RSMUS.comThe following is a walkthrough of how currency exchange rate updates can be automated in Business Central. FloatRates is a free XML site for daily currency exchange rate updates. RSM also offers the ability to connect other services through APIs with varying functionality based on system requirements. Chronological steps with screenshots are provided below.
From the “Currencies” Page, select the “Exchange Rate Service” button, then select the “Exchange Rate Services” button from the subsequent ribbon.
On this card, enter the following inputs for your new Currency Exchange Rate Service:
Open the page and select “New”.
- Add a “Code” and “Description”
- Enter / Paste this “Service URL”: https://www.floatrates.com/daily/usd.xml
- Set “Service Provider”: Floatrates.com
- Enter / Paste this URL for “Terms of Service”: http://www.floatrates.com/faq.html
Next, open the Field Mapping fast tab and populate the “Source”, “Default Value”, and “Transformation Rule” columns as follows:
- Source Field
- Parent Node for currency code: /channel/item/targetCurrency
- Currency Code: /channel/item/targetCurrency
- Starting Date: /channel/item/pubDate
- Exchange Rate Amount: /channel/item/exchangeRate
- Default Value:
- Relational Exch. Rate Amount: 1
- Note: As shown below ensure that the default value is 1, not the source value.
- Transformational Rule:
- Create A New Service (FLOAT_DATE). See Below.
In order to proceed you will need to create a New FLOAT_DATE transformation rule to handle the dates being pulled in from the XML format. Drill into the dropdown for the Starting Date Transformation Rule and select “New”.
Fill out the New Transformation Rule Card form as follows:
- Code: FLOAT_DATE
- Description: Floatrate date transformation
- Transformation Type: Substring
- Next Transformation Rule: US_DATE_FORMAT
- Starting Text: “ “(Enter a single space in this field
- Ending Text: “ GMT”(Enter a single space followed by GMT)
Select OK and exit the Transformation Rule Card. Then, in the dropdown for the Starting Date Transformation Rule on the currency exchange rate service page, select the entry you created “FLOAT_DATE” for the rule.
Enabling the FLOATRATE Currency Exchange Rate Service
Once you have created a Currency Exchange Rate Service, you need to turn it on. To do this, select the “Enable” Button on the Currency Exchange Rate Service Card. This action will create a job queue entry. A pop up will appear prompting the user to open the Job Queue Entry that was created. Select “Yes” when prompted.
Enter your desired specifications into the fields on the Job Queue Entry Card. When completing this step, be sure to populate the “No. of Minutes between Runs.” This field lets business central know how often to pull the exchange rates in from Float Rates. Standard practice is to set this field to 1440 minutes (24 hours).
Note: The Job Queue Entry must be in Hold status to edit.
Set Status to Ready so the Job Queue Entry is complete when you are done setting preferences.
Verifying Results:
On the Currency Exchange Rate Service Card, select “Preview.” When the Job has finished running, you will be shown a table of the updated exchange rates from Float Rates.
Here’s an example of what your currency exchange rate updates page will look like.
Updating currency exchange rates in Business Central can be done automatically and accurately with minimal setup. To learn more about how Business Central can be leveraged to assist your business, or if you have questions, please reach out to the RSM team. If you found this content helpful, we encourage you to explore our website further to find a number of posts and individuals dedicated to unlocking your technologies potential.
