Primavera P6 Pro Live Lessons – Adding, Removing, Modifying Currencies

Currencies are important in any project-portfolio management. Primavera P6 is no different and it provides sound currency management capabilities. In this post, we will learn more about it. Content of this article are taken from the Primavera P6 Pro Live Lessons course, a full-fledged video course.

Importance of Currency in Primavera P6

First and foremost, Primavera P6 is not only used for project management , but also for project-portfolio management. Effectively, it's a project-portfolio management (PPM) tool. Mark the distinction. When I say portfolio, there can be many component projects and these can be managed within a single portfolio. 

When you set the currency, it’ll be applicable for all the projects with the portfolio. In the real-world too, currencies are applied in a similar manner.

Now, currency setting is important because it will impact your cost calculation and display. These are derived from the resource rates for all types of resources. When your cost is impacted, subsequent calculations, metrics, evaluation and interpretation will also be dependent. 

Check the Default Currency in Primavera P6

To check the default currency, go to Edit > User Preferences > Currency. There you can see the currency options, which list out the selected currency, along with the symbol and decimal digits. 

As shown above, the default currency set is the US Dollar, with the symbol as $. Both the symbol and decimal digits are enabled. 

Here itself you can change the currency to another and it’ll be applied. For example, if you change it to Pound Sterling by selecting the “…” selection highlighted in the below figure’s red circle, it’ll change the currency name and symbol. 

With the $ US Dollar applied, the activities in the current project (or multiple projects under a portfolio) will display the cost in US Dollars. This is shown below for the activity of “PRD Preparation”. Click on the image to enlarge. 

Do note that you’ve to select the Labor Cost, Nonlabor Cost or Material Cost fields.

Add a New Currency in Primavera P6

To add a currency, go to Admin > Currencies. In the launched dialog box, click on the “+ Add” icon to the right. A new currency will be added. Change the respective fields. In our case:

• Currency ID: INR
• Currency Name: Indian National Rupee
• Currency Symbol: ₹
• Exchange Rate: 85.000000

This is shown below. (click on the image to enlarge) 

Next, go to Edit > User Preferences > Currency and choose INR as the currency for your project-portfolio as shown below. 

This will ensure Indian National Rupee (INR) as the default currency for your set-up. Next, when you check the activities in your project, the INR will be shown in the cost field. Click on the image to enlarge.

Remove a Currency in Primavera P6

To remove a currency, you have to follow the steps as you did to add. Go to Admin > Currencies. In the launched dialog box, select the currency you want to remove and click on the “× Delete” button. This is shown below. 

Modify a Currency in Primavera P6

To modify a currency and/or the exchange rate, select the currency in the opened Currencies Dialog Box. Select the currency to be modified and double click on the fields that you want to change. Next, you can change the content of the fields.

For example, in the below case, I’ve changed the fields below.

• Currency ID: USD-US
• Currency Name: United States Dollar
• Currency Symbol: $$
• Exchange Rate: 1.000000 

Notice that the $ symbol is changed to $$. This is a demonstration and explanation. Next as you apply this currency using Edit > User Preferences, it will come as shown below for an activity in the project. Click on the image to enlarge.

Video Demonstration

For your understanding, a video demonstration [duration: 05m approx.] related to the currency settings, changes and applicability, has been made available using Primavera P6 and a live project. It’s taken from Primavera P6 Pro Live Lessons. Plug-in your headphones and go full-HD to have a better experience.  

Conclusion

Some of you may be wondering, can one add a completely new currency? It's not related to any particular geography, location or country, but your own.

Yes, you can!

Let’s say you want to have another currency as follows:

• Current Name: Special Currency
• Currency Symbol: #
• Exchange Rate: 1.000000

Follow the exact same steps as we did earlier and your own defined currency will be set and applied to the projects of the portfolio. As you create your own currency, it’ll come as shown below.

Next, when you apply this currency to your project (and the portfolio), you can see the impact of this special currency (#), across the activities of your projects. Click on the image to enlarge.

Notice the # currency symbol applied to the PRD Preparation activity. 

To learn more and many tricky areas, subscribe to the course of Primavera P6 Pro Live Lessons, which comes with lowest price, but high quality content.  

References

[1] Primavera P6 Pro Live Lessons Online Course, by ManagementYogi.com

[2] Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – Primavera P6 Pro Live Lessons Online Course

[2] Practical PMP with Oracle Primavera P6, by ManagementYogi.com