The punt in your pocket is already a euro, but for Irish businesses there is a long and potentially expensive road to travel before the money they handle is denominated in euros and cents.
Euro day - January 1st, 2002 - is the day our familiar notes and coins begin to disappear, to be replaced by euro cash. But concerns are increasing that companies will not be ready for the changes in software, accounting, cash handling, even packaging, that are involved.
"The take-up has not been as good as expected," says Mr Gary Rynhart, euro project co-ordinator with the Irish Business and Employers Confederation.
"When the awareness campaign started, there was an expectation there would be an early take-up by multinationals and then it would trickle down to everyone else. Now it looks as if most companies will not change over until next year, probably the latter half of the year. Our concern is that a lot of them won't find the necessary resources, especially in IT."
A survey in February by the Forfas EMU Business Awareness Campaign confirmed that many businesses had put euro implementation plans on the long finger, with 41 per cent still unsure when they would adopt the euro as their base operating currency. Progress on practical use of the currency has also been slow, with only 28 per cent of firms pricing goods and services in both Irish pounds and euros, 24 per cent invoicing in both currencies and 26 per cent with completed changes to their accounting systems.
While it might make more sense for smaller businesses that trade domestically to wait until the end of 2001 to make the changeover, it is essential they have a plan in place and resources set aside to make the switch, says Mr Eoin Gahan, who heads the ForFas campaign. as.
"It's not an unmanageable problem but it means businesses have to examine each function of their operation - accounting, marketing, communications with suppliers, customers and banks, and training - see how the euro will impact on it, assign responsibility for the changeover, and do it.
"The euro is not being introduced to make things more difficult for business. It's to make it easier to operate in the whole euro area. What we've been saying since 1996 is look at the strategic implications and the opportunities for your business, not just the changeover of the software."
A single currency will not only open up a market of 300 million for Irish businesses, it will also make it easier, and possibly cheaper, to source supplies and materials from other euro-zone countries. Yet it is the practical issues, especially software, that could cause the greatest headaches.
According to Mr Michael Callaly, project manager with the Loughrea Euro Town Project, some businesses that planned to accelerate their euro changeover and switch to euro-based trading this year found their standard off-the-shelf accounting packages had limited euro conversion features. Suppliers told other companies, which rely on customised software, that getting eurocompatible upgrades could take several months.
"The message for businesses everywhere is to look at your software requirements now," says Mr Callaly. "Especially for customised software, if you leave that even till January next year, you may find your suppliers run off their feet and find it very hard to get upgrades."
Retailers will face an additional set of issues, as it will be mainly through retail transactions that the euro will enter circulation. Shops will have to get their euro cash before euro day and hold it on the premises, in what could be a logistical and security nightmare.
Staff must be trained to answer customer queries and allay customer fears, especially those of older people who remember all too well the price inflation that followed decimalisation in the 1970s. And cash registers, credit card and debit card systems must be ready to convert on euro day.
Two years ago, Tesco set up a euro group to plan its changeover and now has a full-time project team working on preparations. Not only must invoicing, payments, pricing and accounts systems be converted to euro, but all historical financial records, including pension arrangements for retired staff, says Ms Sara Morris, communications director.
"The general public will see the first impact of the euro when they do their grocery shopping so we are very conscious that we share responsibility with the Euro Changeover Board of Ireland to educate customers and help them through the changeover," she says. "Every store already has a nominated person who is responsible for answering customer and staff queries on the euro. As we get closer, we will have more customer education activities. Staff training will be key."
For small businesses, especially those that trade domestically, the switch may be a lot less traumatic than many might fear. Naas Gearbox Centre, a small precision engineering firm that makes and reconditions manual gearboxes, began its euro preparations in mid-1999 when it installed a new Y2K and EMU compliant accounting system.
It now invoices customers and stockists in dual currencies, pays its Eircom bill in euros operating a euro chequebook alongside its Irish pound chequebook. Its new products catalogue features euro and Irish pound prices, it has applied to the Revenue Commissioners to switch PAYE and VAT payments to euro, and hopes to convert its payroll before the next tax year.
That said, when the company sent letters to suppliers saying it was ready to trade in euros, it was met with resounding silence. And when staff took euro-denominated pay cheques to the bank, they were referred to the foreign exchange department.
Still, says financial controller Ms Mary Kennedy, it has been a positive experience. "There's been more hype about this changeover than necessary. There isn't really all that much to do. You just make the entries in euro and get going with it. We feel very confident and in control going forward."
