A broker import tells you what filled. A trade review tells you why you acted, whether you followed the plan and what should change next time.
Importing is valuable because it removes repetitive typing. It is not the same job as journaling. Treat the import as raw evidence that still needs validation and context.
What a broker import can capture
A typical broker export can contain:
- ticker and exchange
- buy or sell direction
- execution date and time
- units and fill price
- fees
- order or transaction identifiers
Those fields can reconstruct cash movement and position changes. They do not contain the setup you saw, the stop you planned, the catalyst you considered or the emotion that changed your exit.
An importer cannot recover information that never reached the broker file. Guessing it from price history would turn a missing fact into a confident story.
The four layers of a reviewed trade
Think of the journal record in four layers:
| Layer | What it contains | Question it answers |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Raw broker data | Original rows, fills and fees | What did the broker record? |
| 2. Validated import | Correct symbol, direction, units, price and duplicate handling | Did the data enter the journal correctly? |
| 3. Trade context | Setup, planned entry, stop, target, strategy and catalyst | What was the trade supposed to be? |
| 4. Review | Actual exit, R-multiple, rule adherence, mistakes and lesson | How did plan and execution differ? |
Layer two gives you a clean transaction history. Layers three and four make it a trading journal.
Worked example: from two fills to one reviewed trade
Assume a fictional security, KITE.AU. The broker CSV contains:
| Date | Action | Units | Price | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 August | Buy | 400 | $5.00 | $10 |
| 12 August | Sell | 400 | $5.45 | $10 |
The import can calculate a $180 gross price gain and $160 after the two listed fees. That is accurate transaction arithmetic, but it cannot yet answer whether the trade was good.
During validation, you confirm the exchange, direction, units and prices. You also confirm that the two rows belong to one completed trade and are not duplicates. Only then should the import be saved.
Next you reconcile the import with notes written before or during the trade. In this example, those contemporaneous notes contain:
- Setup: pullback to support in an established uptrend
- Planned entry: $5.00
- Initial stop: $4.80
- Planned risk: $0.20 per share, or $80 before fees
- Target: $5.60
- Rule: exit if the daily close breaks support
If those notes did not exist, mark the setup, initial stop and target as unavailable. Do not infer an intended plan from the later chart or profitable outcome.
The $160 result equals +2R after the listed fees because $160 / $80 = 2.0. The review then adds what the broker could not know: KITE.AU reached $5.60 intraday, but the trader exited at $5.45 after moving the target down from nerves.
That review produces a usable question. Did early target changes improve results across similar trades, or did they repeatedly cut winners? The imported fills alone could not frame it.
Review imported rows before Save
Do not assume a neat preview is correct. Check:
- ticker and exchange identity
- buy versus sell direction
- trade date and execution price
- units, fees and currency
- partial fills grouped into the intended trade
- transfers kept separate from market trades
- duplicate rows from overlapping files
- exits matched to the correct open position
If a field is uncertain, leave it for review instead of forcing a match. A slower correction before Save is cheaper than clean-looking bad history.
Swingfolio's CSV import is available during an active trial. You review the mapped trades before Save. It does not execute trades or silently decide which journal context is true.
Complete the review while memory is fresh
After saving validated fills, add the decisions the file never held:
- Name the setup or strategy.
- Record the original stop and target.
- Add the market or catalyst context that mattered.
- Compare planned risk with the realised result.
- Mark any rule that was followed or broken.
- Write one lesson that can change a later decision.
Keep the note specific. "Be patient" is hard to test. "Do not lower the target unless the exit rule fires" can be checked against the next trade.
Use the rule adherence score once imported trades contain the plan and review fields needed for a fair yes-or-no decision. Scoring a fill without context rewards completeness of data entry rather than discipline.
A weekly imported-trade checklist
Before calling the journal current, ask:
- Have all new broker rows been imported and checked?
- Are duplicates, partial fills and transfers resolved?
- Does every reviewed trade have its setup and initial stop?
- Can I explain why the position was opened and closed?
- Did I record fees and the realised result?
- Is the lesson written as a rule I can observe?
An import saves time. Spend some of that saved time on the review that creates the learning.
Start the 30-day trial to validate imported fills and turn them into reviewed trades in Swingfolio.
General information only. Not financial advice. Trading involves significant risk of loss. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Always do your own research and consider seeking advice from a licensed financial advisor.