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Using Bookkeep's Automatic Currency Conversion with QuickBooks Online (Without Enabling Multicurrency)

Overview​

Bookkeep supports automatic currency conversion for transactions when your source data (such as sales or payouts) is in a different currency than your QuickBooks Online (QBO) account's base currency. This feature is especially helpful if you operate internationally but do not have QuickBooks’ native multicurrency feature enabled — which, once turned on, cannot be turned off.

Why This Matters​

QuickBooks Online does offer a built-in multicurrency feature, but enabling it has a serious limitation: you can never disable it once it’s activated. For many businesses, especially those that primarily operate in a single currency but occasionally deal with foreign currencies (e.g., PayPal payments in CAD but your QBO is set to USD), enabling multicurrency can overcomplicate your reporting and workflows.

Bookkeep provides a better solution by handling the currency conversion on our end — without requiring you to activate QuickBooks' multicurrency setting.

How Bookkeep's Currency Conversion Works​

When Bookkeep detects a mismatch between the currency of the source platform and the base currency of your QBO chart of accounts, we:

  1. Automatically fetch the applicable exchange rate (based on the transaction date).
  2. Convert the foreign currency to your base currency (e.g., CAD → USD).
  3. Post the entry into QuickBooks using your base currency, keeping your books accurate and consistent.

This happens in the background — no action is required from you once it's set up.

When You'll See This in Action​

Common use cases where this feature helps:

  • You're a U.S.-based company receiving PayPal payments in another currency such as CAD.
  • You're selling internationally via platforms like Amazon.

Without Bookkeep, you'd have to manually calculate and convert these amounts or risk incorrect financials.

Benefits of Using Bookkeep's Approach​

✅ No need to enable QBO’s irreversible multicurrency setting
✅ Accurate, real-time currency conversion
✅ Cleaner reports and simplified account management
✅ Supports global operations with minimal bookkeeping complexity

Limitations & Considerations​

  • The conversion uses Open Exchange Rates for its exchange rates, so small variances may occur when comparing to other sources.
  • If you enable multicurrency in QBO, Bookkeep will respect your QBO settings and let QBO provide the exchange rate.

Getting Started​

To enable automatic currency conversion:

  1. Make sure your ecommerce and POS accounts are connected (e.g., Shopify, Stripe, Amazon).
  2. Connect and map your QBO chart of accounts.
  3. Bookkeep will detect and apply the correct exchange rate during journal entry creation — no extra configuration needed.

If you're unsure whether your setup qualifies, please contact our support team at [email protected].

tip

If you're unsure about enabling multicurrency in QBO, don't do it until you understand the full implications. Bookkeep can offer a simpler alternative for ecommerce and global operations.

Let us know if you'd like help reviewing your account setup or ensuring Bookkeep is converting currencies correctly for your business.