Billing in Another Currency

Flow can bill different clients in different currencies, for example a French firm that bills most clients in euros and one UK client in pounds. Each matter bills in one currency, and Flow never converts between currencies: there is no exchange-rate feed. When you bill a foreign client in their currency, your accountant books the exchange difference, as with any other foreign invoice.

The Rules#

• One currency per matter. Flow uses the matter's own currency, then the client's, then your firm's. See Client Accounts.
• Work keeps its currency. New time and expenses take the matter's currency when they're logged, and keep it.
• Rates only apply in their own currency. Your default and staff rates are in your firm's currency; a client's rates are in the client's currency, or your firm's if the client has none. On a matter billed in pounds with only euro rates, time shows Needs rate. Flow never relabels a €250 rate as £250. See Time Tracking.
• An invoice never mixes currencies. Work recorded in another currency is left out of the draft, and the draft says how many entries were left out.
• Payments are in the invoice's currency. Record each payment in the currency of its invoice; Flow doesn't convert it.
• Reports keep currencies apart. The Billing Dashboard shows one currency at a time, and the accountant export gives each invoice's currency.
• A trust account holds one currency. Client money in two currencies needs two trust accounts. See Trust Accounting.

Example: a UK Client Billed in Pounds#

Your firm bills in euros, and a new client in Manchester wants invoices in pounds.

1. Set the matter's currency. On the client's matter, open Billing → Billing details, choose Country United Kingdom and Currency GBP, set the payment terms and click Save billing details. From now on, time and expenses on this matter are recorded in pounds.
2. Give the client rates in pounds. Open the client's contact page. In the Billing rates card, set Client currency to GBP, a Client default rate and, if needed, a rate per fee earner, then click Save rates. Without this step, time on the matter shows Needs rate, because your rates are in euros.
3. Log time and expenses as usual. They're priced at the client's rates, in pounds.
4. Build the invoice. Click New invoice. The draft is in pounds. Because the client's country differs from your firm's (from Firm Details) and a tax rate is set, the draft asks you to check whether your tax applies (for example reverse charge). Ask your accountant; if no tax is due, set Tax % to 0, add the wording your accountant gives you in Notes for the client, and click Apply.
5. Finalize and email the invoice. The client receives it in pounds, with your payment instructions.
6. Record the payment in pounds when it arrives.
7. Check your reports. The Billing dashboard gets a GBP tab next to EUR, and the export lists the invoice in GBP for your accountant to convert.

Changing a Currency#

A matter's currency, or a client's for the matters that follow it, can only change when no work would be left behind. While the matter has unbilled, priced time or expenses, or a draft invoice, in another currency, Flow refuses the change and nothing is saved. Bill or delete that work first. Time without a rate doesn't block a change, and switching to the currency the work is already in always works.

Changing your firm's currency in Settings → Invoicing & rates is never refused. Time and expenses already logged in the old currency are then left out of invoices and counted on the draft, never billed at face value in the new currency. Your default and staff rates keep their amounts and now count in the new currency, so check them. Set your firm's currency before anyone logs time.