Foreign Exchange in Blackpurl allows your dealership to order and receive parts and units from foreign vendors using the vendor's currency, while having those foreign amounts automatically converted to your local currency in your inventory. Vendor bills for these foreign purchases are sent to your accounting package in the vendor's currency.
Important: Once you turn on Foreign Currency in Blackpurl, it cannot be turned off.
Before You Start
Foreign Exchange in Blackpurl works in tandem with the foreign currencies set up in your accounting package. You must enable multi-currency in your accounting package before setting up Foreign Exchange in Blackpurl.
Xero: See Add a Foreign Currency in Xero for instructions on adding foreign currencies.
QuickBooks Online: See Set up and use Multicurrency in QuickBooks Online for instructions on enabling multicurrency.
Initial Setup of Foreign Exchange in Blackpurl
Once your accounting package is configured for foreign currency, you can enable Foreign Exchange in Blackpurl under System Settings and then create your foreign vendors.
Part 1: Enable Foreign Exchange in System Settings
Click your initials in the Blackpurl header.
Click Settings to open the System Settings dashboard.
Click Settings & Controls from the System Settings dashboard.
Expand the Foreign Exchange section from the Settings & Controls page.
Enable the Foreign exchange costing toggle to activate Foreign Exchange in Blackpurl.
If an orange warning banner appears stating that multi-currency functionality has not been enabled in your accounting package, stop and complete the accounting package setup first — this is a prerequisite and must be done before proceeding.
Read the warning in the Enabling foreign exchange dialog carefully. This step is important — once enabled, Foreign Exchange cannot be turned off.
If you agree and wish to continue, check the acceptance checkbox and click Confirm.
If you do not wish to continue, click Cancel.
Once Foreign Exchange costing is enabled, Blackpurl will pull currency information from your accounting package and populate the relevant fields automatically. Blackpurl only allows you to use the same currencies defined in your accounting package — your home currency and any foreign currencies you have configured there.
Part 2: Configure Exchange Rate Markup (Optional)
Exchange rates shown for each currency are updated daily using the same service as your accounting package. Blackpurl also provides an optional Exchange rate markup setting you can use to account for upward or downward trends in exchange rates. This helps minimize exchange rate differences between when stock is received and when you later pay the vendor invoice.
To use the markup, enable the Exchange rate markup toggle and type in your markup rate.
All settings save automatically. If you want to be sure, click Apply Settings to save manually.
Tip: Throughout Blackpurl, a currency flag icon is used to indicate that Foreign Exchange is in play and to identify which currency is being used. You will see this flag across ordering, receiving, and part record screens.
Part 3: Create Foreign Vendors
When creating a new vendor, you can mark them as a Foreign Vendor at the time of creation. You must do this when first creating the vendor — it cannot be changed later through the normal vendor setup.
For existing vendors: If you are an existing Blackpurl dealership and want to convert an existing vendor to a Foreign Vendor, you must contact Blackpurl Support. Provide the names of the vendor or vendors you want to convert, and the support team will run a special script on those vendors and their associated part records.
How Foreign Exchange Works
The following sections explain how Foreign Exchange applies to unit ordering and receiving, part ordering and receiving, and unit and part records.
Units
Unit Ordering
When you open the unit ordering screen for a Foreign Vendor, a banner at the top of the screen provides key information about the foreign currency in play. The banner advises:
That the vendor is a Foreign Vendor
The currency attached to the vendor, for example USD — United States Dollar, indicated with the currency flag
The current conversion rate, for example 1.505 — once the Vendor Order (VO) is submitted, this conversion rate is locked
That all costs are entered in the vendor's currency, while all prices are in your local currency
When entering the Base Unit Cost, use the vendor's foreign currency. The Base Unit Price will be expressed in your local currency. The foreign currency symbol appears throughout the ordering process as a reminder that Foreign Exchange is in play.
Unit Receiving
On the unit receiving screen, the foreign currency symbol is shown so you always know which currency you are working with. The unit receiving and invoicing amounts should be entered in the vendor's foreign currency and must match the vendor invoice provided by your foreign vendor.
The Unit Vendor Invoice integrates into your accounting package in the foreign currency set on the vendor record.
Unit Record
After a unit is received from a Foreign Vendor, the unit record reflects the following:
The cost price is shown in your local currency, converted using the Foreign Exchange rate that was locked at the time the Vendor Order was submitted.
The price is already in your local currency.
The ordering summary still shows amounts in the vendor's currency — the currency flag identifies which currency is being displayed.
Parts
Part Ordering — Vendor Order (VO)
When you open the Part Order screen for a Foreign Vendor, a banner appears at the top with the same foreign currency information shown during unit ordering. The banner advises:
That the vendor is a Foreign Vendor
The currency attached to the vendor, for example USD — United States Dollar, indicated with the currency flag
The current conversion rate, for example 1.505 — once the Vendor Order is submitted, the conversion rate is locked
That all costs are in the vendor's currency
That when parts are received, costs will be converted to your local currency in your inventory
Process the Vendor Order as you normally would.
Parts Receiving — Vendor Receiving (VR) and Vendor Invoice (VI)
When processing a Vendor Receiving or Vendor Invoice for a Foreign Vendor, a banner is always displayed to remind you that Foreign Exchange is in play. Line items are still listed in the vendor's currency.
Process the Vendor Receiving and Vendor Invoice as you normally would. The total on the Vendor Invoice should match the total on the invoice provided by your foreign vendor — this amount integrates into your accounting package in the currency configured on the Foreign Vendor record.
Part Records
Part records attached to a Foreign Vendor display currency information in two ways:
1. The MSRP and Retail price are shown in your local currency.
2. The cost is shown in both local currency (the converted rate) and foreign currency, with the currency flag identifying the foreign currency amount.
