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Using Exchange Rates in Fathom
Using Exchange Rates in Fathom

Fathom's default foreign exchange rates and how to customize or edit foreign exchange rates

Updated over a week ago


Contents:


Where the default rates come from

Fathom's default historical exchange rates are sourced from Open Exchange Rates. We use an inter-bank (without retail fluctuations), mid-market (average of buy/sell rates) rate which is calculated end-of-day using an average of rates from the preceding day.


Methodology

For monthly data, Fathom uses the average exchange rate over the month to translate the Profit & Loss accounts and the month end exchange rate for translating Balance Sheet accounts.

Future periods

Future periods will use the exchange rates from the most recently completed month.

For example, if the report is run in the middle of January, we will use the average exchange rate for December for the Profit & Loss and the end of month exchange rate for December for the Balance Sheet for January and all future periods.

For more detailed information on how exchange rates are applied in multi-currency consolidations, please see our 'Multi-currency Consolidation Methodology' article.


Using custom exchange rates

Fathom’s custom foreign exchange (FX) editor for multi-currency consolidated groups enables you to override Fathom’s default FX rates with your own custom exchange rates. This gives you flexibility and control in presenting your financial results in a multi-currency consolidated group.

Note: This feature is ONLY available in a multi-currency consolidated group. For more information on creating a multi-currency consolidation, please view our ‘Creating a Multi-currency Consolidation’ article.


Accessing the FX Editor

From the ‘My Companies’ screen, hover your mouse over a multi-currency consolidated group and click the ‘Cog/Gear’ icon that appears in the row for the consolidation. To customise exchange rates:

  1. Go to ‘Step 2 - Group Profile’ in the Settings

  2. Scroll down to the ‘Default Rates’ section. You’ll see the ‘Presentation Currency’ listed there.

    💡Pro Tip: The presentation currency is the selected currency that will be displayed for this consolidated group. All other currencies will be converted into this currency. If you wish to change the presentation currency, proceed to ‘Step 1 - Update Data’ and click ‘Manage Group’.

  3. Select the ‘edit exchange rates’ next to the presentation currency.


Understanding the FX Editor

Fathom will display each underlying currency in separate tables for the P&L and Balance Sheet. The P&L uses monthly average rates, whilst the Balance sheet uses month end rates.

The currencies that are shown for each table are taken from the currencies of your underlying companies. The direction of the conversion of each rate is:

Functional currency of individual company → Presentation currency of consolidated group

Example: One of the underlying companies is in Japanese Yen (JPY), and the consolidated group is in US dollars (USD). The exchange rates shown are JPY/USD ≅ 0.0093, meaning that .0093 Japanese Yen is equal to 1 US dollar.

Note: There is currently no option to reverse the direction of these rates.


Using the FX Editor

In the FX Editor, you’re able to:


Selecting the period range

At any time, you’re able to view 6 months of exchange rates for your consolidated group’s Profit & Loss (P&L) and Balance Sheet. This is based on the financial year of your consolidated group, specified in ‘Step 1 - Update Data’.

You can navigate between time periods by:

  • Selecting the financial year using the dropdown box and

  • Clicking on the left/right arrows at the top of the table to quickly navigate to the previous or next 6 month period


Manually adding custom exchange rates

To add your own custom FX rates, you can simply type them into the cells for the P&L and Balance sheet tables. This will override the default FX rates applied by Fathom.

After making changes to any default rate, a small blue triangle icon will appear in the top right corner of the cell. This will allow you to quickly identify any custom rates. You can also hover your mouse over this icon to see the initial default rate.

💡Pro-tip: When editing exchange rates within cells, press ‘TAB’ on your keyboard to quickly move to the next cell. You can also hit ‘ENTER (RETURN)’ to save any changes made.


Fix custom rates over a range

Fathom enables you to fix a single exchange rate across a custom period.

  1. Hover your mouse over a cell that contains the exchange rate you wish to fix.

  2. Click ‘Overflow menu (3 dot icon)’

  3. Select ‘Fix Rate’

You can then choose to fix rates for all periods, or for a custom period.


View and edit exchange rates using Excel

In addition to manually customising FX rates within Fathom, you’re able to upload an Excel file with your custom FX rates. This is useful if you wish to add many custom exchange rates across multiple periods.

  1. Select the green ‘Download’ option to download the import template.

    💡Pro-tip: You can view our guidelines for importing your exchange rates from Excel by selecting the ‘Guidelines for use’ option to the left fo the ‘Download’ button.

  2. The Excel template will look similar to Fathom’s custom FX editor. Default rates that haven't been customised will show up as blank cells in the Excel file. You may need to select ‘Enable editing’ in the file to allow you to add your own rates to it.

  3. Add your custom rates to the Excel file.

  4. Save the file.

  5. Back in the FX Editor, select the option ‘Upload excel edits’ and select the file for upload.

Note: Any cells that are left blank when uploading will use Fathom's default rate.

Once you have added your custom rates to the Excel file, upload it back into Fathom. You will see a summary of the changes made, as well as any potential issues with the upload file.


Troubleshooting issues in your Excel import

The first step to troubleshooting any issues in your Excel import is to review the upload modal screen after uploading your file.

Fathom will provide a detailed description of each specific issue, as well as the effect of this on your upload. You can also see the exact cells that the issue is located in by hovering your mouse over the information tooltip (the ‘?’ icon).

Note: You will be able to proceed with the upload despite any issues that are found.

We recommend that you download the import template directly from Fathom, rather than recreate it yourself. Potential issues can include:

  • Cells have been left empty, in which the default rate will be applied

  • Cells contain invalid values (special characters or text)

  • The Excel file is not in the correct import template

If you are unable to resolve the issue or have any questions about your Excel import, please reach out to our support team at support@fathomhq.com. In your message, please attach the custom rates Excel file that you are uploading.


Reset to default rates

At any time, you can reset any custom exchange rates back to the default rate provided by Fathom.

This can be done:

  • One cell at a time. Hover your mouse over the cell, and click ‘Overflow menu (3 dot icon). Then, select ‘Reset to default rate’.

  • For all periods, or for a custom period. Hover your mouse over the currency name in the table (left-most cell). Click on the option to ‘Reset’. You can then choose to reset rates to default for all periods, or for a custom period.


Additional knowledge & common questions:

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