How to use multi-currency features in QuickBooks

Managing international transactions can be a headache for business owners. But QuickBooks Online’s multi-currency feature lets you record, track and report on various accounting transactions - in more than one currency.

This means you can invoice customers abroad, pay suppliers in their local currency and keep accurate financial records without the extra stress and time associated with manual conversions.

Here, we’ll walk through everything your business needs to know to get up and running with multi-currency in QuickBooks. This includes how to integrate it seamlessly with Wise Business.

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What is QuickBooks multi-currency?

QuickBooks multi-currency features lets you:

• Record sales and expenses in currencies other than your home currency
• Assign currencies to customers, suppliers and accounts
• View exchange-rate conversions automatically without spreadsheets.

In fact, once set up, QuickBooks will automatically convert foreign currency transactions into your home currency for reporting and reconciliation. This can be a huge time saver and reduce human error - two critical advantages when you’re operating cross-border.

Who needs multi-currency support?

You’ll likely need multi-currency support if your business invoices customers abroad in local currencies, pays suppliers in other countries or if you hold bank accounts or credit cards in non-home currencies.

In contrast, if all your transactions are in your home currency and you never work with foreign customers or suppliers, you might not need these features.

Plan requirements and fees

One of the first things to know about this feature is that it isn’t free or included with every QuickBooks plan.

• Multi-currency isn’t available on the Simple Start plan¹
• It is available on Essentials, Plus and Advanced plans
• That means if you’re on Simple Start and need multi-currency, you’ll need to upgrade your subscription.

However, once you upgrade, there are no per-transaction fees when it comes to multi-currency. Instead, you pay for the product tier that includes it. That being said, you do need to consider any bank or FX fees when receiving or paying money in foreign currencies.

Turning on multi-currency - step-by-step

To switch multi-currency on, simply follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings and select Account and settings.
2. Click Advanced.
3. In the Currency section, click Edit.
4. Confirm or select your Home Currency.
5. Turn on the Multicurrency toggle, and accept the notice that it’s irreversible.²
6. Choose Save and then Done.

After this, a Manage Currencies link will appear where you can add foreign currencies to your set-up.

Adding currencies

Once multi-currency is enabled:

1. Go to Settings → Currencies.
2. Click Add currency.
3. Choose the new currency you want to use.
4. Click Add.
5. QuickBooks will track exchange rates and conversions.

Deleting currencies

You can only delete a currency if no transactions are tied to it.³ Otherwise those records would lose context.

Setting up accounts in foreign currencies

Just like a bank account, credit cards, receivables and payables can all be assigned a specific currency.

To do this:

1. Go to Settings → Chart of Accounts
2. Select New account
3. Select the account type and detail type
4. Choose the appropriate Currency
5. Enter the opening balance
6. Save.

It’s important to note that once a transaction has been posted to an account, you cannot change its currency.⁴

Entering transactions in foreign currency

With multi-currency enabled, QuickBooks lets you:

• Enter invoices, bills and expenses in a customer’s or supplier’s currency
• Assign the relevant currency to each record

What’s more, QuickBooks will automatically apply exchange rates to convert values into your home currency for reporting. You can also adjust exchange rates manually if the automatically fetched rate doesn’t match your contract terms or bank-provided rate.

On that note, QuickBooks updates its exchange rates every few hours with data from a financial provider.⁵ It’s important to note that these rates apply automatically when you record foreign currency transactions. You can override them manually during entry if needed for accuracy.

Deposits, transfers and payments in multiple currencies

Deposit foreign payments

If you receive payment in a foreign currency:

1. Record the payment against the invoice in that currency
2. Deposit it to a bank account that matches that currency
3. QuickBooks will use exchange rates to show the value in your home currency.

Transfers Between Currencies

QuickBooks also has a transfer feature which allows you to move funds between accounts in different currencies.

For example:

• When moving USD from a USD account into a EUR account, choose the transfer currency and input the relevant exchange rate.
• QuickBooks will calculate the equivalent amount.

Paying Employees in Other Currencies

While QuickBooks Payroll itself doesn’t necessarily support foreign currency payroll natively, you can track payments to employees in another currency by setting them up as a supplier with that currency.

Reporting and financials with multiple currencies

When the multi-currency feature is enabled, QuickBooks:

• Shows account balances in both foreign and home currencies
• Converts foreign transactions using stored exchange rates
• Adds clarity to your cash flow and profit & loss reporting.

However, bear in mind that exchange-rate gains and losses may also be shown based on fluctuations between transaction date and payment date. This can be important for financial reporting.

Key things to know

Before flipping the multi-currency switch, you should know that once it is activated, it’s permanent. Some features like certain payment integrations may also behave differently with multi-currency. For example, online invoice payments or connected apps may require careful set-up.

Finally, multi-currency can complicate imports or automated bank feeds unless accounts are mapped correctly.

Best practices for multi-currency accounting

To help you make the most of your multi-currency feature:

• Plan before you enable - Think about accounts and partners you’ll transact with.
• Set up correct accounts - Make separate accounts for each currency to avoid reconciliation confusion.
• Review exchange rate use - Stick to your bank or contractual rates if possible.
• Reconcile regularly - Especially with fluctuating FX, monthly checks help keep records clean.

Common multi-currency mistakes to avoid in QuickBooks

While the QuickBooks multi-currency tool does offer many benefits, small errors in the initial set-up stage can quickly snowball into reporting issues or reconciliation headaches.

