When collaborating with multinational legal service providers, you want to have budget tracking in your own currency while also accommodating foreign currencies.
In this article:
Each organization has a predetermined default currency that was established during its LawVu account configuration. As a LawVu Administrator, you need to ensure that the default currency is correct for your organization.
If you wish to modify the default currency, kindly reach out to Support using the chat bubble.
If the organization's set currency is incorrect, then the wrong currency code will be displayed.
Set the currencies your organization works with
To upload invoices in various currencies, it is necessary to configure your organization's invoice currencies in advance.
1. As an Administrator, go to Settings > Legal Service Providers > Invoice Currencies.
If the Invoice currencies card is disabled but greyed out, it indicates that your organization doesn't yet have Spend Management. To enable it, please contact your Customer Success Manager (CSM).
You will notice the default currency that has been set for your organization - in the example below, USD. (If you wish to modify this currency, kindly reach out to Support using the chat bubble.)
2. Select from the options provided in the dropdown menu to indicate the currencies that your organization accepts. (We recommend talking to your finance team to find out which invoice currencies will be accepted and the conversion rate for each currency.)
The currencies are represented by their respective three-digit codes and symbols in accordance with ISO standards.
3. Select the conversion rate (exchange rate) for each of the selected currencies that you want your organization to use for invoicing purposes.
Conversion rates will be used to convert invoices received in foreign currencies into your organization's default local currency.
You have the flexibility to include additional currencies or remove the ones you previously added.
Note: You'll need to periodically adjust the exchange rate, as these are static exchange rates and are not connected to a live, automated data source.
All changes will be tracked in the Account activity log that you can review at any time from Settings / Account Activity
Upload invoices in different currencies
If you are an In-house Legal or an Organization Administrator user, then you can choose the currency for each invoice. If you are uploading a LEDES invoice, the 'Invoice currency' field will automatically populate.
If an invoice is posted in a currency different from the default one, it will be converted to the default currency using the earlier specified conversion rate.
Notice the converted amount appears underneath the Fees, Disbursements, and Total tax fields as well, so you know exactly what they amount to in your default currency.
You can change the currency of invoices that are still in Draft directly from the Invoices grid. Once an invoice is posted, the currency and conversion rate cannot be changed.
Note: Invoices uploaded before the release of the multiple currencies feature (12th September, 2023) will display as blank in the invoice currency field.
Track your budget
From the Invoices tab of the matters, you can view the budget in your default currency (USD in this case), which includes converted invoices from other currencies as well.
The Invoices grid helps you to easily track your budget for all invoices. It displays both the original invoice currency and the converted amount.
Troubleshooting FAQs
Q1: Why are my financial reports or invoices showing strange amounts, like extremely small or large numbers?
This is the most common symptom of an incorrect exchange rate. It almost always happens because the rate was entered "backwards" or "flipped."
For example, instead of entering the Euro to Vietnamese Dong exchange rate, ex., 1 EUR = 30,111.00 VND, the rate for VND to EUR was entered instead. ex., 1 VND = 0.00003321 EUR.