thanks for the help. so it sounds like the easiest way is to just log in
native currency (floating) during the trip, then go through in bulk during
post-trip reconciliation and fix each expense transaction with some sort of
average exchange rate.
On Thursday, January 31, 2013 2:59:31 PM UTC-5, thierry wrote:
>
> Hi Drew,
>
> Working with multiple currencies is not magic with ledger, I would even
> say the contrary, I mean you have to do a lot by hand to be sure of what
> you do. See my comments inlined.
>
> Le jeudi 31 janvier 2013 02:56:57 UTC+1, Drew Roos a écrit :
>>
>> Say I'm travelling in a foreign country and making lots of small cash
>> transactions in the local currency. What's the easiest way to handle this
>> in ledger?
>>
>> Because these are all just incidental expenses, I want fix the conversion
>> back to $$ when the transaction is made, so that the values of my expense
>> accounts don't float over time.
>>
>
> I agree with this sentence above, but you implemented the contrary... What
> you wanted is to fix the expense so that the it does not float over time.
>
>
>> So imagine this:
>>
>> 2012/01/30 atm withdrawal
>> Assets:Cash ZAR 3000 {{=$335.95}}
>> Assets:Bank
>>
>
> Here, you should not fix price. Indeed, you just get cash out, and let's
> imagine that tomorrow currency rate increased 10%, then you would have gain
> 10%, and your cash in hand will profit from this increase. Imagine that
> that you change back, you will have gained 10%, so here clearly, this is
> not fixed.
>
>
>> 2012/01/31 lunch
>> Expenses:Food ZAR 250
>> Assets:Cash
>>
>> 2012/01/31 mobile top-up
>> Expenses:Phone ZAR 300
>> Assets:Cash
>>
>>
> Here you need to fix the price, as the expense is committed, the cost to
> you should not change again.
>
> I'm using lot pricing on the bulk currency conversion, but the fixed-rate
>> ZARs don't seem to follow from Cash into Expense.
>>
>
> No magic, there will be no follow from cash to expense, nor the other way
> around.
>
>
>> The balances of the Expense accounts still float with the current
>> exchange rate.
>>
>
> With new syntax, Expenses are fixed, but the cash still in your hand can
> float
>
> It seems like you have to fix the exchange rate in every transaction,
>>
>
> Yes, in Expenses transactions.
>
>
>> which seems pretty cumbersome.
>>
>
> Yes...
>
>
>> What's the easiest way to go about this?
>>
>> I think it would be best if ledger could somehow figure out the rates
>> from when you exchanged the money ("my wallet has 500 ZAR converted at rate
>> X, 1500 converted at rate Y, ...).
>>
>
> Ledger can figure out the rate (when not fixed)
>
> Failing that, fixing the conversion at that day's market price (from
>> prices.db) would also work. Is there some shorthand to make this possible
>> without explicitly having to spell out the conversion rate in every
>> transaction?
>>
>
> Not to my knowledge.
>
> Thierry
>
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