About selecting a translation method

Frequency of reporting

Use report currency translation if financial reports are needed more frequently than once a month. Report currency translation lets you view transaction and account balances as often as needed. Because transaction balances are exchanged to the report currency when entered, these balances are available for viewing and reporting immediately.

Use currency translation when you need less frequent reporting. Because transaction balances are not exchanged to an alternative operating currency when entered, these balances are not available for viewing and reporting immediately. You must run a translation program to view and report on this information.

Budget translation

If you need to translate and consolidate budgets for multiple companies, potentially with different base currencies, then you must translate budgets between companies (intercompany). Budget translation will not translate report currency. Therefore, you cannot translate budgets within a company (intracompany).

Report currency beginning balances

If you are just beginning to implement report currency for your company, and are already using the Currency application, but you already have existing balances for the company, then you must update the beginning report currency balances for the translated accounts before you run your first report currency translation.

Reporting efficiencies

When you increase the number of companies you are consolidating and reporting on using Lawson Report Writer, you potentially increase processing time.