Import issues can be annoying. You followed the instructions, yet the importer rejects your file. The reason isn't always mentioned because most of the time, it's a bit complex and the internal errors are not really useful to you - the end-user.
However, there are some edge cases that you might need to be aware of. We have seen over 50k trade file imports since the inception of TradesViz and we have learned a thing or two about brokers and import formats.
In this post, we will talk about some of the most common errors/issues we have seen when you are importing from a specific broker/platform and the solutions for it.
ThinkorSwim [and] TD-Ameritrade
90% of the manual import issues we see are due to one of the following issues:
1. The imported file is exported from the ThinkorSwim client but "TDAmeritrade" is selected as the platform - this is an incorrect selection of platform. Please use "ThinkorSwim" as the platform on the import page - vice-versa is true also.
2. The import file is exported from the ThinkorSwim client and the ThinkorSwim platform is selected BUT the importer returns an error. MOST PROBABLY, the issue is your file is empty. Meaning, there are no trades in it and it looks like this:
Notice how the sections in green boxes are empty? That's why the importer rejected this file. Our importer needs data in all 3 sections - Cash balance, Account order history and Account Trade History in order to properly process your file and extract all the trade-related data accurately.
If you need help with importing from ThinkorSwim, take a look at this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhi5gg4OTwU
If you have checked and verified that the file is NOT empty and you are still getting an import error, contact us: [email protected]. You will a reply within 24-hrs from our support team.
E-Trade
There are multiple E-trade formats and our modules support many variants of the E-Trade format also. What you need to make sure is that you are importing/copy-pasting the transactions data and not the trade summary data.
Robinhood
We tried to support this format. We really did... But Robinhood has made this extremely difficult for us because they only allow their customers to ask for PDF (not even CSV) format - and PDF formats are not accurately parsable by any program. Also, they keep changing their format so we have effectively dropped support for Robinhood.
Note that you cannot import the trades summary file which you can download from your account - you need to email Robinhood and ask them to send you a transactions file and import this. If the import works, well, that's good for you. But if it doesn't - we're sorry. The best we can do is a one-time conversion of your Robinhood file to TradesViz format if you just want to make sure all your trades are there in your account when you are moving to another broker.
InteractiveBrokers (Auto-sync)
Auto-sync modules are usually error-free as the data comes directly from the servers. But since IBKR allows you to modify the flex query in the way you want, your auto-sync might not work if you did not follow our flex query setup instructions exactly. This includes all the boxes you need to check in the data section, the timezone format, the history (do NOT use PERIOD-based history), etc.,
You can take a look at our syncing guide here: https://www.tradesviz.com/blog/auto-import-interactive-brokers/
NinjaTrader (Real-time auto-sync)
You added the add-on correctly, but your trades are not reported on TradesViz? Here are 2 reasons why it could happen:
1. There are no accounts with the same name as the account name from which you are executing the trades in NinjaTrader
2. Your date format is set incorrectly. NinjaTrader's time format differs based on the region you are in (or your PC settings).
Both of these can be fixed by checking the output log (follow steps 5 and 6 in this guide: www.tradesviz.com/blog/auto-import-ninjatrader/. If the reported date is incorrect, most likely, setting the date format as M-D-Y in the add-on settings should fix it.
Zerodha
Most import issues can be divided into the following two issues:
1. You are importing the trades summary file (with pnl) and not the transactions file which is what TradesViz expects
2. You have not converted the file from XLSX to XLS
Other brokers/platforms
Please follow the exact instructions if it's available - 95% of the time the import will work. If it doesn't, please contact us with a sample of your file. If there is an upgrade we need to do or if we need to patch our import module in the event that even after following the instructions, the file is not accepted - it will be done within 24-48 hours.
Also, try to always import the "transactions" file wherever possible (the instructions will also mention that). TradesViz needs data of each individual execution of your trades. A single line with just the open/exit time and pnl isn't useful in any way because you lose a lot of data - However, for some brokers, this is the only way to import trades and our module does accept such formats for these brokers.
As always, if you have any issue with your import format or if you require us to support any specific import formats, please send us an email with a sample of your file to [email protected].