The base currency is configured when you create your organisation in Zoho Books. For Indian businesses, this is INR. All accounts in the Chart of Accounts, all financial reports, and all balance calculations are in the base currency. Once transactions are recorded, the base currency cannot be changed without effectively restarting the organisation, so confirm the correct choice during initial setup.
While the base currency is your reporting currency, individual transactions can be in any currency you add to Zoho Books (called foreign currencies). When you raise a USD invoice for a US customer, the transaction is recorded in USD but Zoho Books also converts it to INR at the exchange rate on the transaction date. The INR amount is what appears in the Chart of Accounts and all financial reports. The USD amount appears on the invoice document sent to the customer.
For GST purposes in India, all invoices and bills must report amounts in INR, even if the transaction is in a foreign currency. Zoho Books automatically converts the foreign currency transaction value to INR at the exchange rate used (typically the RBI reference rate for export invoices) and uses the INR value for GST calculation and GSTR-1 reporting. Export invoices are zero-rated for GST, so the INR conversion is relevant for customs valuation purposes but not for GST payment.
Base currency in Zoho Books is the primary currency for your organisation’s financial reports. For Indian businesses, this is INR. All foreign currency transactions are converted to the base currency for reporting.
The base currency is set at organisation creation and cannot be changed after transactions are recorded. Choose it carefully during initial setup. For Indian businesses, select INR.
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