Checking documented exchange-rate sources used by software

Audit each rate by recording its provider, notation and units, rate date, and any transaction override. MYOB identifies Open Exchange Rates; Xero and QuickBooks Online do not identify a provider. A software rate alone does not establish a bank’s settlement rate or the rate appropriate for GST.

Read the units before comparing rates

MYOB AccountRight Premier’s Currency List quotes the foreign value for $1 of local currency: with AUD as local currency, that means foreign-currency units per A$1. QuickBooks Online says it converts foreign-currency transactions to the home currency but does not state the rate direction or units. Xero describes currency conversions but gives no rate notation or currency-pair direction.

For each transaction, record the currency pair, quote direction, foreign amount, saved rate, converted amount, transaction date and any override. Check an invoice, a payment and a reporting-date balance separately; no product-specific rule is stated for which date drives those items.

Check each product’s documented source and controls

MYOB AccountRight Premier 2018.3 and later supports live exchange rates for online company files. They come from Open Exchange Rates and update every five minutes. Turning on live rates replaces rates already set in the Currency List.

To check the live-rate setting, go to Setup > Preferences and select Turn on Live Exchange Rates [System-wide]. To inspect or manually enter list rates, go to Lists > Currencies; live rates must be turned off before manual editing. The list rate is the foreign value for $1 of local currency.

MYOB says you can update or override a rate when recording a transaction, but does not name a screen or field for reopening and verifying the saved transaction rate. Check that transaction-specific value separately from the Currency List rate; do not substitute the current list rate.

QuickBooks Online Multicurrency is available with Essentials, Plus and Advanced, but not Simple Start. It converts foreign-currency transactions to the home currency. No rate provider, notation, update cadence, transaction-date rule, override control or saved-rate screen is identified.

Xero describes automatic exchange-rate updates and conversions for invoices, quotes and purchase orders. It describes rates as real time and also mentions hourly exchange rates and balance updates, but names no provider or rate notation. No transaction-date rule, override control or saved-rate screen is identified.

No product-specific date rule is stated for invoices, payments or reporting-date balances. For QuickBooks Online and Xero, the saved-rate screen or field is also not identified; MYOB’s directions describe transaction overrides but do not give the screen or field path for checking the saved value.

The Reserve Bank of Australia says its published rates are market indications that may differ from dealer quotes and warns against relying on its data for regulatory or commercial purposes. An RBA figure does not reveal what a payment provider charged or settle the business’s accounting or GST method.

Exchange rate source and control comparison across accounting software

Exchange rate data transparency by software provider

Resolve a mismatch

Check the currency pair, units and dates first, then whether a manual MYOB Currency List rate or transaction override applies. Compare the transaction’s saved rate and converted amount with the source document; if a bank converted the payment, inspect its actual conversion advice and separately identified charges.

Preserve the original saved rate and evidence before any correction. Ask the accountant or BAS adviser to settle a tax or reporting-method question.