The quick answer
Open Lists > Accounting > Consolidated Exchange Rates, filter to one period and one subsidiary pair, and write down the Current, Average and Historical rates. Then go to Setup > Accounting > Manage Accounting Periods, open the period's checklist, open the Calculate Consolidated Exchange Rates task, and click Calculate Consolidated Exchange Rates. That opens the rate list. Reapply the period and subsidiary filters and click Calculate. NetSuite didn't show a completion message in this walkthrough, so read the result from the rates and from History (System Notes). The rates can come back unchanged, and that's a valid result.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and operating-company names are fictional. Use your own values when following the steps.
Before you start
This example is a September close for a OneWorld account. The child subsidiary, Cedar Point Canada, has the Canadian dollar as its base currency. Its parent, Example Supply Co., reports in US dollars. The Sep 2026 rates start at Current 0.7284, Average 0.7261 and Historical 0.7198.
You'll need:
- OneWorld with Multiple Currencies, and access to both subsidiaries in the pair.
- The Currency permission at a level that shows Edit and Calculate on the rate list. If you don't see them, check that level first.
- For the checklist task, Manage Accounting Periods and the permission to override period restrictions.
- An open period and a direct child-to-parent relationship. Indirect, derived and elimination rows don't have the same Edit and Calculate controls, so a missing Calculate icon doesn't mean the row was skipped.
With Multi-Book Accounting, the task is tied to an accounting book. The task page in this example lists Accounting Book: Primary Accounting Book under System Notes. Read the rates for each book you use.
What you see on the task page, such as its status labels and buttons, can differ by role, account setup and release. Treat the screens below as one account's behavior.
01. Record the starting rates
Open Lists > Accounting > Consolidated Exchange Rates. Under Filters, choose Period Sep 2026, From Subsidiary Cedar Point Canada and To Subsidiary Example Supply Co. One row remains. Closed is No, and the row shows Current 0.7284, Average 0.7261 and Historical 0.7198. The calculator icon in the Calculate column marks a direct pair that can be calculated.
Click History on the row. Here the System Notes table says "No records to show", so nothing had changed these rates yet. That's what this account showed. Another account may already have entries.
02. Open the Calculate task on the checklist
Go to Setup > Accounting > Manage Accounting Periods. Click the checklist icon in the Checklist column of the Sep 2026 row.
The Period Close Checklist for Sep 2026 lists the tasks in order. In this account, Calculate Consolidated Exchange Rates comes right after Revalue Open Foreign Currency Balances, and it's not started yet. If the task is locked, an earlier task or period usually has to be finished first. Click the arrow in the Go To Task column for the row.
The task page shows Period Sep 2026 and Status Not Started. Mark Task Complete is greyed out, and Last Run By is blank.
03. Run Calculate for the pair
Click Calculate Consolidated Exchange Rates on the task page. It opens the Consolidated Exchange Rates list with no filters applied. Set Period, From Subsidiary and To Subsidiary again to Sep 2026, Cedar Point Canada and Example Supply Co., then click Calculate at the top of the page.
The page refreshes. In this walkthrough there was no completion message, so don't wait for one.
Be careful with scope. NetSuite's documentation describes Calculate as working across the subsidiaries and accounting books your role can access, not only the rows on screen. In the account tested, setting the period and From Subsidiary filters limited the run to the pair, and a different row showed no new notes. That can vary by release and account, so check which rows' History changed before you rely on it. The row's own calculator icon is the narrower option for one eligible pair.
04. Check the rates and History
Look at the same row again. The filters still show Sep 2026 and the same pair. Current is still 0.7284, Average 0.7261 and Historical 0.7198, so this run changed none of the three rates. When the period-end rate and the transactions that feed Average and Historical haven't changed, the same numbers are the right answer.
Click History. System Notes now has two entries from the run, both at 11:20 am: Historical Rate 0.7198 to 0, then 0 to 0.7198. Current and Average aren't logged because they didn't change. The zero is a step in the recalculation, written and then rewritten, not an accounting result. Don't report the Historical rate as 0.
Now open History for a row outside the pair. Here that was Cedar Point Mexico, and System Notes says "No records to show". This tells you the run didn't change that row's logged rates. It doesn't prove Calculate never looked at it, which is why scope is worth checking in your own account.