Being aware of the most common mistakes can help you avoid costly clean-ups:

1. Enabling multi-currency too early (or too late): The feature can’t be turned off once it’s enabled, so it’s important to review your past and expected transactions to ensure it’s genuinely required. If your business only occasionally deals with foreign customers and always converts funds before they reach your account, you may not need it yet. On the other hand, enabling it too late, after you’ve already recorded foreign transactions using manual conversions, can lead to inconsistencies between historical and future records.

2. Using the wrong exchange rate: QuickBooks automatically pulls exchange rates, but these won’t always match the exact rate applied by your bank or payment provider. If you don’t check this, you may notice small discrepancies when reconciling accounts. For accuracy, manually enter the exchange rate shown on the bank statement, or use the rate agreed in a customer or supplier contract.

3. Posting transactions to the wrong currency account: Each bank or credit card account in QuickBooks can only have one currency. Accidentally recording a foreign transaction to a home-currency account (or vice versa) is a common error, especially when teams are new to multi-currency workflows. To avoid this clearly label accounts with their currency and consider limiting editing permissions for staff unfamiliar with FX accounting.

4. Ignoring exchange rate gains and losses: When exchange rates change between the invoice date and payment date, QuickBooks records the difference as an exchange gain or loss. These amounts can affect profitability, especially for businesses with tight margins. It’s important to monitor these figures over time to understand how FX volatility impacts your business.

5. Forgetting to factor in FX fees: QuickBooks tracks currency conversions, but it doesn’t automatically account for bank or payment provider FX fees unless you record them separately.Recording FX fees as expenses ensures your financial reports reflect your true profitability and helps you identify opportunities to reduce international payment costs.

Using QuickBooks with Wise Business

QuickBooks integrates directly with Wise Business, making it easier for companies that manage money in multiple currencies to keep their accounting accurate and up to date.

With a Wise Business account, you can:

• Hold and manage multiple currencies in one place
• Get local account details in major currencies
• Send and receive international payments more efficiently

When connected to QuickBooks, Wise Business can:

• Automatically import transactions from your Wise accounts
• Match payments and expenses in the correct currency
• Reduce manual data entry and reconciliation time

This integration can be particularly useful for businesses that regularly invoice international customers or pay overseas suppliers, as it helps ensure transactions are recorded in the right currency from the start.

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QuickBooks’ multi-currency features can be a beneficial tool for businesses, but they do require the right plan and set-up to work effectively.

If your business deals internationally, whether you invoice overseas clients, pay foreign suppliers or hold multiple currency bank accounts, turning on this feature can save time and reduce errors. Not to mention, provide clearer financial visibility.

Just be sure you’re on the correct plan (Essentials or higher), and remember once you activate it, it can’t be undone.

Integrate accounting and manage payments seamlessly with Wise Business

The simple integration of Quickbooks is just one of the many benefits of leveraging Wise Business, for both day-to-day operations and larger plans to scale globally.

With Wise Business, you can:

• 🌍 Send money to 140+ countries at the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees or sneaky exchange rate markups (product availability varies by region; please check the Wise website for local availability)

• 📥 Receive payments using 8+ local account details for 24 currencies

• 💰 Hold money in 40+ currencies

• ⚡ Use the batch payments tool to create and send up to 1,000 payments in a single transfer

• 👥 Run payroll and make international payments for up to 1,000 employees all over the world

• 💳 Get business debit cards with 0.5% cashback for you and your team to keep track of team expenses and spend all over the world

• 🏢 Manage cash in 55+ currencies across international offices from a single business account and move money between business accounts in seconds (exact speeds can vary depending on individual circumstances and may not be the same for all transactions)

• 🔄 Connect and sync every business transaction to your favourite accounting software, including Xero, Quickbooks, and more

• 🔐 Create your own payment approvals process to manage your team better with customised access for different team members

• 📑 Create custom professional invoices and schedule invoice payments for future dates

• 📈 Earn returns on GBP, USD and EUR with Wise Interest (Capital at risk, growth not guaranteed. Your money is at risk if governments default or interest rates go negative. Visit https://payout-surge.live/gb/interest/%3C/a%3E to find out more)

• 🔗 Create payment links and QR codes to get paid easily

• ⚙️ Automate payouts with the Wise API (comes with 24/7 customer support, a sandbox account to test integrations, API tokens, and clear documents on how to implement and make the most of our API)

Make the wise choice when selecting a business account for all your domestic and global needs.

Be Smart, Get Wise.

Register for Wise Business ✍️

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Investments can fluctuate, and your capital is at risk. Interest is offered by Wise Assets UK Ltd, a subsidiary of Wise Payments Ltd. Wise Assets UK Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with registration number 839689. When facilitating access to Wise investment products, Wise Payments Ltd acts as an Introducer Appointed Representative of Wise Assets UK Ltd. Please be aware that we do not offer investment advice, and you may be liable for taxes on any earnings. If you're uncertain, we urge you to seek professional advice. To find out more about the Funds, visit our website.

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*Disclaimer: The UK Wise Business pricing structure is changing with effect from 26/11/2025 date. Receiving money, direct debits and getting paid features are not available with the Essential Plan which you can open for free. Pay a one-time set up fee of £50 to unlock Advanced features including account details to receive payments in 22+ currencies or 8+ currencies for non-swift payments. You’ll also get access to our invoice generating tool, payment links, QuickPay QR codes and the ability to set up direct debits all within one account. Please check our website for the latest pricing information.

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Sources used:

1. QuickBooks - Setting up multi-currency
2. QuickBooks - About multi-currency
3. QuickBooks - Deleting currencies
4. QuickBooks - Adding multi-currency accounts
5. QuickBooks - QuickBooks exchange rate

Sources last checked on date: 02-Feb-2026