Import guides / Charles Schwab
Schwab is one of the more generous exports: you can usually pull a long date range in a single file rather than stitching windows together. Do it from the website — the mobile app does not offer the export.
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 at schwab.com on a desktop browser.
- Open the Accounts tab, then History.
- Pick the account you want from the dropdown. Export one account at a time so each one lands in FolioBright separately.
- Under Date Range, choose Custom and set it as far back as Schwab will allow.
- Click Search, then the Export link on the right of the results.
- Save the CSV.
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 the Accounts tab, open Positions.
- Choose the account, then click Export above the table.
- Save the CSV — it carries symbol, quantity, cost basis and market value.
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 Charles Schwab export.
| Column in your export | What FolioBright does with it |
|---|---|
Date | transaction date; Schwab sometimes writes a settle date alongside, and the trade date is used |
Action | buy, sell, dividend, reinvestment, stock split, journal |
Symbol | ticker, or an option contract in Schwab's own format |
Quantity | shares or contracts |
Price | execution price per share |
Amount | net cash for the row, including fees where Schwab folds them in |
Things it handles for you
Option contracts come through in Schwab's compact style — TSLA 01/16/2026 1300.00 C — which FolioBright reads directly into an option position with the right strike and expiry rather than mangling it into an unknown ticker.
Buy to Open and Sell to Close are understood as the position-opening and position-closing actions they are, so a covered call written and later bought back nets out properly instead of reading as two unrelated trades.
Stock splits are recognised from Schwab's Stock Split action, including reverse splits, and adjust your share count and per-share basis without touching your return.
Dividend reinvestments are booked as a dividend plus a purchase, which is what actually happened — so your income figures stay real and your basis keeps climbing as it should.
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.