks Online.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I'm ready to help.​

Hello,

Thank you for your reply. I have two follow-up questions:

From an accounting/bookkeeping perspective, what would be wrong with doing the following: Creating a vendor entitled “Other” with USD currency; then entering the expense using “Other” while selecting the credit card that was actually used and the expense account (eg. Advertising and promotion). And as far as the amount, choosing a USD amount that translates to the CAD amount that was owing.
When I go to create a clearing account in QBO, there is an option of “Detail Type”. Which should I choose?
Thanks

These are great follow-up questions, Okoolat. Knowing the best practices and setup for your books is certainly important and I want to make sure you have the correct details.

I've found an article for QuickBooks Online that should help you with creating the clearing account. The Desktop article mentions that a clearing account is also called a barter or wash account. The article I've found for QuickBooks Online talks about recording a barter transaction, and indicates that the detail type to choose for this kind of account is Cash on Hand.

As for which method is more correct for your books, I recommend touching base with an accountant. If you'd like, you can invite them as an accountant user to your books. QuickBooks also makes it simple to find an accountant familiar with the program through the Find a Pro to Help feature in the My Accountant tab in the left menu When you click the button, it'll take you to a page where you can enter your postal code to find QuickBooks savvy accountants near you.

I hope that helps! Stop by again if you have more QuickBooks questions. :)