Multi-currency accounting for French companies: obligations, exchange differences and year-end 2026

Updated 25 May 2026 — Written by Samuel HAYOT, chartered accountant (expert-comptable) | Reviewed by the Hayot Expertise team

Any French company that invoices in US dollars, pays suppliers in sterling or holds a Swiss franc bank account falls within the scope of multi-currency accounting. This is not a topic reserved for multinationals: an exporting SME or a SaaS start-up collecting revenue in USD is already affected.

In brief: French law requires accounts to be kept in euros (Art. L123-22 Code de commerce), but every foreign-currency transaction must be recorded at the rate on the transaction date or at a period rate, then revalued at year-end closing. The resulting differences — unrealised or realised — are governed by distinct accounting rules (PCG) and tax rules (CGI) that must be mastered to avoid costly adjustments during a tax audit.

Article L123-22 of the Code de commerce requires every trader to maintain accounts in euros. No dispensation exists for companies whose primary activity is denominated in foreign currency, even when most revenue is billed in dollars or sterling.

The direct consequence: every foreign-currency transaction must be converted to euros at the time of recording, and potentially recalculated at year-end. The foreign currency is retained as a reference (subsidiary ledger, annotation on the supporting document), but it is the euro amount that is authoritative in the statutory accounts.

The Plan comptable général (PCG — French chart of accounts) and professional practice recognise several approaches. The method chosen must be documented, applied consistently over time, and used uniformly across all transactions.

The Banque de France publishes daily ECB reference rates for the euro against major currencies. This source is stable, official and defensible in a tax audit. Using rates from a commercial aggregator or a currency conversion application without documenting the source is strongly inadvisable.

At the invoice date#

When issuing a sales invoice or receiving a supplier invoice denominated in foreign currency, the entry is made at the daily rate (or period rate), converting the gross amount into euros.

Worked example — sale to a US customer:

• 15 January 2026: invoice issued for 10,000 USD. ECB rate on that date: 1 USD = 0.9150 EUR → 9,150 EUR recorded as revenue (account 70) and trade receivable (account 411).
• The USD receivable is annotated: 10,000 USD / rate 0.9150.

At the settlement date (three months later)#

• 15 April 2026: receipt of 10,000 USD. ECB rate on that date: 1 USD = 0.8920 EUR → 8,920 EUR credited to the bank account (account 512).
• The receivable of 9,150 EUR is cleared.
• Realised exchange loss = 8,920 − 9,150 = − 230 EUR → recorded as an exchange loss (account 666).

In the meantime, had the receivable still been open at the 31 December 2025 year-end closing, an unrealised difference of the same nature would have had to be recognised.

Our reading — what the tax authority examines: Article 38-4 of the CGI provides that unrealised exchange differences — both gains and losses — are in principle tax-neutral in the year of recognition. However, unrealised losses may give rise to a deductible provision if the conditions of Art. 39-1-5° CGI are met. The cabinet systematically checks this point during its year-end review, because an unjustified provision or an incorrectly reclassified unrealised gain is one of the most frequent adjustment items in international tax audits.

At every balance sheet date, all open receivables and payables denominated in foreign currency must be translated at the closing exchange rate (ECB reference rate on the last business day of the financial year).

The difference against the historical rate recorded at the transaction date produces either:

• a conversion difference — asset (unrealised loss) → account 476;
• a conversion difference — liability (unrealised gain) → account 477.

Conversion differences — asset (unrealised losses) must be covered by a provision for risks (account 1515), which is deductible for corporate tax purposes subject to conditions. Conversion differences — liability (unrealised gains) remain in equity without any P&L impact, in line with the French prudence principle.

In practice: a multi-currency SaaS accounting platform (Pennylane, Sage, Cegid, QuickBooks multi-currency, Xero) can automate the revaluation by importing the BdF rate feed. But automation does not remove the need for human review: the cabinet verifies that the rate used corresponds to the official source and that the associated provisions are correctly constituted.

A Paris-based online retail SME generates 35% of its turnover outside the euro area: 20% in USD (US market), 10% in GBP (UK marketplace), 5% in CAD (Canadian platform).

