What base currency controls
Your base currency is the unit used when Rasa Money shows combined totals and comparisons — net worth style numbers, converted account cards, and similar rollups. It does not force every account into that currency; accounts keep their own currencies.
Think of it as the lens for “how am I doing overall?” rather than the currency stamped on each transaction.
Changing base currency can make last month’s net worth look different in display terms even when you did not spend anything today — because the lens changed. That is expected. Native ledgers did not rewrite themselves.
A practical test: if you would explain your net worth to a friend in dollars, euros, or another unit, that unit is usually the right base currency — even when many day-to-day expenses happen somewhere else.
You can revisit this setting whenever your life setup changes; it is meant to stay flexible.
How to change it
Head to Settings → General and pick your base currency. You need at least two different currencies across your accounts before this becomes something you can change. If everything you own is in one currency, there is nothing to convert, so the control stays locked to that currency automatically.
After you change it, converted totals refresh to the new lens. Native amounts on each account and transaction remain as you entered them.
If you share a household workspace, agree on the base currency so everyone interprets dashboard totals the same way. You can still hold accounts in many currencies; you are only choosing the rollup unit.
Tips and gotchas
Choose the currency you mentally use for big-picture decisions — often the one you get paid in, or the one you use for long-term planning. You can change it later when your life setup changes.
If the control looks locked, check that you truly have two currencies on active or inactive accounts that still count toward your plan. Creating a second-currency account is usually the unlock.
People sometimes confuse base currency with the currency of a new account. Account currency is chosen on the account form and is hard to change after transactions exist. Base currency is a settings-level preference for totals.
What to read next
For the broader model, see How Rasa Money handles multiple currencies. For on-screen formatting, see Choosing how amounts are displayed. For the built-in calculator, see Using the built-in currency calculator.
If IRR is one of your currencies, read the IRR rates note so converted totals do not surprise you relative to other market websites.