Entering a transaction in the 'wrong' currency for an account

If you have an account in one currency, for example 'US Dollars', and wish to enter a transaction in another currency, for example 'Euros', then you can't do this directly.

MS Money, and most banks, only support an account in a single currency, and will typically deposit a foreign currency transaction as a converted amount (less any charges).

Money does however have currency conversion rates for many versions of Money (see the articles page for links to currency lists for Money 2004 onwards). These can be accessed directly when entering a transaction, and so you can convert on the fly.

To enter a foreign currency, create a new transaction. If it has a 'commission' or 'charge' that the bank makes to convert it for you, then create a split transaction - otherwise create a standard transaction.

In the split or standard transaction, enter the foreign currency amount in the amount box, and then press F8. This will bring up the currency converter window. Money has some money market rates which can estimate the conversion rate. You can choose your own rate here, if you want. The currency converter window can be seen below.



On entering the transaction, it will be entered using the converted rate. Don't forget that if you have bank charges (which are usually in the currency of the account), to put these into your split transaction, if you went down this route.

When you get your bank statement, you can enter the actual amount that the bank recorded.

One tip I did read was to enter the original currency amount in the Memo field, so you are aware of the original currency and its value.