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HI Jeff
Also we use a database called Airtable for our transactions. We then link it to Xero using Zapier and can send invoices automatically into Xero as well as apply the credit notes.

HI Jeff
I also started a thread on this about 15 years ago. It's unbelievable it has not been addressed. My work around is to issue an invoice and a credit note for the same amount. When the client pays the advance or overpayment their account is in credit for that amount. Then each time we invoice them we apply the credit until the credit note is used up.
It means you have a negative accounts receivable but it works.

I know I started this post or one similar and I agree with most users about the reluctance of Xero to put any effort into an obvious need. I have come up with a work around that seems to be useful. I make every overseas payment an overpayment in the overseas currency as I have the details from the bank. I do not clear the invoice until all payments are on the water or in the air. When there's a lot i can be hard but it's the only way I can make it work without having a good system that can handle all of the transactions on the run. Another pet hate is the fact that you can't change an invoice when it has a payment attached, anyone who imports knows that part invoices are a part of daily life. This is why I don't apply any payments until it's in the air or on the water. Xero is so ***t I ave about fifty spreadsheets to track costs of each item. If I had the time, I would write a single database to fix all the inadequacies of Xero. I started it but it'd not a quick project. At least I have all the data in spreadsheets to drag into the database once I finish it one day. Might add a front end like Xero and put it in the market to make a few bob. I'm sure I can write better than Xero's programmers. I might even add a Bill of sale, and stores tracking, capacity, and a min max option for reo-dering.

Not sure if this helps anyone....

We code foreign currency payments to '620-Prepayment' account and then raise a Credit note for that supplier which is also coded to the same account. We then raise the Bill when the goods arrive and allocate the Credit to that Bill.

We've been using Xero now for 18 months and even with issues like this that seem like they should've been rectified years ago, it's still more user-friendly than Sage!

Being able to change the currency of an invoice but not a prepayment is just utterly mindboggling. How can you have the feature available in one place but not the other, when they are both core components of accounting?! And to think this idea was shared BY XERO over THIRTEEN YEARS ago?! Come on...

This is also relevant from a supplier perspective (i.e. invoice payments)

I see that is originally dated 2013. How has this not made it onto the roadmap by now? This isn't an edge case - it's basic accounting entry stuff

Fix this! It's been 13 years (since Feb 2013) that users have been asking for this basic functionality! I have a spreadsheet, journal entries, automatically reversing them etc for what was done automatically by quickbooks!

It is a basic and much needed feature - I fear this is more of a defect for not having one. We make prepayment in foreign currency all the time and have spent hours trying to reconcile the prepayments account each month and the supplier contact transactions looked to be in bad shape with all the "awaiting payments"

please for the love of God can we have this feature. It is extremely annoying to have to work around this.

Seriously, Xero. You consider yourself a global accounting software yet you don't allow a prepayment in anything other than the base (home) currency? What about companies such as mine that operate in many localities?

We have a corporate fuel account at a local fuel supplier to manage our local ground logistics. I top up the fuel account monthly, and the staff draw down that fuel credit as usage dictates -- it helps us manage fuel consumption and improve transparency on staff movements with vehicles.

However, Xero doesn't allow proper accounting for this. Still scratching my head at this. From Chris Moody's comments below, this was requested in 2013??? No action?

why do you allow for user suggestions if you are going to ignore them completely? Why do you consider Xero a global accounting platform if its multi-currency management is poor at best?

As you can see from the note above, I flagged this as a weakness in 2013, so I'm not holding my breath for this to be implemented. It does suggest that this forum is really a waste of time.

Yes this is another of those items that were only half completed by Xero and needs to be finalised

We have a lot of suppliers in foreign currency that is prepaid so would be great if Xero could facilitate this

@Andrew Don't get you hopes up that Xero would listen. In the 5 years since we subscribed to Xero none of the Ideas we supported/voted for and none of the bugs we reported got implemented or fixed.

We are trying to import data from Amazon into Xero. Due to receiving money in different currencies we are unable to do this. In order for our business to work efficiently we need this.
Any suggestions about timelines would make using Zero a viable option.

The ability to allocate overpayments to foreign currency bills.

Currently we can only post an overpayment in GBP. There is then no functionality to allocate this payment to a foreign currency invoice. There are a few work arounds all not very ideal and cumbersome.

The ability to either allocate these to foreign currency or create an overpayment in the foreign currency that would then allow the allocation of the overpayment would save a great deal of time and effort.

We recently migrated our client from QuickBooks, they are not too happy with the work arounds and much prefer the way QuickBooks worked. Bit of a sticking point for them.

Thought I'd post the below from Xero support in case it helps anyone, but it's not a great workaround for me, that's for sure!

'Currently it's not possible to add a prepayment in a non-base currency in Xero.

In the meantime, you could do one of the following:

If there's no income or tax recording requirement, you can record the payment using an overpayment transaction. This will create a credit in your customer's or supplier's account that can be applied to the invoice or bill once it's generated.

If there's an income or tax recording requirement:

Create a spend or receive money transaction (according to the payment type) in the contact's name, and code it to a 'prepayment' balance sheet type account. This will record the bank account transaction, however it won't show on the customer's statement / supplier's account.
Create a credit note (customer or supplier) coding it to the same prepayment account and using the same tax treatment transaction used in the previous step. This will record the payment on the customer or supplier account.

Once the actual invoice or bill is created:

Enter the invoice or bill in the usual manner.
Edit the credit note so that has the same date as the invoice or bill.
Apply the credit note to the invoice or bill.
Create a manual journal to clear any residual balance out of the prepayment account, to Realised Currency Gains/Losses account (default 499).'

I need this option, it is very important for my organization.

What will it take to get an update on this; XERO customers are global businesses

Prepayment functionality for foreign currency transactions is crucial, especially for multinational corporation. MNCs frequently deal with foreign suppliers and customers, making prepayments a common practice for securing goods or services. Without proper prepayment support in Xero for foreign currencies, it becomes challenging.