Transactions — field guide
What each field means and what values are valid for each transaction type
A complete guide to filling in transaction fields manually in Portfolio Manager, including what is required, optional, or forbidden for each transaction type.
Most transactions are imported automatically from Nordnet, Saxo Bank, or Bitstamp. For accounts with data provider Manual you can add and edit transactions by hand. This guide explains every field and exactly which combinations are valid depending on the transaction type.
How much history should you enter?
Before you start entering transactions, it is worth deciding how far back you want to go. There are three practical strategies:
Strategy 1 — Full history
You enter every transaction from day one. This gives the most accurate picture of your portfolio and the best tax calculations (average cost basis is computed correctly for the entire period), but it requires you to key in all purchases, sales, dividends, and other events — which can be a lot of work if the history is long.
If your broker or bank can export your full transaction history to a file, it is worth exploring that option before entering everything manually — see the section on CSV import below.
Strategy 2 — From the start of the current year
You enter only transactions from the beginning of the current year. For each security you already held at the start of the year you create a fictitious buy transaction dated 1 January with your actual average cost basis (GAK) as the cost.
This gives you meaningful tax calculations for the current year — at least for gains and losses on the current holding. Note, however, that any carried-forward loss from previous years is not taken into account, as the system has no knowledge of the trades behind it.
Strategy 3 — Current holdings only
You register only your current holdings as fictitious buy transactions dated today, using your known average cost basis as the cost. You do not enter any historical trades.
This is the quickest approach and gives you a good overview of current holdings and supports rebalancing analysis. Tax calculations for past trades will not appear in the system — but for future trades gains will be calculated correctly, as long as you supply the correct average cost basis as your starting point.
Missing a CSV import?
If your broker or platform can export transaction history to a CSV or JSON file, you are very welcome to contact us at [email protected]. We will be happy to evaluate whether we can add support for automated import from that platform.
Common fields
These fields appear on all or almost all transactions.
Posting date
The date the transaction appears on the account statement — the date you normally see in your online bank or broker overview.
Required on all transactions.
Value date
The settlement date — the day cash or securities actually change hands. For exchange-traded orders this is typically T+2 (two business days after the trade date). For deposits and dividends it is usually the same as the posting date.
Required on all transactions. Value date must not be before posting date.
Text
A free-text description of the transaction, e.g. Bought iShares Core MSCI World or
DEPOSIT 271404ASK. Shown in the transaction list and in reports.
Required on all transactions.
External ID
A reference from the data provider, e.g. a Bitstamp transaction ID. Used to prevent duplicate imports. Leave blank if no external reference exists.
Optional on all transactions.
Currency
The currency in which Change, Cash Balance, and Cash Balance on Posting are
denominated.
Required for all transactions with a cash movement (BUY, SELL, OTHER). Must be empty for pure instrument transactions with no cash movement (splits, mergers, spinoffs, depot transfers).
Change
The amount added to (positive) or deducted from (negative) the cash balance.
- BUY → negative (you pay for the instrument)
- SELL → positive (you receive the proceeds)
- DEPOSIT → positive
- WITHDRAWAL → negative
- DIVIDEND / INTEREST → positive
- FEE / TAX → negative
- Splits, mergers, transfers → 0 (no cash movement)
Transaction cost
Brokerage commission, trading fees, etc.
- For Nordnet imports: the direct brokerage fee from the CSV column
Samlede afgifter(always negative or zero). - For Saxo imports: computed as
booked amount − trade value. For buys this is negative (extra cash beyond the trade value). For sells it can vary, as Saxo stores realised gain here. - For manual transactions: enter the commission as a negative number, or 0 for fee-free trades.
Cash balance
The calculated cash balance on the account after this transaction. Populated automatically on import; when entering manually, compute it as previous balance + change.
Cash balance on posting
The balance as reported by the data provider. Not all providers supply this figure — for exchange-traded orders it is typically 0. For deposits, dividends, and other cash movements it is filled with the provider-reported balance.
