Import guides / Interactive Brokers
IBKR gives you the most control of any broker here and asks for the most setup in return. A Flex Query is a saved report definition: you build it once, and after that exporting is two clicks. Worth the fifteen minutes if you have any real history.
Export your transaction history
Start here rather than with the positions file. A list of holdings tells FolioBright what you own today; the transaction history tells it what you paid and when, which is what real cost basis, time-weighted return and money-weighted return are built from.
- Sign in to Client Portal at interactivebrokers.com.
- Open Performance & Reports, then Flex Queries.
- Create a new Activity Flex Query with the + button and give it a name, such as "FolioBright".
- Under Sections, add Trades and select everything under Execution.
- Add Cash Transactions as well and select everything — that is where dividends, interest and fees live.
- Set the format to CSV, then save the query.
- Run it, choosing your date range. IBKR caps each run at one year, so run it once per year of history.
Export your current positions
Optional, and useful mainly as a check: import the transactions first, then compare the share counts FolioBright shows against this file to confirm nothing was missed.
- From Performance & Reports, open Portfolio or the positions view.
- Export the positions table to CSV.
- Alternatively add an Open Positions section to your Flex Query so both come out of the same report.
What FolioBright reads
The importer matches your header row automatically, so normally you do not have to think about this. These are the columns it looks for in a Interactive Brokers export.
| Column in your export | What FolioBright does with it |
|---|---|
Date/Time | IBKR stamps the execution time as well as the date |
Buy/Sell | IBKR's own codes, including BOT and SLD |
Symbol | ticker; on option rows the contract detail sits alongside |
Quantity | shares or contracts, signed |
T. Price | trade price — note the abbreviated header |
Proceeds | net cash, which IBKR signs from the account's point of view |
Things it handles for you
BOT and SLD are understood. IBKR abbreviates bought and sold, and pairs them with an open/close indicator rather than spelling out buy-to-open. FolioBright reads both together, so closing trades close the right position.
Multi-currency accounts are common on IBKR, and FolioBright re-denominates the whole portfolio into your chosen base currency using one monthly series rather than converting each row at a different rate — so the currency effect on your return is a real number rather than an artefact of rounding.
Option contracts in IBKR exports leave the underlying in the symbol column and the contract detail in adjacent text, the same pattern as E*TRADE. Both are parsed.
One year per export. If your history is longer, run the query once per year and import each file. Overlapping ranges are safe — anything already recorded is recognised rather than duplicated.
Bringing it into FolioBright
- Open FolioBright and choose the account the file belongs to, or create one with Add account.
- Click Import transactions and drop the CSV in.
- Check the column mapping. FolioBright reads the header row and fills it in for you; the preset for this broker is below if you ever need to set it by hand.
- Review the preview. Anything it could not read is listed separately rather than imported quietly.
- Import. Prices, returns and allocation update as soon as it lands.
Other brokerages
Nothing to install
FolioBright reads the file in your browser and stores the result in your own account. There is no brokerage login to hand over, no read-only credential, and no third-party aggregator sitting between you and your holdings.