Process a Manual Spot Transaction

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Last updated: Jul 20, 2023 by Nancy Cohn (Deactivated)
3 min read

The Book Trade tool supports the processing of spot transactions. A spot contract, or simply a spot, is any transaction that does not occur in the futures or forward market. That is, the participants in a spot transaction agree to buy and sell, respectively, at the present market value and to settle the transaction a few days (usually one, two, or three) later. The term is most common in the foreign exchange market. Spots are processed as cash activity, similar to a cash contribution to one currency, and a withdrawal to the offsetting currency.

Book a Spot Transaction

To book a spot transaction using the Book Trade tool:

  1. In Accounting Center, in the left navigation pane, click Transactions > Trades > Book Trade/Rebook Trade > Book Trade. 
    You see the Book Trade workspace.

  2. Complete the options in the Search Details pane and click Search.
    For example, select Primary Asset Identifier in the Search Details pane. Then, enter the Primary Asset Identifier field value for the currency for one side of the spot transaction. For example, CASHCAD.
    NOTE: Currency identifiers are stored in the system as CASH + 3-digit Currency Code, for example, CASHCAD. You must also enter the Entity ID/Entity Name and the Trade Date and Settle Date field values.
    You see the securities that meet the search criteria.             

  3. Do one of the following:
    - On the Book Trade tab, in the Actions group, click Action Rules, and point to Book Foreign Exchange.
    - Right-click the cash security for which you are booking a spot transaction, and point to Book Foreign Exchange.
    For example, right-click the CAD cash security. You see a shortcut menu with a set of options that determine the actions you can perform for the security. If you click the Book Foreign Exchange option, you see additional options that allow you to buy or sell the CAD currency via the spot transaction, as follows:
    - Buy Currency - Spot Contract
    - Sell Currency - Sell Contract

  4. Select an option. 
    You see the Spot currency exchange trade panel.

  5. Complete the options on the trade panel.
    For example, suppose you selected the Buy Currency – Spot Contract option. In addition to entering the entity and security identifier, you must enter a value for the following:
    –  Sell Currency Symbol. Specifies the offsetting sell currency code.
    –  Sell Quantity. Specifies the amount to be sold.
    –  Buy Quantity. Specifies the amount to be bought.
    The panel uses these cash amounts to calculate the values in the Sell to Base FX Rate and Buy to Base FX Rate fields. You have the option to automatically settle the transaction using the Auto Settle Trade Indicator field.

  6. Click Submit to process the spot.

View Results of the Spot Transaction

The Cash Journal report shows the breakdown of the two currencies.

 

Since U.S. Dollars were sold in the transaction, the Cash Journal report and the Position Viewer tool show a negative cash balance.

 

Cancel a Spot Transaction

In the Cancel Entitlements panel, you can cancel a previously booked spot transaction.

To cancel a spot transaction:

  1. In Accounting Center, in the left navigation pane, click Transactions > Cash> Entitlements > Cancel Entitlements.
    You see the Cancel Entitlements panel.

  2. Complete the options in the Cancel Entitlements panel.
    After you enter the entity ID, dates of the trade (either exact dates or a range), and the currency of the spot, the system displays the relevant details of the transaction to cancel. If more than one transaction exists for the same currency and the same trade date, the system indicates on the right that more items are available.

  3. Click Submit.
    The original spot transaction is canceled.

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