CHAPTER 3 Currencies

The Currency menu allows merchants to customize the way prices are displayed on the stores website. There are two types of currencies, the primary currency and secondary currencies. The primary currency is what is used when the merchant is entering shipping costs, product prices, and any other monetary values. Secondary currencies are calculated by multiplying the primary currency by an exchange rate. They can be displayed to help customers estimate costs in a different currency. A sample of a product listing using two currencies is shown below.

If AbleCommerce displays a price and no currencies are defined, a default currency definition will be created. The default currency will use a comma to separate thousands and a period for decimals. A prefix or suffix will not be listed. At any time you can edit or delete the default currency.

When you click Currency from the Left Navigation Menu, the currency menu shown below will open.

From this menu you can add, edit, or delete currencies. The list displays the name of each currency and an example amount formatted with its current settings. The first currency you define should be your primary currency. This will be indicated on the Add Currency form.

Adding a Currency

To add a currency, open the Currencies menu and click the Add button. You will be shown a screen similar to the one below.

Enter the name of the currency. This is only displayed to the merchant and should be used to identify the currency. It will not be displayed on pricing pages.
Enter the currency prefix. The text you enter here will be displayed before the price. Examples of common prefixes are $, £, DM, and E.
Enter the thousands separator. This will be used to group digits by three on the left of the decimal.
Enter the decimal separator. This will be used to separate the integral and fractional part of the amount.
Enter the currency suffix. The text you enter here will be displayed after the price. An example of a common suffix is CDN (Canadian Dollars).
Enter the 3-letter International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 4217 Currency Code. Examples of ISO codes are CAD (Canadian Dollar), USD (US Dollar), GBP (British Pound), DEM (German Mark), and EUR (Euro). A list of additional currency codes can be found in Appendix A. A complete list of currency codes can be obtained from a variety of internet resources, including the ISO (www.iso.org).
Enter the Exchange rate. This value specifies the conversion factor for this currency. If this is the primary currency, enter 1. For full details on exchange rate calculations, see the "Exchange Rates" section later in this chapter.
If this is the primary currency, check the "Set as Primary Currency" box. There can only be one primary currency for a store. If a primary currency is already defined and this box is checked, the other primary currency will be demoted to a secondary currency.
Click Finish to create the currency and return to the Currencies menu. Your new currency will now appear in the list.

Editing a Currency

You can edit a currency at any time. Simply open the Currencies menu and click the name of the currency you wish to edit. Click the Edit button to open the Edit Currency screen.

Make any necessary changes to the data. For descriptions of the fields, see "Adding a Currency" above. When you have finished editing, click the Finish button to save and return to the Currencies menu.

Exchange Rates

AbleCommerce uses an exchange rate to calculate the amounts for secondary currencies. The exchange rate is entered when a currency is added or edited. To calculate the amount, the price of the product is multiplied by the Exchange Rate provided.

The exchange rate is explained by the following formula, where "X" represents the exchange rate.

1 primary unit = X secondary units

An example is given below using USD (US Dollars) and CAD (Canadian Dollars), using approximate exchange rates current as of this writing:

1 USD = 1.59 CAD

1 CAD = 0.63 USD

If the primary currency were USD, the exchange rate for CAD would be entered as 1.59. If the primary currency were CAD, the exchange rate for USD would be entered as 0.63.

Keep in mind that exchange rates fluctuate on a daily basis. You can edit the exchange rate as often as you need in order to stay current. You can also enter a conservative or common exchange rate to avoid having to repeatedly update the rate. The converted rate is only displayed to the customer as an estimate and will not necessarily be accurate. Actual transactions are only handled in your stores primary currency. On credit card transactions, banks will usually make exchanges automatically based on the most current currency values.