Your customer’s invoice in riyals or in theirs, its total in your base currency, and the exchange difference at collection in the gains and losses account.
Import and export accounting software has to handle more than one currency in one set of books. A trading company that imports its goods and sells them in the Saudi market or to customers abroad receives the supplier’s invoice in euros or dollars, pays it at a rate that differs from the purchase date, and then sells in riyals or in the customer’s currency. Add the currency in Qoyod with its exchange rate and choose the customer’s currency on the sales invoice: the total shows in that currency and in your base currency, and the rate difference at collection goes to the realized gains and losses account.
1. Where do the numbers of imported goods get lost?
Before you choose accounting software for an import and export company, look at where your numbers scatter today: an invoice in the supplier’s currency, a payment at another rate, freight and customs bills that arrive after the goods, and a customer abroad who wants the invoice in their own currency.
An invoice in euros, books in riyals
The supplier’s invoice arrives in its currency and someone converts it to riyals at a rate nobody remembers a month later.
With Qoyod: choose the supplier’s currency on the purchase invoice, and the total shows in that currency and in your base currency.
Payment day is not purchase day
You pay the supplier weeks later, the riyal amount changes, and the difference has no obvious home.
With Qoyod: edit the exchange rate when you record the payment, and the difference goes to the realized gains and losses account you set for the currency.
Freight and customs after the goods arrive
Freight and clearance bills arrive after the supplier’s invoice, so the real cost per unit is unclear.
With Qoyod: spread what you paid over the quantity and enter it in the unit price on the purchase invoice, or record it as an expense line that leaves the average cost unchanged. Your accountant chooses the method.
One customer abroad, one at home
You sell to a local trader in riyals and to a customer outside the Kingdom in their currency, and each needs a different type of invoice.
With Qoyod: Qoyod sets the export option on the invoice from the country in the customer’s address, and you choose the customer’s currency under their name.
2. One shipment in your books: from the purchase order to your customer abroad
One shipment, five stops, one new line on the shipment card at each.
Stop 1: A purchase order in the supplier’s currency
Issue the purchase order in euros with the agreed quantities and prices. A purchase order does not affect stock or the accounts until you convert it to an invoice.
Stop 2: The supplier’s invoice when the goods arrive
Convert the purchase order to a purchase invoice: the quantity enters stock and the total shows in the supplier’s currency and in your base currency. If the goods arrive in parts, add one invoice per part.
Stop 3: You pay the supplier at the day’s rate
Record the payment voucher on the invoice at the new exchange rate: the difference goes to the realized gains and losses account, and the entry appears in the journal book.
Stop 4: You sell to a customer in the Kingdom
Issue a sales invoice in riyals, and the value of the quantity sold moves from the inventory account to the cost of goods sold.
Stop 5: You sell to a customer abroad in their currency
Choose the customer’s currency on the sales invoice. Because their address country is outside the Kingdom, Qoyod enables the export option on the invoice and locks it.
Purchase invoices, purchase orders, stored products and supplier vouchers depend on your subscription, and they are the source of the cost figures on this journey. The scope of each plan differs, so check what fits your company with the sales team.
3. Import and export accounting software: what Qoyod covers in your company
Between suppliers abroad and customers at home and abroad, here are six jobs Qoyod covers in an import and export company.
Foreign currencies with no cap on their number
Create the currency in Settings with its exchange rate and its realized and unrealized gains and losses accounts, assign it to a customer or supplier, and use it in invoices, quotations and purchase orders. You update the exchange rates yourself, and change the rate of unpaid transactions from “Edit rate”. Foreign currencies are available on every plan.
The supplier abroad and the advance payment
Record the supplier’s advance before shipping as a voucher with no invoice: it stays “Unused” until you allocate it to their invoice when it arrives. The foreign exchange differences at payment show in the realized gains and losses account.
Freight, customs and the unit cost
Qoyod does not load an expense onto a product through an automatic step. Either divide what you paid for freight and customs duties over the quantity and add each unit’s share to its price on the purchase invoice, or add it as an expense line on the invoice, which counts in the invoice total and leaves the stock’s average cost unchanged.
Stock of imported goods
Add the goods as stored products: the purchase invoice raises their quantity, and the product cost and margin report shows the quantity available and the average unit cost for each product and location. If you return goods to the supplier, record a debit note and the quantity leaves stock.
