Exchange rate
Currency margin calculator
A currency margin has no line of its own on the invoice — it sits inside the rate. One invoice is enough here: the amount in foreign currency, the amount in euro and the date.
This difference shows how far the rate actually applied differs from the ECB reference rate. Whether the difference is a breach of contract depends on your contract's clause on the exchange rate. Some contracts allow the carrier to apply its own rate — then it is not a claim, but a negotiating matter.
Frequently asked questions
Why is no rate shown for my date?
The ECB publishes reference rates only on TARGET business days. For Saturdays, Sundays and TARGET closing days there is NO rate — that is 29.9% of calendar days (verified across the entire ECB series since 1999). We deliberately do not show the neighbouring day's rate here: which rate applies to such a day is set by your contract, and the calculator does not see the contract.
Does a margin mean the carrier is in breach?
No, and that is the most important limit of this calculation. Most forwarding contracts have no clause on the exchange rate at all, and some of them expressly allow the carrier to apply its own rate. Then the margin is lawful and there is no claim — but the amount is still real, and it is a negotiating argument for the next contract renewal.
Why do you show only the annual difference and not three years?
Deliberately. The calculator is an indicative tool, not a substitute for an audit: a three-year figure requires knowing how many invoices there actually were and how large they were, and that cannot be established from a single invoice. The annual difference is calculated pro rata from the annual converted amount you entered.
Can I send this result to the carrier?
We do not recommend it. Without the contract clause this is not yet a claim, and if the contract provides for the carrier's rate, that is exactly the answer you will get — and your position will only get worse for it. First you need to know what the contract itself says.