You land a big customer. Invoice is in US dollars. Feels great—until your costs are in euros, or pounds, or lira. Suddenly, you’re not just running a SaaS business. You’re running a currency desk.
And if you’re not paying attention, FX swings can quietly eat your margins.
In early-stage companies, this usually shows up in one of two ways:
- Inflated expectations. When the dollar’s strong, your forecasts look amazing—until exchange rates dip and your local payroll suddenly costs 10% more.
- Contract chaos. You quote one rate in your proposal, another hits your bank account, and your accountant is left guessing what you actually earned.
Here’s how to get a grip—without needing a treasury team;
Anchor your forecasts in local currency. Even if your invoices are in USD, model your business in the currency you pay salaries and taxes in. Otherwise, FX becomes invisible risk.
Bake in a buffer. Assume you’ll lose a few percentage points to conversion fees and rate swings. Add a small FX adjustment line in your pricing model—2–5% is typical.
Push for multi-currency tools. Platforms like Wise now support local currency settlement. You can receive in USD, hold it, and convert only when needed.
Lock rates when it matters. For high-value contracts, hedge manually—quote in local currency, or use forward contracts if you’re big enough to access them.
Explain it to your team. Everyone from product to marketing should understand that a “$10k deal” isn’t always €9,300. Sometimes it’s €8,700. Sometimes it’s €10,100. That variance matters.
Currency swings won’t kill your company. But they will kill your clarity—unless you plan for them. If you’re billing in USD and paying in anything else, don’t let FX risk stay invisible.
It’s not just bookkeeping. It’s margin.
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