Signed tracks investments in 30 currencies. You can have a check in euros, another in pounds and a third in Singapore dollars, and still see one total for the whole portfolio. This guide covers how that works: which currency each figure is in, which exchange rate applies when, and what happens when you change something.
If you only need the short version:
- Every investment stays in the currency you made it in.
- Your portfolio adds up in your home currency, which you set in Settings.
- Cost basis converts once, at the rate on the day the money moved, and stays fixed.
- Current value converts at today's rate, so returns in your home currency include currency movements.
Three currencies
Any figure in Signed belongs to one of three currencies.
The check's currency. What the money was actually wired in. A €50,000 check is stored as €50,000.
The company's currency. What the company reports in. It covers the company's marks, price per share, post-money valuation, metrics (ARR, cash, burn) and, for a pitch, the round terms. Usually this matches your checks, but it doesn't have to. You can invest in a euro-denominated company from a dollar account, for example.
Your home currency. What your portfolio totals, cost basis, gains, IRR and multiples are in. It defaults to US dollars.
When a figure isn't in your home currency, Signed shows it in its own currency first, with the home-currency amount after it in muted brackets:
Hover over the bracketed figure, or tab to it with the keyboard, to see the rate behind it. For a check, that's the rate on the check's date ("€1 = $1.11 on May 14, 2024"). For a price or a valuation, it's today's rate. A figure that's already in your home currency shows once, with no brackets.
Entering money in another currency
The main money field on each form has a currency chip on its right side. That's the amount on a transaction, the value on a mark, the post-money on a SAFE conversion, and committed capital on a new fund. Click the chip to pick a currency. Your home currency and the company's currency are listed first, followed by the rest. The form's other money fields switch their symbol to match.
The quicker way is to type the currency. Currency Magic™ reads symbols and codes on either side of the number, in upper or lower case:
You type |
You get |
|---|---|
|
€50,000.00, in euros |
|
CHF 50,000.00, in Swiss francs |
|
CHF 1,500,000.00 |
|
CA$500,000.00, in Canadian dollars |
|
£3,000.00, in pounds |
|
¥1,500,000, in yen (no decimals) |
A plain $ or ¥ stays in the form's current currency if that currency already uses the sign. So $5k on a Canadian-dollar check stays Canadian.
If you leave the chip on the company's currency, the check follows the company. Pick something else, and the check keeps that currency even if the company's currency changes later.
A company's currency
The first check sets it. If a company has nothing priced yet (no checks, marks, metrics or round terms) and no currency of its own, your first check gives the company that check's currency. Put €25,000 into a new company and it's a euro company from then on.
After that, checks keep their own currency. A dollar check into a company that's already in euros stays a dollar check. Signed converts it into the company's currency where it needs to, for example when working out a price per share.
Changing a company's currency relabels; it doesn't convert. Suppose the company was set to dollars by mistake and the €2.50 share price was entered as $2.50. Switching it to euros fixes the label and leaves the 2.50 alone. Every figure already on the company keeps its number and is read in the new currency. Signed then recalculates the home-currency amounts at each check's own date. Because this changes what your figures mean, Signed asks you to confirm when the company already has figures on it.
If what you actually want is a conversion, say the company redomiciled and now reports in pounds, enter the new figures in pounds from that point on. Earlier checks and marks will still be in their original currency.
Your home currency and number format
Both live in Settings → Currency.
This is the currency your portfolio adds up in: total value, invested, gains, IRR, multiples, tax estimates, reporting and the dashboard.
When you change it, Signed converts every check again at the rate from the day it went in, not at today's rate. Your history comes out the way it would look if you'd had this home currency from the start. The dashboard and the settings page show "Re-expressing your portfolio…" until this is done, then refresh themselves.
There is one case where Signed refuses the change: when a check falls on a date the European Central Bank has no rate for. That means anything before January 4, 1999 (when the ECB began publishing), a few currencies before 2000 (BRL, CNY, ILS and INR), and the Icelandic króna between 2008 and 2018. In that case, Signed tells you which company and date are the problem rather than leaving your figures half-converted.
You can also choose how numbers are written:
Format |
Example |
|---|---|
|
US, UK and most of Asia |
|
Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil and others |
|
France, Canada (French), Scandinavia and others |
|
Switzerland |
The format applies everywhere Signed writes a number: money, percentages (39,9%), multiples (4,70x), share counts and your emails. It also applies to what you type. In the 1.234,56 format, 25.000 means twenty-five thousand. Pasting a US-style 1,500,000 still works in every format.
How conversion works
A check converts into your home currency once, at the rate on its date, and that figure is saved with it. Your cost basis, proceeds from a sale and distributions are all fixed this way. A strong week for the euro doesn't change what your 2022 investment cost you.
