Question

Problems with FX precision

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
March 8, 2019
1 reply
1 view

I'm seeing two problems with the precision (or lack thereof) QB uses to store exchange rates.

The first is a discrepancy I'm seeing between my Desktop data and what I get when I upload that into QuickBooks Online. Here's a specific example.

On QB Desktop, I have a Bill Payment check drawn on a EUR account, with an exchange rate of 1 EUR = 1.0497 USD -- i.e. specified to four decimal places. But when I import my file into QB Online that same check ends up with an exchange rate of 1 EUR = 1.049698 USD -- i.e. specified to six decimal places. That extra precision in QB Online is very welcome, but where is it getting those extra least-significant digits from? In other words, with a QB Desktop rate of 1.0497, why isn't the corresponding QB Online rate 1.049700?

The second problem is purely in Desktop, and I spotted it only when trying to fix the first problem. I'd always thought that QB allowed 5DPs of precision, so I changed that 1.0497 in the Desktop check to 1.04969. That was accepted, and it did improve the situation since it reduced the size of discrepancy between Desktop and Online.

But then, just in case I'd completely underestimated QB Desktop and in fact it would handle the same 6DP precision as QB Online, I tried changing the 1.04969 to 1.049498 -- i.e. to match QB Online exactly. The result was worrying -- the whole thing just snapped back to 4DP precision; i.e. to 1.0497. Just to be clear then, in QB Desktop, for the EXCHANGE RATE field in a Bill Payment Check:

If I enter 1.0497, I get 1.0497

If I enter 1.04969, I get 1.04969

but

If I enter 1.049698, I get 1.0497. (!)

(That last is a bug, surely.)

R

Rasa-LilaM

QuickBooks Team

Hello there, tkelly.

Thanks for dropping by the Intuit Community. I appreciate such detailed information for it gives me an overview of what’s happening.

Allow me to share some information as to how the exchange rates work in the desktop version and QBO.

In QuickBooks Desktop, you’ll be able to enter the six digits for the exchange rate. Once saved, the software will automatically round them off to four digits. I can see it doesn’t behave the same way with the online version, rest assured we’re looking into this and we take every opportunity to improve the software.

I don't want to leave you empty handed, so I'm including a link where you can see the latest news about the product and feature enhancements: The QuickBooks Blog.

The information I provided should help you moving forward.

If you have follow-up questions or other concerns, leave me a comment. I’ll be right here to answer them. Have a good one.

T

tkelly_ukAuthor

Hi @Rasa-LilaM

Any news on this? I've now seen the QuickBooks Online issue many times and it is a source of many incorrect entries in QB Online after exporting from the Desktop.

Also, since I first mailed I've noticed another export problem related to currencies. We work with customers in FIVE different currencies, and so we have accounts and transactions corresponding to each of those. And in terms of the accounts themselves, those do appear to be accepted by the export process and they arrive safely in QB Online denominated in their correct currencies.

But when I look in our currency List, only FOUR of the currencies are shown. The fifth is not mentioned and I have to add it manually. And that may explain some of the FX rate problems I've been seeing. If a currency is missing, then presumably QB Online has to rely on market rates. But again, that seems broken to me.

Thanks for any input you can provide.

--

M

Mark_R

Moderator

Hello there, @tkelly_uk.

We haven't received any update in exchange rates work in the desktop version and QBO. And allow me to share some information about the currency list in QuickBooks Online.

The reason you’re only seeing four currencies in the currency list since one of these is your home currency. And this home currency will not be listed on the list.

You might also want to read this article to know the supported currencies in QuickBooks Online: List of Supported Currencies.

Fill me in if you have any other concern. I'll be around if you need any help.

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