Combining multi-year transaction files

Many brokers only let you download one year of transaction history at a time. If you've been investing for several years, you may end up with multiple files that need to be combined before importing. Our free CSV merge tool handles this for you — no spreadsheet required.

When to use the CSV merge tool

The merge tool is useful when you have:

• Multiple yearly exports — your broker limits downloads to one financial year at a time
• Separate files per account type — for example, a trading account and a custody account from the same broker
• Mixed file formats — some files in CSV and others in XLSX

Step 1: Download your transaction files

Export your transaction history from your broker for each period you need. Most brokers offer a CSV or XLSX download option.

For example, if you have three years of history on Stake, you might download:

• stake-2023-2024.csv
• stake-2024-2025.csv
• stake-2025-2026.csv

Tip: Make sure the files are all from the same broker account and use the same export format. This ensures columns are consistent across files.

Step 2: Upload your files to the merge tool

1. Go to the CSV merge tool
2. Drag and drop all your files into the upload area, or click to browse
3. The tool accepts .csv, .xlsx, and .xls files
4. For XLSX files with multiple sheets, you'll be asked to select the correct sheet

You'll see each file listed with its row count. If a file has an issue, an error message will appear next to it.

Step 3: Map your columns

The tool auto-detects common column names, but you may need to confirm or adjust the mapping for:

• Symbol — the stock ticker column
• Type — buy, sell, dividend, etc.
• Date — the transaction date
• Quantity — number of shares
• Price — price per share

If all your files use the same column layout (which they should if they're from the same broker), the mapping will apply to all files at once.

If the date format is ambiguous (e.g., 01/02/2024 could be January 2 or February 1), the tool will ask you to confirm the correct format.

Step 4: Preview and download

The tool merges your files and shows a preview with:

• Total rows across all files
• Date range from your earliest to latest transaction
• Duplicates removed — if two files overlap in date range, identical transactions are automatically deduplicated based on symbol, type, date, quantity, and price

Review the preview to make sure everything looks right, then click Download to get your combined CSV file.

Step 5: Import into TrackMyShares

With your single merged file ready:

1. Open your transaction-based portfolio in TrackMyShares
2. Click Import > Import portfolio transactions
3. Upload the merged CSV file
4. Review the column mapping and preview
5. Click Import transactions

For detailed import instructions, see Importing transactions.

Note: Transaction-based portfolios require a Pro plan. If you're on the free plan, you can still use the merge tool to prepare your file — it will be ready when you upgrade.

Tips for a clean merge

• Same broker, same format — only merge files from the same broker export to ensure consistent column layouts
• Check for overlapping dates — if two files cover overlapping periods, the deduplication will catch exact matches, but manually added or modified rows won't be detected
• Verify the row count — after merging, the total rows should roughly equal the sum of your individual files minus any duplicates

Next steps

• Import your merged file into a transaction-based portfolio
• Generate a tax report covering your full investment history
• Import from multiple brokers if you use more than one broker