Global accounting currency (beta)

Setting a global currency allows you to keep track of all prices and sales in a single 'global' currency, even if you sell works in multiple currencies.

What is global currency?

Global currency is a feature for businesses that sell artworks in multiple countries, but do their accounting in a single currency. It is used in invoices to record foreign currency sales in your business' chosen accounting currency.

This feature can also be used for artwork records to show an agreed currency exchange rate. The 'global currency' refers to the same currency being available 'globally' across your database system, even for works that are priced in a foreign currency.

As an example, you could set a retail price to be in USD to sell a work in the United States, but also record its GBP price if that was your system's global currency. This allows for easier transparency of total costs and overall reporting. Using this tool, it is also possible to update the exchange rate across all artwork records, to keep your global currency prices up to date.

Please note: this feature is in beta development and, as you use it, you may find areas that need improvements or errors. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our Support team on support@artlogic.net if that is the case. 

Setting your global currency rate in your unsold artwork records

Steps

1. Get in touch with support@artlogic.net to request that we switch on this feature. Please let us know which currency you would like to choose as your global currency (this is the currency you use in your accounting). 
2. Once the feature has been enabled for you, log into your Artlogic database, go to the financial tab of your artwork record > add a value and currency into the retail price field.
3. Following this, the green 'GC' icon will appear.
4. Click the green edit pencil to enter the conversion rate between your chosen retail currency and the global currency and the date of this exchange rate. This will generate a retail price in your global currency.
5. Optional: From this screen, you can also tick to apply the currency exchange rate, and date, to all global currency fields. This will update all global currency values across your artwork records to this most recent exchange rate. You can also choose to apply it to solely the empty global currency fields by ticking 'apply rate and date to all empty global currency fields'.
6. In the production costs and other costs, you can add additional global currency exchange rates, to take into account different exchange rates when the work was produced, shipped, or framed.

Setting your global currency rates in your invoices

Steps

1. Create an invoice for your artwork.
2. You will see the red shortcut 'click to enter global accounting currency rate', which will direct you to the Settings tab.
   
3. In the Settings tab, under 'Currencies, Discount and Tax', enter the 'global accounting currency rate'.
   (There is a handy shortcut to Reuters just below this to see the latest exchange rates.)
4. Click 'Save'.
5. The artwork price will also now be calculated in your global currency, which displays in green on your invoicing screen. This is internal-only, and will not be added to your PDF or Word document downloads.
6. Generate the invoice.
7. If you did not previously select a GC rate within the artwork record, the system will ask whether you want to apply the rate you added to your invoice settings as the artwork's GC conversion rate.If you do this, it will apply the rate to your artwork record.
   In your accounts record, you will see in green the GC value for your costs, sale value, and amount due to the consignor. Alternatively, you can enter separate exchange rates into the relevant sections in your artwork's financial tab.

Adjusting the conversion rate post-sale

Steps

After the sale, the conversion rate can still be adjusted in the accounts record. 

1. In your database, go to Accounts > Accounts records > edit the relevant record. 
2. The previous GC values will be shown in green, with the date of their valuation (if entered). 
3. Click the green GC buttons to add a new GC exchange rate.
   

Accounts reporting, with Global Currency

The Global Accounting Currency will also show in your Accounts Reports. When making accounting reports, the artwork's value and associated costs and profit will be shown in your Global Currency. This means you can compare accounts records easily, and total them up in one currency.

The invoice currency will also be recorded, so that you can see if it was sold in a different currency: 

More info

1. Invoices & Accounts overview
2. Creating invoices
3. Accounts reports & exports tool