Customer balances in the invoice currency
The customer statement report shows invoices and payments in the local currency and in the foreign currency, while the account statement shows the base currency only. Compare customer debts across periods in the customer aging report, depending on your subscription.
A purchase order or letter of credit reference on the invoice
Add a text additional field, such as the purchase order number or the letter of credit number, and it shows under the purchase invoice’s additional information; you can filter invoices by it later. It is a reference field you fill in yourself.
The scope of each plan differs and some capabilities need a higher plan, so check what fits your company with the sales team.
4. Export invoices and VAT
The customer’s address decides the export invoice
- If the country in the customer’s billing address is outside the Kingdom, Qoyod enables the export option on the invoice and locks it; if it is inside, the option stays off.
- A taxable customer gets an export tax invoice and a non-taxable customer a simplified export tax invoice, and a credit note inherits the type of its original invoice.
- If the zero-rate reason on a product conflicts with the invoice’s export option, an advisory alert appears that does not stop saving, in establishments with e-invoicing enabled.
Zero rate on exports of goods outside the GCC
The standard VAT rate in the Kingdom is 15%. Exports of goods outside the Gulf Cooperation Council and services exported to non-GCC residents are zero-rated. In Qoyod you set the zero-rate reason on the product, including export of goods and export of services.
At the end of the period the VAT return report gathers your figures from the invoices, and you file the return yourself through the Authority’s portal.
5. Other Qoyod products
Your trading books run on Qoyod Accounting. For your team there is another Qoyod product: Qoyod HR, on its own subscription.
Qoyod HR
For an import and export company with a team in more than one branch.
Qoyod HR is a standalone system on its own subscription, and the connection to Qoyod Accounting is now available.
- Attendance across all your company branches.
- Leave management.
- Payroll with allowances and advances.
6. Frequently asked questions
Can I issue a sales invoice in a currency other than the riyal?
Yes. Create the currency in Settings with its exchange rate, then choose it under the customer’s name on the sales invoice, or assign it in the customer’s record. The invoice shows the total in the foreign currency and the total in your base currency. VAT on a foreign-currency invoice is computed in riyals at the exchange rate saved on the invoice when it was created.
How do I put freight and customs into the cost of imported goods?
Qoyod does not load expenses onto products through an automatic step, so you spread them yourself: if you buy 100 units at 50 and pay 500 for freight, each unit’s share is 5, and you enter a unit price of 55 on the purchase invoice. Alternatively, define the freight as an expense in Products and costs, then add it as an expense line on the invoice: it counts in the invoice total and posts to the expense account, and it leaves the stock’s average cost unchanged. Your accountant chooses the method that fits your books. Purchase invoices and expense lines depend on your subscription.
Does Qoyod update exchange rates by itself?
No, you update the exchange rates. You edit the currency’s rate in Settings, choose under “Edit rate” the unpaid transactions whose rate changes, and edit the rate when you pay an invoice or on a customer or supplier voucher; supplier vouchers depend on your subscription. Rates are edited in invoices and vouchers, not directly in journal entries.
How do I record an advance to a supplier abroad before shipping?
Create a supplier voucher without linking it to an invoice: it shows as “Unused” until you allocate it to the supplier’s invoice when it arrives. Supplier vouchers depend on your subscription, so ask sales about them.
Does Qoyod calculate customs duties or connect to customs platforms?
Qoyod is accounting software, and what this page shows is currencies, purchase and sales invoices, stock and reports. Customs declarations, duty calculation, connections to customs platforms, shipment tracking and letter of credit management are not shown here. Customs duties on imports vary by the goods’ Harmonized System code, so record what you paid as it appears on the documents. If a customs broker clears your shipment, record their invoice as a purchase invoice in their name, depending on your subscription.
Which invoice do I issue to a customer outside the Kingdom?
The export option on the invoice follows the country in the customer’s billing address: outside the Kingdom, Qoyod enables it and locks it. Then the type follows: an export tax invoice for a taxable customer, or a simplified export tax invoice for a non-taxable one. Set the zero-rate reason on the product, such as export of goods, and check the tax on each line with your accountant. Phase 2 linkage with the Authority depends on your subscription.
That is how your trade comes together in one set of books: the supplier’s invoice in its currency, the exchange difference when you pay it, the cost of the goods in your stock, and each customer’s invoice in their currency.
