Importing trades from your broker

If you've made more than a handful of trades, typing each one in by hand gets tedious. Importing lets you upload a CSV file from your broker and have TradeJournal turn it into trades for you — including grouping multi-leg option strategies into single trades and linking assignments to the resulting stock positions. It's also safe to re-run: TradeJournal recognizes trades you've already imported and won't create duplicates.

Before you start

• You need an account. Imported trades land in the account you choose (in its default portfolio). If you haven't set one up, see Creating my first brokerage account first.
• Export a CSV from your broker. In your broker's website, find the trade/transaction history export and save it as a .csv file. Each supported format has a "How to export this file from your broker" link inside TradeJournal (see step 3) that points to the exact steps.

Supported formats

TradeJournal offers broker-specific formats — currently Charles Schwab and Tastytrade transaction exports — plus a Generic CSV option for everything else. The format list is filtered to your selected account's broker, so you only see formats that match. If your account's broker isn't one of the built-in formats, use Generic CSV (see the bottom of this article).

Import your trades

1. Go to Settings → Import History, then click New Import.
2. Target Account — pick the account these trades belong to. All imported trades land in that account's default portfolio.
3. CSV Format — choose the format that matches your file (e.g. your broker's transactions export, or Generic CSV). If a "How to export this file from your broker →" link appears, it'll show you exactly how to produce the file. Watch for any ⚠ note about which export the broker recommends.
4. CSV File — choose your .csv file. The limit is 10 MB per upload.
5. Click Upload & Import.

TradeJournal processes the file and takes you to a results page for that import.

Reading the results

The results page shows the import's overall status and four counts:

• Imported — trades successfully created. They're listed under Trades Created, each linking to its trade detail so you can open or edit it.
• Needs Review — rows TradeJournal couldn't confidently turn into a trade (for example, an ambiguous sell with no matching open position). These are not imported — review them and log them by hand if they matter.
• Duplicate — rows skipped because they match trades already in your journal. This is what makes re-importing safe.
• Failed — rows that couldn't be parsed (e.g. an unexpected file shape).

A partial import ("N imported, M need review") is normal — the trades that imported cleanly are saved; the rest are flagged for you.

What TradeJournal handles for you

• Multi-leg option strategies (vertical spreads, iron condors, butterflies, …) are detected and grouped into a single trade rather than separate legs.
• Assignments and exercises are recognized, and the resulting stock position is created and linked to the option trade.
• Duplicates are detected by the trade's opening details, so importing the same file twice — or overlapping date ranges — won't double-count.

Using Generic CSV

If your broker isn't built in, transform your export into TradeJournal's canonical shape and choose Generic CSV (canonical shape):

• Required columns: Symbol, Side, Quantity, EntryPrice, OpenedAt
• Optional columns: ExitPrice, ClosedAt, Commission, ExchangeFees, AssetClass, Currency

A row with an ExitPrice and ClosedAt imports as a closed trade; without them it imports as open.

Good to know

• Every import is recorded. Find past imports anytime under Settings → Import History, with their status and the trades they created.
• Undo a bad import. Open the import and click Delete Import to remove it and the trades it created. (This can't be undone, so use it when you've uploaded the wrong file or account.)
• Re-importing is safe. Thanks to duplicate detection, you can re-run an import — or import an overlapping date range later — without creating duplicates.
• Imports go into one account at a time. If your CSV spans multiple accounts, export and import them separately.