The quick answer
An employee's Currency comes from their subsidiary, but the currencies their expense reports can use are set separately, on the employee record under Human Resources > Expense Report Currencies. Add the currency there, for example Euro, and make it the Default Currency. New expense reports for that employee then default to Euro with the exchange rate for the report date. A receipt in a third currency goes in the line's Foreign Amount and Currency, and NetSuite converts it into Euro. The GL Impact posts in the subsidiary's base currency. To reimburse, click Make Payment and keep the bill payment in Euro. The payment's Apply list only shows payables in the payment's currency.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and operating-company names are fictional. Use your own records and values when following the steps.
Before you start
The account needs Multiple Currencies turned on, the currencies you'll use set up, and exchange rates for the transaction dates. If the Expense Report Currencies subtab isn't on the employee record, check the employee multi-currency option under Setup > Company > Enable Features > Employees. The employee form, your role and customization can also hide it, so check those too.
The example uses the Administrator role in a OneWorld account. Jonah Whitcombe works for the United States subsidiary, which keeps its books in US Dollar. He's on a long assignment in Europe and wants to be reimbursed in Euro. His expense categories, Lodging and Airfare, already post to travel expense accounts, and he has two older expense reports open in US Dollar, EXP297 and EXP305.
Approval, the account an expense report credits, and whether you see Make Payment all depend on your account's setup. The statuses below are what this example produced.
01. Check the employee's currencies
Go to Lists > Employees > Employees and open Jonah Whitcombe. In Primary Information, Currency is US Dollar. In this account it's the United States subsidiary's currency and it isn't editable on the form.
Scroll down to the Human Resources subtab. Below Expense and Purchasing, open Expense Report Currencies. Default Currency is US Dollar and the Currency list has only US Dollar, so any report he files today can only be in US Dollar.
02. Add Euro to Expense Report Currencies
Click Edit and go back to Human Resources > Expense Report Currencies. In the empty Currency row, choose Euro and click Add. Keep US Dollar on the list so he can still file US Dollar reports. The list doesn't change the subsidiary's currency either way. Then change Default Currency to Euro. It has to be one of the listed currencies.
Click Save. The record lists US Dollar and Euro, with Default Currency Euro. Currency in Primary Information is still US Dollar, because it's a separate field. The new default only affects reports created from now on.
03. Enter the expense report in Euro
Go to Transactions > Employees > Enter Expense Reports and use the Standard Expense Report form. Some custom forms hide Exchange Rate. If your role's menu is different, start a new expense report from Global Search.
Choose Jonah Whitcombe as Employee. Currency fills with Euro, his new Default Currency, and Exchange Rate fills with 1.1642. That's US Dollars per Euro for the report date, 09/18/2026, from the account's exchange rates. You can override it. The report's Currency list only offers his two expense report currencies.
On the Expenses subtab, leave Use Multi Currency checked. Each line then has Foreign Amount, Currency and Exchange Rate columns. Add the hotel: 09/15/2026, category Lodging, Foreign Amount 480.60, Currency Euro. A line in the report's own currency converts at 1.00, so Amount is 480.60.
Then add the flight, which was paid in pounds: 09/16/2026, category Airfare, Foreign Amount 214.00, Currency British pound. The line Exchange Rate fills with 1.18235698 and Amount becomes 253.02. The line rate is Euros per pound, because Euro is the report currency. It isn't the US Dollar rate. In this account the line Currency list offered every currency in the account, not just Jonah's two, but your setup can restrict it.
Check the Summary. Expenses Total is 733.62, in Euro (480.60 + 253.02). Total in Base Currency is $854.08, which is 733.62 × 1.1642.
In this example the administrator is also the approver and checks Supervisor Approval and Accounting Approval before clicking Save. In most accounts the supervisor and accounting approvers act separately, so follow your own approval routing here.
04. Review the saved report and GL Impact
The saved report, EXP318, shows Approved by Accounting, Currency Euro and Exchange Rate 1.1642, with a Make Payment button. Your routing may give a different status, and the button only appears once the report can be paid.
Open the GL Impact subtab. The amounts are in US Dollar. 6410 Travel : Lodging is debited $559.51 (480.60 × 1.1642) and 6420 Travel : Airfare is debited $294.57 (253.02 × 1.1642). In this account 2100 Accounts Payable is credited $854.08, with Jonah as the name. Converting the pound receipt into Euro doesn't create an exchange gain or loss. It's part of measuring the report.
