Different currencies create several related amounts: the price you paid, the amount that affected an account, and the converted value in a report. Keeping their roles separate makes records easier to understand later.
This guide uses fictional USD and EUR examples to explain the app’s recording model. The sample rate is arithmetic for illustration, not a current exchange quote.
1. Keep the original currency visible
Choose the actual currency for each account. A USD everyday account and a EUR travel account should keep their own balances. Use names that help you select the right one when entering a transaction.
Do not manually change all your original records to a single currency just to create a combined view. The base-currency report exists to give you that view while preserving the original context.
2. Record an expense in its context
If lunch costs €20.00 and you pay from a EUR account, the purchase and account movement use the same currency. Check the date, account, and category before saving. The EUR amount should remain understandable on its own.
If you pay through an account in another currency, the amount charged to that account may differ from a reference-rate conversion. Check the actual account amount when the app asks for it. A card fee or provider adjustment should not disappear into an assumed quote.
3. Use actual amounts for a transfer
Suppose $110.00 leaves a USD account and €100.00 arrives in a EUR account. These are two amounts describing one movement between your accounts. Record the source and destination correctly and use separate amounts where the flow requires them.
Saving creates two linked records: Transfer Out and Transfer In. The full history shows both; each account shows its own record. They are transfers and do not count as income or expenses. Deleting either record removes both and updates both account balances.
Do not enter an additional €100.00 income just to make the destination balance look right after a transfer. Review the transfer record and both account effects first. Otherwise the same event may be represented more than once.
4. Choose a base currency for reports
On first launch, iOS, Android, and HarmonyOS choose a supported base currency from the device region, using USD if the region’s currency is unsupported or cannot be identified. That choice is saved; changing the device region later does not switch the base currency. You can change it in the app’s currency settings.
Interface language is separate from the base currency. All three apps support English, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, French, Brazilian Portuguese, Indonesian, Korean, Japanese, and Traditional Chinese. HarmonyOS follows the system by default and offers these languages in Personalization. On iOS and Android, app language is managed in system settings.
A base currency gives combined statistics a common unit. For illustration only, assume €1.00 equals $1.10. A €20.00 expense would contribute $22.00 to a USD view at that sample rate, while the original EUR expense remains €20.00.
The report value is not evidence that a USD account paid $22.00. It is a converted representation. Read the original record when you need to know what actually affected an account.
5. Understand what a rate update changes
Updating a rate can change the converted reporting view. It does not rewrite the already-recorded original-currency movements of an account. This keeps the original amount separate from a later reporting perspective.
Online updates depend on the network and provider. If a required rate is missing, follow the app’s availability message rather than treating a partial combined total as complete. Review the currency settings and the records involved.
6. Review before exporting or comparing
When checking a report against another source, use the same period and understand which currency each number represents. Differences may come from transaction scope, actual charged amounts, reporting rates, or incomplete records.
Export important records before removing the app. The current ledger is stored on the device; website language selection does not synchronize it or change its base currency.
Read more about Monaura’s account and currency model or return to the expense-tracking guide for the everyday flow.