The EUR shadow price is the approximate EUR equivalent of an offer's total. If an offer is quoted in a currency other than EUR, you see this value as ≈EUR next to the offer's own amount on the comparison screens. If the offer is already in EUR, no separate shadow value is shown — the total is in EUR already.
Why it exists
A single demand can attract offers in different currencies: one in USD, one in TRY, one in EUR. To be able to put them side by side and ask "which one is better value", an approximate EUR equivalent is calculated for every offer. While screening offers you can sort by Lowest price (≈EUR), and set a range with the Min ≈EUR and Max ≈EUR fields. On the comparison cards the row is likewise labelled Total ≈EUR.
Pricing currency
The buyer picks the Pricing currency in the Pricing currency & deadline step of the New Demand flow. The on-screen explanation reads: "Offers are compared in this currency. Offers quoted in a different currency are shown converted at the current rate; the rate is locked when you accept an offer."
That choice determines the default offer currency the supplier is presented with in the offer wizard. Sorting and price filters on the screening and comparison screens, however, work off the approximate EUR equivalent; each offer's own amount is always shown in its own currency as well.
Rates are indicative
The conversions shown are not live market rates. On the total panel of the offer-building screen, the EUR/USD estimated (non-live rate) note makes this explicit. If the offer contains lines or expenses in another currency, the FX conversion breakdown directly beneath it lists every rate used, one by one, and carries this note: "Rates are indicative (non-live); they are locked in on acceptance."
When the rate is locked
The rate is locked when the buyer accepts the offer. Until that moment, every conversion you see is an approximation.
What this means for suppliers
In the first step of the offer wizard you pick an Offer currency (comparison currency); the default is the demand's pricing currency. You can enter every line and every expense in its own currency — the expenses step is even headed "Expenses (multi-currency)". The amounts you enter and the currencies you pick stay exactly as they are; during calculation, foreign-currency lines and expenses are converted into the offer currency and totalled. The note in the first step says the same: changing the currency later only re-converts the total, it does not touch the values you entered. In the Review & submit step you see both the Entered and the Converted amount side by side for every line and every expense.
What to watch out for
Where the gap between two offers is small, part of that gap may come from exchange-rate movement. Do not base your decision on the ≈EUR difference alone; weigh the lead time, the Incoterm and the payment terms as well. When dealing with suppliers who work in different currencies, confirming which currency is the offer's own currency will also make your job easier.