Estimating in other currencies
There have been significant changes in the value of currencies. The US dollar has risen dramatically over the last few years. The Euro has suffered a fairly significant fall, as has the Chinese Renminbi. And, following Brexit, the Pound has dropped dramatically.
Set up currencies for your estimating
It is not only the changes that are important, however; it is also the volatility. The currency markets are continuing to change. For estimators buying goods in different currencies, as well as for those estimators bidding in different or even multiple currencies, this volatility can cause lots of additional work, and can make the estimating process nearly impossible to get right.
Through our work with multinational companies we understood that it is critical for large corporations that work across many countries to manage variations in currency. In response to a request from a number of our clients, we added various ‘Multi-Currency’ functionalities into our software.
Estimating in different currencies
The first issue addressed is for those who need to include goods and services priced in different currencies in estimates. Our ‘Multi-currency’ feature allows both multinational organisations, as well as companies who use Resources from countries with different currencies, simple Exchange Rate management.
Project Resources with Multi-Currency
Benchmark Estimating Software now includes a feature where Resources can be priced in multiple currencies. The estimator can nominate an exchange rate, or use the system default, and then the Resources are valued in the base currency of the estimate. Benchmark Estimating Software does all currency conversion calculations automatically.
Adjust an exchange rate across a bid. This helps you to produce more accurate estimates quickly and with confidence.
If that exchange rate varies, the estimator can easily adjust the new exchange rate, be it for an individual Resource or an entire Project, and the Resource costs, and of course the Project cost are then updated automatically.
Project Currency Settings
A graphical and tabular analysis tool gives you powerful what-if analysis data before committing to your exchange rate changes. Many reports show the breakdown of your bid in different currencies, allowing you to understand your exposure to variation in currencies.
Benefit from increased efficiency, less chance of error and greater accuracy across your business, as you now have the ability to maintain all your suppliers’ price lists from all countries in one single database.
Managing Security and control
Default Currency details including exchange rates and currency formats (accessible only to administrators)
Like many organisations, controlling the use of advanced features like this, can be very important. The following features in Benchmark Estimating Software will give you full control in order to increase consistency across your business:
- Default Currency details including exchange rates and currency formats (accessible only to administrators)
- User permissions so only authorised estimators can nominate Resource-specific exchange rates (where you may have contracted exchange rates with a supplier), and
- User permissions so only authorised estimators can modify global Exchange Rates for a Project.
So, if you are one of the many estimators working in the world of different currencies, you can save time and gain a lot more power by using the many currency features available in Benchmark Estimating Software. Benefit from greater flexibility in handling these scenarios, faster and more effectively!