This article is for: employees, approvers and finance teams.
Paid in another currency? Enter the receipt as it is, and Factorial converts it for you at the exchange rate of the receipt date. Your bank uses its own rate and fees, so the two amounts rarely match to the cent: you can adjust the amount you're paid back by up to 5% above the converted amount, so you get back what you really spent.
How Factorial converts an expense
Overview
Every expense has two amounts:
- Receipt amount (mobile app: Document amount) and Document currency: what the receipt says, for example US$180.00. Any currency is accepted. The currency field may show as Receipt currency or Invoice currency.
- Reimbursable amount and Reimbursable currency: what you're paid back, usually in your legal entity's currency, for example €161.75 for a US$180.00 receipt (as in the notice below).
When the two currencies differ, Factorial fills in the reimbursable amount at the exchange rate of the receipt date. If there's no rate for that day, it uses the latest earlier one. Under the amount, the form shows the converted total, the rate, its date and its source, for example "Total: €161.75. US$180.00 converted at 1 USD = 0.8986 EUR on 27 Oct 2026. Source: Open Exchange Rates".
Always enter the receipt in its original currency and check that the Document currency matches the receipt. Don't convert it yourself.
Adjust the amount to what your bank charged
Overview
You can change the Reimbursable amount to match your bank statement, up to 5% above the converted amount. This covers the usual difference between Factorial's daily rate and your bank's rate and fees. Above that, the expense can't be sent: the expense shows "Review your expense details · Reimbursable amount can't exceed the receipt amount", and Send for approval takes you back to the amount. That message is the same for both limits.
In the same currency (for example, a pound receipt paid back in pounds), the reimbursable amount can never be higher than the receipt.
How to use
- Open the expense, click Edit and change the Reimbursable amount to the amount on your bank statement. The notice under it changes to "Set manually", still showing Factorial's rate.
- Attach a screenshot of the bank charge next to the receipt, so your approver understands the difference.
- Send the expense.
Bank charged more than 5% above the converted amount (for example, high card fees abroad)? Send the expense with the converted amount, or up to 5% above it, and ask your finance team how they want the bank fees claimed. Many companies ask for a second expense for the fees:
- Create a second expense for the bank's fees, with your bank statement attached as the proof.
- Say in the description which expense it belongs to.
- Your approver approves both as usual.
Tips and Best Practices
- Always enter the receipt in its original currency. It keeps the record auditable and the conversion consistent.
- Use a company card abroad when you can. Card payments arrive in Factorial on their own, so there's nothing to convert or advance. See What are Factorial cards, and why use them for company spending?.
- Finance: decide one way to book differences. Either book the bank amount and post the small difference as an exchange gain or loss, or book Factorial's converted amount. Check with your accountant which is right for you. Use the Exchange rate, Document amount and Reimbursable amount columns of the advanced export to reconcile. See How do I export expenses?.
- Check how you'll pay it back. Payroll reimbursements need the reimbursable currency to match the employee's salary currency, and SEPA payments must be in euros.
Related articles: How do I get the amounts right on an expense? · Currencies and taxes in Expenses · How do I export expenses? · How do I make sure the VAT on each expense is right? · How do I close the month in Expenses? A checklist for finance
Troubleshooting and FAQ
Troubleshooting
"Reimbursable amount can't exceed the receipt amount".
The reimbursable amount is more than 5% above the converted receipt (or above the receipt, if it's the same currency). Lower it, and ask your finance team how to claim the bank's extra fees. If you entered the receipt in the wrong currency, correct the Document currency first.
"Couldn't calculate the reimbursable amount" ("We couldn't get an exchange rate to convert to …").
Factorial has no exchange rate for that currency and date. Enter the Reimbursable amount yourself from your bank statement before saving.
The reimbursable amount looks wrong for many expenses on the same date.
Contact our support team with one example: the expense link, the receipt currency and amount, and the converted amount.
The Report page doesn't include some expenses.
The report shows one currency at a time. Change the currency filter at the top to see the others.
"You can only reimburse expenses in the same currency as the employee's salary."
The expense's reimbursable currency is different from the employee's salary currency, so it can't be paid back through payroll. Pay it back another way, then use Set as paid on the expense.
FAQ
1. Which exchange rate does Factorial use?
The rate of the receipt date, from the source shown under the converted total. If there's no rate for that day, Factorial uses the latest earlier one.
2. Why doesn't Factorial use my bank's rate?
Each bank uses its own rate and fees at the moment of payment, which Factorial can't know. That's why you can adjust the reimbursable amount by up to 5% above the converted amount.
3. Can an approver change the reimbursable amount?
Yes. People with permission to edit the expense can change it, for example an approver who can edit pending expenses, while the expense is pending. The same limits apply: up to 5% above the converted amount, and never above the receipt in the same currency.
4. Which currency is an expense paid back in?
By default, the currency of the employee's legal entity, which admins set per legal entity (see Currencies and taxes in Expenses). Expenses in an expense group use the group's currency. Mileage and per diem expenses use the currency of their rate.
5. Can an employee choose the currency they're paid back in, for example pay in pesos and be repaid in dollars?
Yes, if the Reimbursable currency field is shown in your company's expense form, except for expenses in a group, mileage and per diems.
6. Do the same limits apply to mileage and per diems?
No. Mileage and per diems are paid in the currency of their rate.
7. Are card expenses in another currency converted?
No. Card expenses use the amount the card was actually charged, and no extra conversion is applied.
8. How can I pay back an expense in another currency?
Through payroll, only if the reimbursable currency is the same as the employee's salary currency. By SEPA, only if it's in euros. Set as paid works in any currency, once you've paid the employee another way. See How do I pay back expenses through payroll?, How do I pay back expenses with a SEPA file? and How do I mark an expense as paid, or undo it?.
9. Why aren't totals in different currencies added up?
Factorial shows totals of expenses in different currencies per currency, never added up. The Report page shows one currency at a time.