# How to Invoice a Client in Another Currency

Source: https://lotsinvoice.com/blog/how-to-invoice-a-client-in-another-currency
Published: 2026-10-24T00:30:24.466279+00:00

To invoice a client in another currency, agree the currency before the work starts, price every line in that currency, and show the currency code on every amount. If you need your own currency too, add a line with the total converted at a stated rate, the rate's date and its source. Give payment details that accept that currency, then record what arrives.

That's the whole method, and it works in any tool. Below is how I'd do each step, a worked example, what the fees look like, and how it works in LotsInvoice, where you can bill each client in their own currency and set the rest up once. The businesses in the example are made up, and so is the exchange rate.

## Step 1: Agree the currency before you start

Put the currency in the quote or contract, next to the price. "8,400 EUR" and "8,400" are not the same promise, and the client's finance team will pay whatever number and currency the invoice says.

Which currency to pick is a business decision:

- **Your client's currency** is easier for them to approve and pay. You take the exchange-rate risk: if their currency weakens before they pay, you receive less in yours.
- **Your currency** keeps your income predictable. The client takes the risk and may pay conversion fees, and some finance teams push back on it.

If you bill a regular client abroad in their currency, you can build a small margin into the price to cover rate moves. Whatever you choose, keep it the same for that client so your records stay simple.

## Step 2: Price every line in that currency

Don't mix currencies on one invoice. Every line, discount, shipping charge, tax and the total should be in the invoice currency, with the code or symbol on the amounts. Watch the decimals: most currencies have two, but JPY has none and KWD has three.

If you keep a price list in your own currency, convert each price before it goes on the invoice, rather than converting only the total at the end.

## Step 3: Show your own currency only if you need it

Some businesses need the total in their own currency on the invoice too, for their records or because their tax setup asks for it. Ask your accountant which applies to you. If you do show it, make it a clear second line with three things:

1. **The rate**, written as "1 EUR = 1.0850 USD".
2. **The date** of that rate.
3. **The source**, such as your bank's rate or a central bank's reference rate.

Your client still owes the amount in the invoice currency. The second line is for information.

## Step 4: Give payment details that work for that currency

Clients abroad need different details from local ones. For a bank transfer, that usually means an IBAN or account number with a SWIFT or BIC code, and your bank's name and address. If you take cards through a payment link, make sure the link charges in the invoice currency.

Card payments from abroad cost more. Stripe's standard pricing, checked on 23 October 2026, is 2.9% + 30¢ for domestic cards, plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% more if currency conversion is needed. Banks set their own fees for international transfers, so ask yours before you quote a price.

## Step 5: Record what arrives, and settle any difference

Record the payment in the invoice currency. If the client paid 8,400 EUR, the invoice is paid, whatever your bank converted it to.

If less arrives because a bank took a fee along the way, the invoice still shows a balance. Either ask the client for the difference, or, if you agreed to absorb it, issue a credit note for the shortfall so the invoice closes and your records match what you received.

## Step 6: Keep your reports in each currency

Don't add EUR and USD totals together. Keep who-owes-what, revenue and tax collected per currency, and let your accountant convert at the rates they use for your books.

## A worked example

Example Studio (hello@example.com) is a design studio that bills in US dollars. It's doing a brand identity and the first phase of a website for Sample Client Ltd (accounts@client.example.com), which wants to be billed in euros. The quote said 8,400 EUR.

| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Brand identity: logo, colours and type | €6,000.00 |
| Website design, phase 1 | €2,400.00 |
| **Total due** | **€8,400.00** |

Below the total, the studio shows its own currency for its records:

> Total in USD: $9,114.00 (1 EUR = 1.0850 USD, 23 Oct 2026, example rate)

The payment section lists the studio's bank details for euro transfers, with IBAN and SWIFT, and a card payment link set up in euros. When 8,400 EUR arrives, the studio records 8,400.00 EUR against the invoice, and the reminders stop.

## How to do it in LotsInvoice

LotsInvoice lets you invoice each client in their own currency. Every amount is calculated to the cent in that currency, with the right symbol and decimal places, and you check it as the real PDF before it goes.