05. Pay the report in Euro
Click Make Payment. A Bill Payment opens with EXP318 on the Apply subtab, listed in Euro and applied for 733.62. Check the Apply box on the line yourself rather than assuming it's always applied.
At the top, Payee is Jonah Whitcombe, A/P Account 2100 Accounts Payable, Account 1020 Operating Checking, Currency Euro and Exchange Rate 1.1642. The bank account is in US Dollar, and here it can still make a Euro payment.
To see why the currency matters, change Currency to US Dollar. NetSuite asks you to confirm that unsaved data will be lost. After you confirm, the Apply list reloads with only Jonah's older US Dollar reports, EXP297 for 142.60 and EXP305 for 88.15. EXP318 is gone, because a US Dollar payment can't settle a Euro report.
Change Currency back to Euro. Nothing is applied yet, so there's nothing to lose. In this example EXP318 came back unapplied. Check Apply on it, and Payment fills with 733.62. Click Save.
06. Confirm the payment and the paid report
The saved Bill Payment has Check # 5107. Amount is 733.62, Currency Euro and Exchange Rate 1.1642.
Open its GL Impact subtab. 2100 Accounts Payable is debited $854.08 and 1020 Operating Checking is credited $854.08. The payment used the same rate as the report, so no realized exchange gain or loss appears. If the payment's rate were different, NetSuite would post the difference as a realized gain or loss.
Check the result (example values)
- Jonah's Expense Report Currencies list US Dollar and Euro, with Default Currency Euro. His Currency is still US Dollar.
- EXP318 is in Euro at 1.1642, with Expenses Total 733.62 and Total in Base Currency $854.08.
- The report's GL Impact debits Lodging $559.51 and Airfare $294.57 and credits 2100 Accounts Payable $854.08.
- Check 5107 is a Euro payment of 733.62 at 1.1642. Its GL Impact debits 2100 Accounts Payable and credits 1020 Operating Checking $854.08.
- EXP318 shows Paid In Full.
Open EXP318 from the payment's Apply subtab. Its status is now Paid In Full. What the bank charges to send Euro, and the rate it actually converts at, get reconciled separately. This payment doesn't record either.
Common questions
Why does the expense report default to Euro when the employee's Currency is US Dollar?
The employee's Currency is the subsidiary's currency, and it stays US Dollar. Expense report currencies are a separate list on the employee record. Its Default Currency sets the currency of new reports, so once Euro is the default, new reports open in Euro.
Where do I set expense report currencies, and why can't I find the subtab?
On the employee record, under Human Resources > Expense Report Currencies, below Expense and Purchasing. Add each currency the employee can be reimbursed in and pick one as the default. If the subtab isn't there, check the employee multi-currency option in Enable Features, then the employee form and your role's permissions.
How does a receipt in a third currency convert?
Enter the receipt amount in Foreign Amount and choose its currency. The line rate is in report-currency units, here 1.18235698 Euros per pound, so 214.00 British pound becomes 253.02 Euro. The report's own rate then converts the Euro total to US Dollar for the ledger.
What's the difference between Expenses Total and Total in Base Currency?
Expenses Total is in the report's currency, 733.62 Euro here. Total in Base Currency is that total converted at the report's exchange rate into the subsidiary's currency, $854.08. Each GL line is converted and rounded on its own, so the lines can occasionally differ from that total by a cent. Here they add up exactly.
Why is my expense report missing from the bill payment's Apply list?
Check the payment's Currency. The Apply list only shows the payee's open payables in the payment's currency and A/P account. EXP318 was there with the payment in Euro and disappeared when it was switched to US Dollar.
Can I pay a Euro expense report from a US Dollar bank account?
Yes, in this example. The payment stays in Euro and NetSuite credits the US Dollar bank account with the converted amount at the payment's exchange rate. Whether a particular bank account shows up depends on its subsidiary and your setup.
When does paying a foreign-currency expense report create an exchange gain or loss?
When the payment's exchange rate differs from the report's. NetSuite posts the difference as a realized gain or loss when the payment settles the payable. Here both rates were 1.1642, so the payment posted exactly $854.08 and nothing else.