Blocking points identified on engagement:

1. Stripe USD receipts were recorded at Stripe's own conversion rate (Stripe rate ≠ BdF rate), creating a methodological discrepancy of 0.8% to 1.2% on every transaction.
2. Open GBP receivables at the year-end had never been revalued at the closing rate: the balance sheet showed receivables at historical rates that were 8 to 14 months old.
3. No provision for conversion differences — asset had been recognised, even though sterling's depreciation following the election had generated a material unrealised loss.

Resolution: adoption of a documented rate policy (daily BdF source), configuration of Pennylane with an automatic BdF rate feed import, revision of the closing for the three prior financial years in agreement with the commissaire aux comptes (statutory auditor), and recognition of the missing provision.

The tax risk identified: a real exchange loss of 18,000 EUR from the previous financial year had been omitted, incorrectly reducing the taxable base — a point corrected before any amended filing.

Article 38-4 of the CGI governs the tax treatment of exchange differences for entities subject to corporate tax (IS) or personal income tax under the BIC (bénéfices industriels et commerciaux) category.

• Realised exchange losses (account 666): deductible in the year of settlement.
• Realised exchange gains (account 765): taxable in the year of settlement.
• Unrealised losses (account 476): may give rise to a deductible provision if the general deductibility conditions are met (probable, clearly foreseeable, individually identified).
• Unrealised gains (account 477): not taxable until the transaction is settled.

This timing gap between accounting treatment and tax treatment requires rigorous off-balance-sheet tracking, particularly when preparing the liasse fiscale (French statutory tax return — schedules 2058-A and 2058-B for IS entities).

Hedging currency risk is not a legal obligation but a management decision. Common instruments include forward exchange contracts, currency options and natural hedging through a currency-denominated holding structure. From an accounting standpoint, if a transaction is designated as hedged, the hedging rate may be used for initial recording, provided the hedge accounting rules under ANC Regulation n° 2015-05 are observed.

The cabinet recommends addressing this topic jointly with the company's financial adviser and, where amounts are material, with a market risk specialist. Hedge accounting is not a subject to improvise.

• E-invoicing (progressive rollout from 2026 in France): the rollout does not change conversion rules, but the JSON/UBL data flows for interoperable invoices must include the foreign currency amount and the EUR equivalent for intra-EU transactions — a new data point to embed in ERP and accounting workflows.
• Payment platforms (Stripe, PayPal, Adyen) apply their own conversion rates, often slightly different from the BdF reference rate. This delta must be documented or neutralised by a rounding rule, particularly for e-commerce companies processing high transaction volumes.
• In a tax audit, the administration will request documentation of the conversion methodology, rate sources used and justification for any provision for conversion differences — asset.

• Identify all open receivables and payables denominated in foreign currency at the closing date
• Record the official BdF rate on the last business day of the financial year for each relevant currency
• Recalculate the euro value of each open position at the closing rate
• Record conversion differences — asset (account 476) and conversion differences — liability (account 477)
• Recognise a provision for risks if a conversion difference — asset is material
• Verify consistency with the tax treatment (liasse fiscale schedule 2058-A, any required adjustments)
• Document the method adopted in the notes to the financial statements (annexe aux comptes)

For e-commerce companies, multi-currency accounting connects with several related topics: the treatment of platform fees and commissions is covered in E-commerce accounting costs. The tax filing deadlines related to international flows (intra-EU VAT, corporate tax, instalment payments) are set out in Mandatory tax filings for companies in 2026.

Well-maintained multi-currency accounting gives a reliable picture of business performance. Poorly structured, it generates closing errors, tax mismatches and costly adjustments under audit. If your company has foreign-currency exposure, documenting your method before the next year-end is a concrete, low-cost risk-reduction step.

This article is provided for information and educational purposes only. It does not constitute personalised advice within the scope of an accounting engagement or legal and tax advisory mandate. Tax and accounting rules evolve: consult a qualified professional before taking any decision.

Sources: Art. L123-22 Code de commerce (legifrance.gouv.fr), PCG — ANC Regulation n° 2022-06 (anc.gouv.fr), Art. 38-4 CGI (legifrance.gouv.fr), BOFiP — conversion differences (bofip.impots.gouv.fr), ECB/BdF reference rates (banque-france.fr).