1. **Set the client's currency once.** Open the customer and pick their currency. It becomes the default for every new invoice, estimate and credit note for them. Your business keeps its own default currency for everyone else.
2. **Create the invoice.** The currency comes from the customer, and you can change it on the invoice before you send. Lines are priced in the invoice currency; if a saved item is priced in another currency, LotsInvoice asks you to enter its price in the invoice currency instead of converting it silently.
3. **Add the second currency line if you need it.** Under **More document fields**, tick **Show the total in a second currency** and enter the currency, the rate per 1 unit of the invoice currency, the rate date and, if you like, the source. The PDF prints the converted total with all three. If you need it on most invoices, set a default second currency in Settings, under Layout, and give the rate on each invoice.
4. **Add your payment details.** Your bank details have fields for IBAN, SWIFT, sort code, BSB and more, next to your pay link, Zelle or check address. LotsInvoice never holds or moves your money: your client pays you directly.
5. **Check and send.** The preview is the PDF your client gets. Send it when you're ready, from your business name, with a private client portal link that shows the balance in the invoice currency.
6. **Record the payment.** Record what arrived in the invoice currency; partial payments are fine. If a bank fee left a small balance you agreed to absorb, issue a credit note for it.
7. **Read your reports per currency.** Who owes what, revenue, tax collected, payments and customer statements are all kept per currency, and export as CSV for your accountant.

If the currency was wrong on an invoice you already sent and it isn't paid, revise it with a reason: the number stays and a new locked version is kept. A paid invoice is corrected with a credit note.

For tax setups that need it, LotsInvoice's export preset for India (`india_export_lut`) turns on an INR second-currency line by default, with a declaration for export under LUT. Like every preset, it's a starting point to check with your accountant.

### With an AI assistant

The dashboard does all of this. If you work in Claude, ChatGPT or another assistant, connect LotsInvoice at [lotsinvoice.com/mcp](https://lotsinvoice.com/mcp) and say:

> In my LotsInvoice business, draft an invoice to Sample Client Ltd in EUR: brand identity 6,000 and website design phase 1, 2,400. Show the total in USD at 1.0850, dated today, source "my bank's rate". Show me the totals and the PDF before you send anything.

It sets `currency` and `second_currency` on the draft, reads the totals back to you, and waits for your yes before sending.

LotsInvoice is $12 a month per business, with unlimited invoices, customers and team members, and new accounts get 15,000 free credits, valid 90 days, no card. [See pricing](https://lotsinvoice.com/pricing). For more on billing agency clients, read [How to Invoice a Monthly Retainer](https://lotsinvoice.com/blog/how-to-invoice-a-monthly-retainer), [Where to Put a PO Number on an Invoice](https://lotsinvoice.com/blog/where-to-put-a-po-number-on-an-invoice) and [What Stripe, PayPal, Square and Bonsai Take From Every Paid Invoice](https://lotsinvoice.com/blog/stripe-paypal-square-bonsai-invoice-fees).

## Common questions

### Should I invoice in my currency or my client's?

Either works if you agree it before the work starts. Billing in the client's currency is easier for them to approve and pay, but you carry the exchange-rate risk. Billing in yours keeps your income predictable, but the client carries the risk and any conversion fees.

### Which exchange rate should I use on an invoice?

Use one rate, say where it comes from and give its date: your bank's rate or a central bank's reference rate are common choices. If your accountant or tax setup asks for a specific source, use that one.

### Do I have to show my own currency on the invoice?

Not always. Many businesses invoice only in the client's currency. Some tax setups or accountants want the total in your own currency as well. Ask your accountant, and if you add it, show the rate, its date and its source.

### What if the client pays less because of bank fees?

The invoice keeps a balance. Ask the client for the difference, or, if you agreed to absorb the fee, issue a credit note for the shortfall so the invoice closes and your records match the money you received.

### Can I change the currency after sending an invoice?

In LotsInvoice, yes, while it's unpaid: revise it with a reason, and the number stays with a new locked version. If it's already paid, correct it with a credit note. Before sending, just change it on the draft.

## Sources

Checked on 23 October 2026:

- LotsInvoice: [llms-full.txt](https://lotsinvoice.com/llms-full.txt) ("Any currency"), [skill](https://lotsinvoice.com/skill.md), [API docs](https://api.lotsinvoice.com/docs.md) and [tools](https://api.lotsinvoice.com/tools.json) (create_customer currency, create_invoice currency and second_currency, update_settings defaults.second_currency, set_payment_options bank fields, record_payment, create_credit_note, revise_document, per-currency reports, apply_preset)
- Stripe: [pricing](https://stripe.com/pricing) (domestic cards, international cards, currency conversion)