Accounting in dinar and dollar: keeping books straight as exchange rates move

Why profits get distorted when rates move

If you buy goods in dollars and sell in dinars after the rate moved, you may appear to gain or lose because of FX rather than trading. Without separating the two, you make wrong pricing calls: raising a price on an item that’s actually profitable, or keeping a loss-maker.

The core rules

• Every document in its original currency at that day’s rate.
• Each customer and supplier account in its real trading currency.
• Separate cash boxes for dinar and dollar.
• Revalue foreign-currency balances at each period end.
• A profit report separating sales margin from FX differences.

Daily pricing in shops

In retail, imported items are priced in dollars and shown in dinars at a rate the manager sets daily. The system recalculates displayed prices instantly, with the option to fix certain items in dinars.