This is also the usual way to report foreign-currency investments for tax: each purchase and each sale at the rate on its own date. Your accountant has the final word on that.
What a position is worth converts at today's rate: shares × price per share, or a fund's NAV. As a result, returns in your home currency combine two things: how the company did, and how its currency did against yours.
A mark or metric can have a currency of its own, separate from the company's. Signed converts it into the company's currency at the rate on its own date before comparing it with earlier figures. That way a markup reads as a markup, not as a change in exchange rate.
Money Signed reads for you
Not every figure in Signed gets typed in. These are all currency-aware too:
- AngelList imports. Each row is recorded in the currency its Invested column names, or US dollars if it doesn't name one. See Exporting your AngelList investment portfolio for how to get the file.
- CSV imports. Signed reads the currency from a symbol or code in the money columns, from a currency column, or from a currency the whole sheet uses. The review step shows a Currency column when it finds one, so you can check it before importing.
-
Forwarded email. When you forward an investor update or a pitch, figures like
€5M ARRare read in the currency they're written in. If the company already has another currency, the figure is converted into it at that day's rate. - Pitch decks and deal documents. Round size, valuation and financials are read in the deck's currency. Pitches that come in through your pitch page get the same treatment.
-
MCP. Signed's MCP server accepts a
currencyon new transactions, pitches and company updates. It also reports your home currency, so your assistant knows what your totals are in. If a company already has figures, changing its currency over MCP needs an explicitrelabel, just like the confirmation in the app. - Company chat. The assistant on each company page is told the currency of every figure, and is asked not to convert them.
Exports
Your Signed CSV export (Settings → Your data) has four columns at the end of each transaction row:
- Currency: the currency of the check.
- Amount (Home): the amount in your home currency, at the rate on its date.
- Home Currency: your home currency.
- FX Rate: the rate used.
The tax events export has a Currency column after Gain/Loss. A US-dollar account gets the same columns, filled with USD and a rate of 1.
Supported currencies
Signed supports all 30 currencies in the ECB's reference set:
AUD (Australian dollar), BRL (Brazilian real), CAD (Canadian dollar), CHF (Swiss franc), CNY (Chinese yuan), CZK (Czech koruna), DKK (Danish krone), EUR (Euro), GBP (British pound), HKD (Hong Kong dollar), HUF (Hungarian forint), IDR (Indonesian rupiah), ILS (Israeli shekel), INR (Indian rupee), ISK (Icelandic króna), JPY (Japanese yen), KRW (South Korean won), MXN (Mexican peso), MYR (Malaysian ringgit), NOK (Norwegian krone), NZD (New Zealand dollar), PHP (Philippine peso), PLN (Polish złoty), RON (Romanian leu), SEK (Swedish krona), SGD (Singapore dollar), THB (Thai baht), TRY (Turkish lira), USD (US dollar), and ZAR (South African rand).
Yen, won and krónur have no decimal places, so Signed doesn't add .00 to them.
Currencies outside the ECB set, such as the UAE dirham, Nigerian naira and Argentine peso, aren't supported yet. If you invest in one of them, let us know. It helps us decide which to add next.
What stays in US dollars
A few things are in dollars because the rules define them that way:
- QSBS limits. The Section 1202 exclusion cap ($10 million, or $15 million for stock issued after July 4, 2025) is written in dollars in US tax law, so Signed shows it in dollars. If you're not a US taxpayer, read QSBS for Non-US Investors first.
- Our free QSBS calculator, for the same reason.
- Billing. Plans are priced in US dollars.
Common questions
My check shows a different home amount than my bank statement. Signed uses the ECB reference rate for the day. Your bank charged its own rate, probably plus a spread. If you want the exact figure, you can enter the check in your home currency for the amount that actually left your account. Note that it will then be a home-currency check rather than a foreign-currency one.
Why didn't my cost basis change when the exchange rate moved? Cost basis is fixed at the rate on the day you invested. Only current value moves with today's rate. See "How conversion works" above.
I changed a company's currency and now the numbers look wrong. Changing a company's currency relabels its figures without converting them. If you meant to convert, switch the company back and enter new figures in the new currency instead.
Why does the multiple on the timeline differ from the Holdings page? The timeline's figures are in your home currency, so they include currency movements. The Holdings page shows each lot in its own currency. Both are correct; they're answering different questions.
Can I see my whole portfolio in another currency without changing my home currency? Not yet. Your home currency is the one lens on the totals. Changing it is safe, though: Signed converts every check again at its original date's rate, and you can switch back at any time.
Is my IRR in my home currency? Yes. Signed works out IRR and MOIC from your home-currency cash flows: checks at the rate on the day they went in, and today's value at today's rate.