If a value looks wrong, check the period-end currency exchange rate for Current. For Average and Historical, check the posted transaction amounts and the General Rate Type on the accounts. Those two rates are weighted by transaction amounts, not a plain average of daily rates.
05. Enter an approved rate by hand (optional)
Only do this when your finance team has approved a specific rate outside NetSuite. Back on the list, click Edit on the same direct pair. The form confirms Posting Period Sep 2026, From Subsidiary Cedar Point Canada and To Subsidiary Example Supply Co., with Current Exchange Rate at 0.7284.
Type 0.7331 in Current Exchange Rate. Until you click Save, that's only a value in a form.
Click Save. The view page shows Current Exchange Rate 0.7331. System Notes adds a Current Rate change from 0.7284 to 0.7331, above the two Historical Rate entries from the run.
Check the result
- Current Exchange Rate reads 0.7331 on the view page, not just in the form.
- System Notes has a Current Rate entry from 0.7284 to 0.7331.
- The two Historical Rate entries from the earlier run are still listed below it.
Write down that this rate was entered by hand. The recording doesn't show a later Calculate run, but a Calculate that produces a different Current value may overwrite a manual one. If you need to calculate again, check the rate afterward.
06. Mark the task complete
Do this last. Once the task is marked complete, the rates may no longer be changeable through the ordinary task flow, so finish every manual edit and review first.
Go back to the Calculate Consolidated Exchange Rates task from the checklist. In this walkthrough its status is now In Progress, Last Run By shows Alex Morgan with the date and time, and Mark Task Complete is available. Click it.
The checklist then shows the task checked, with Modified By filled in.
Currency revaluation is a separate checklist task. It handles foreign-currency balances, and running Calculate doesn't replace it.
Common questions
What's the difference between Current, Average and Historical rates?
Current is the exchange rate in effect at the end of the period. Average and Historical are calculated from transaction amounts, not taken from the rate table. Average covers transactions posted in the period to accounts whose General Rate Type is Average. Historical does the same for accounts set to Historical. Neither one is a plain average of daily rates, so what posted in the period decides the result.
Why did Calculate leave my rates unchanged?
Calculate recomputes the rates from the period-end rate and the period's transactions. If none of those changed since the last calculation, the same numbers come back, and that's a valid result. In this example Current stayed 0.7284, Average 0.7261 and Historical 0.7198. Don't report a change that History doesn't show.
How do I know Calculate ran?
Don't look for a banner. NetSuite showed no completion message here. Reapply the filters, compare the three rates with your notes, and open History on the row to read the new System Notes with their date and user. Unchanged rates with no notes at all is a reason to check the filters and your role access, not proof the run worked.
Does filtering to one subsidiary pair limit what Calculate recalculates?
It did in the account tested. With the period and From Subsidiary set, the pair's History picked up notes and a row for another subsidiary didn't. NetSuite's documentation describes Calculate as covering every subsidiary and book you can access, so don't assume it holds everywhere. After a run, open History on a row outside your pair and see.
Why does History show Historical Rate going to 0 and back?
Both entries carry the same time, and the rate ends where it started: 0.7198 to 0, then 0 to 0.7198. It looks like the recalculation clearing the value and writing it again. The final Historical rate on the row is the result, not the 0.
Will a manual rate survive a later Calculate?
Don't count on it. The walkthrough enters 0.7331 after the calculation and doesn't run Calculate again, so it doesn't show what happens. A later Calculate may replace a manual rate when the calculated value is different. Keep a note that the rate was entered by hand, and check it after any recalculation.
Why is the Calculate Consolidated Exchange Rates task locked?
In the account this was built from, the task stayed locked until the previous period was closed. Checklist order and permissions vary, so check the period status and any task ahead of it first. Closing the period comes later and isn't part of this procedure.
Is calculating consolidated exchange rates the same as currency revaluation?
No. Consolidated exchange rates are the rates NetSuite uses to translate a child subsidiary's balances into the parent's reporting currency. Currency revaluation restates open foreign-currency balances and posts the difference. They're separate tasks on the period-close checklist.