Where the rates come from

When multi-currency is enabled for your account, Luminous keeps its own table of daily exchange rates. Each rate is stored for a specific date and currency pair, and is quoted against your base currency.

  • Source: Luminous pulls rates automatically from an online FX-rate service. Rates fetched this way are tagged with that service as their source.
  • Timing: The pull runs once a day, shortly after midnight (00:05 server time). It fetches the latest rates and saves one set per day. By default it does not overwrite rates that already exist for that day.
  • Base currency: Rates are fetched relative to your account's base currency. The default is USD.

Which rate is used on a purchase order

When you pick a Supplier Currency that differs from your base currency, Luminous fills in the Exchange Rate on the PO. It looks up the rate for the PO's order date. If there is no rate for that exact date, it uses the most recent earlier rate. If only the reverse pair is stored (for example base→foreign instead of foreign→base), it inverts that rate. If no rate can be found, Luminous shows the message "Could not load exchange rate for the selected currency and date." Then you can type the rate yourself.

If the supplier has a default currency set, a new PO for that supplier picks up that currency automatically.

Can I override the rate?

Yes, on a purchase order. The Exchange Rate field on the PO form is an editable number field. It shows the rate in the form (1 [foreign currency] = X [base currency]) and accepts up to 8 decimal places.

  1. Open the purchase order and go to the Set Purchase Order Details tab.
  2. Choose the Supplier Currency if it is not already set.
  3. Type your own value in the Exchange Rate field.
  4. Save the PO.

What to know about overriding:

  • Line prices stay fixed in the supplier's currency. When you change the rate, Luminous recalculates each line's base-currency cost from that fixed supplier price.
  • Once you save the PO, the rate is kept. When you reopen the PO and the currency and order date are unchanged, Luminous keeps your saved rate. It does not refetch the latest one. If you change the currency or the order date, Luminous fetches a fresh rate for the new combination, and you can overwrite it again.
  • If you choose your base currency (or no currency), no exchange rate is stored.

The same applies to bills. The system auto-fetches the latest rate, and you can override it manually in the Exchange Rate field.

Can I set my own daily rates?

There is no settings screen for entering your own daily rates. To use a different rate, override it on each purchase order or bill as described above. If you need your own rates loaded as a standing default, or want to change your base currency, contact Luminous support.

You can also change your account's base currency, but this is a setting that affects all conversions, so check with support before changing it.

Tips

  • If the feature is off for your account, the currency and exchange-rate fields are not available. See Multi-Currency Support.
  • Check the converted base total before saving, especially when rates move often.