Automatic FOREX Conversion

New Feature
·
December 14, 2023
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Say goodbye to manual conversion! Moving forward, altHR users can now submit claims in foreign currencies and have them converted into MYR automatically.

Feature Specifications:

  • We use exchange rates published by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)
  • Exchange rates are updated daily in altHR
  • Session: 1700
  • Rate Type: Middle Rate
  • Quotation: Ringgit/Foreign Currency
  • Currencies Supported: Please refer to Exchange Rates

To enable to currency conversion feature, there are a few things to consider:

1. Under Expenses > Settings > General Settings > Expense Currencies:

  • Supported foreign currencies must be added here
  • Malaysian Ringgit (RM) must be the Primary Currency
  • If you are using other currency as your Primary Currency, the conversion will not be triggered
  • If you add non-supported currencies, the conversion will not be triggered

2. Under Expenses > Policies > Create/Edit Policy > Advanced Settings:

  • Supported foreign currencies must be added here
  • If you add non-supported currencies, the conversion will not be triggered

3. Under Expenses > Policies > Create/Edit Policy > 3. Limit:

  • If your primary currency is MYR, all supported foreign currencies will follow the MYR limit, while non-supported currencies will have their own limits
  • If your primary currency is non-MYR, all currencies will have their own limits

If you wish to utilise this feature, we strongly recommend admins to revise their expense policy configuration to enable automatic foreign currency conversion for the relevant policies.

Once admin configuration has been completed, all users can submit claims using the web and mobile apps as per the current flow, and the final/actual amount will be displayed in the Expense Transaction Summary.

Requestors, Approvers, and Admins will be able to view:

  • The receipt amount for the claim
  • The exchange rate according to the receipt date
  • The final, converted amount for the claim

Scenarios to Note:

  • Past Receipt Date – The conversion is instantaneous
  • Same-day Claim – Any claims submitted prior to 5 PM (UTC +8) will not have the latest rate available. The rate and final amount will be automatically updated after 6 PM (UTC +8)
  • Same-day Claim Limit – If the same-day rate is not available, altHR will temporarily utilise the previous day’s exchange rate as the threshold. Once the latest rate is available, altHR will take the maximum claim amount (based on policy setting) if the limit is reached

The Expense Reports were also enhanced to cater for this increment, particularly for these columns:

  • Currency: Final currency
  • Total Amount: Converted amount in MYR
  • Receipt Currency: Currency stated on the receipt
  • Receipt Amount: Amount stated on the receipt
  • Exchange Rate: Exchange rate obtained from BNM, listed in 4 decimal places
  • Exchange Date: Exchange rate for the date, middle rate, 1700 session

Submitting claims involving foreign currencies has never been easier with altHR. We hope that this increment will bring further increase in productivity and reduce human errors.  

Let us know what you think! Email us at [email protected] if you spotted a bug in the app or have improvements to suggest.