Receipts from abroad come in euros, yen or pesos, and once they're mixed with spending in your home currency, the total stops meaning anything. One rule keeps foreign receipts straight: leave the receipt amount as it is, and work out your home-currency amount separately.

1. Columns: currency, local amount, home amount

Date Store Local amount Currency Home amount Converted using
8/3/2026 Harbour Café 16.80 EUR 18.52 Card statement
8/4/2026 Night Market 1,200 JPY 8.14 Exchange rate
8/5/2026 Airport Newsstand 6.40 USD 6.40
  • Local amount is exactly what the receipt shows. It's the column you check against the receipt later.
  • Home amount is the only column you total. Adding up Local amount mixes currencies.
  • Converted using records how you got the home amount, which makes it easy to explain later.

Add the receipts to the receipt tool to get the date, store and amount, paste them into your table and fill in the Currency column. Amounts come through with two decimal places and no currency symbol, so every currency fits the same column.

2. Card payments: the statement is most accurate

When you pay by card abroad, your card issuer converts at its own rate and may add a foreign transaction fee. What actually left your account is the amount on your statement.

  • Once the charge posts, copy the home-currency amount from your statement into Home amount.
  • If you need a figure sooner, estimate with an exchange rate (below) and replace it when the statement arrives.

Card terminals abroad sometimes offer to charge you in your home currency. That's called dynamic currency conversion, and the rate is usually worse than your card's. Paying in the local currency is generally the better choice.

3. Cash: use the rate you got

Cash has no statement, so use the rate you received when exchanging money. Put the rate in one cell and refer to it.

  • Enter the rate for 1 unit of local currency in H1, for example 1.09 for euros to dollars
  • Home amount: =ROUND(C2*$H$1, 2)

If you exchanged cash several times at different rates, use an average or the rate from your largest exchange, and note which in Converted using.

4. Exchange rates in Google Sheets

Google Sheets can look up exchange rates with GOOGLEFINANCE.

  • Current rate: =GOOGLEFINANCE("CURRENCY:EURUSD")
  • Rate on a specific date: =INDEX(GOOGLEFINANCE("CURRENCY:EURUSD", "price", DATE(2026,8,3)), 2, 2)

These are market reference rates, not what your card issuer or exchange booth charged. Use them for estimates, and use actual statement amounts or exchange rates for reimbursement or reporting.

5. Business trips: check the policy first

Many companies set a conversion rule for foreign expenses: the statement amount, a published rate on the day of the expense, or the rate on an exchange receipt. Check which applies before filling in Home amount, and keep photos of any currency exchange receipts.

Summary

For foreign receipts, keep the local amount and currency untouched and calculate the home amount separately. Use the statement for card payments and your exchange rate for cash, note which you used, and both your totals and your explanations stay clean.