Optional. Enter 0 if the provider does not supply a balance for this transaction.
Instrument fields
Instrument
The financial instrument the transaction relates to, e.g. a share, ETF, or fund.
Required for: BUY, SELL, SPLIT, REVERSE SPLIT, MERGER IN, MERGER OUT, SPINOFF IN, SPINOFF OUT, DEPOT TRANSFER IN, DEPOT TRANSFER OUT.
Must be empty for: pure cash transactions (deposits, withdrawals, dividends, fees, interest) with no instrument reference.
Quantity
The number of units acquired (positive) or disposed of (negative).
| Transaction type | Expected sign |
|---|---|
| BUY | > 0 |
| SELL | < 0 |
| SPLIT | > 0 (net gain in units) |
| REVERSE SPLIT | < 0 (net reduction in units) |
| MERGER IN | > 0 |
| MERGER OUT | < 0 |
| SPINOFF IN | > 0 |
| SPINOFF OUT | 0 (only cost basis is moved, not quantity) |
| DEPOT TRANSFER IN | > 0 |
| DEPOT TRANSFER OUT | < 0 |
| OTHER (pure cash) | 0 |
Cost basis (DKK)
The acquisition cost in DKK for this purchase. Used to compute the average cost basis (GAK — gennemsnitlig anskaffelseskurs) and gain/loss calculations.
Required and positive for BUY and DEPOT TRANSFER IN. Must be empty for all other transaction types.
Corporate action fields
Corporate action ratio
New quantity / old quantity. Used to compute what an existing holding corresponds to after a corporate event.
Examples:
- 2 forward split → ratio 2.0 (you receive twice as many shares)
- 5 reverse split → ratio 0.2 (you keep 1/5 of your shares)
- Merger: 3 new shares for 1 old → ratio 3.0
Required for: SPLIT, REVERSE SPLIT, MERGER IN, SPINOFF IN. Must be empty for all other transaction types.
Related instrument
The “other” instrument in a merger or spinoff.
| Transaction type | What the field contains |
|---|---|
| MERGER IN | The instrument that was surrendered (predecessor) |
| MERGER OUT | The instrument that was received (successor) |
| SPINOFF IN | The parent instrument this was spun off from |
| SPINOFF OUT | The new instrument that was spun off |
Required for: MERGER IN, MERGER OUT, SPINOFF IN, SPINOFF OUT. Must be empty for all other transaction types.
Reference by transaction type
BUY
Used when you purchase a financial instrument.
| Field | Rule |
|---|---|
| Instrument | Required |
| Quantity | Required, positive |
| Currency | Required |
| Change | Negative (cash out) — or 0 for reconstructed historical entries |
| Transaction cost | Negative or 0 |
| Cost basis (DKK) | Required, positive |
| Corporate action ratio | Empty |
| Related instrument | Empty |
SELL
Used when you sell a financial instrument.
| Field | Rule |
|---|---|
| Instrument | Required |
| Quantity | Required, negative |
| Currency | Required |
| Change | Positive (proceeds received) |
| Transaction cost | Typically negative (net commission); no strict rule for Saxo imports |
| Cost basis (DKK) | Empty (cost basis is tracked via GAK, not per sell) |
| Corporate action ratio | Empty |
| Related instrument | Empty |
OTHER
A catch-all type for everything that is not a trade: deposits, withdrawals, dividends, interest, fees, tax, currency exchange, and miscellaneous cash corporate actions.
| Field | Rule |
|---|---|
| Instrument | Optional (supply when a cash corporate action is tied to a specific instrument, e.g. dividend) |
| Quantity | 0 (or non-zero if an instrument is given and a holding change occurs) |
| Currency | Required |
| Change | Positive (deposit/dividend/interest) or negative (withdrawal/fee/tax) |
| Transaction cost | 0 |
| Cost basis (DKK) | Empty |
| Corporate action ratio | Empty |
| Related instrument | Empty |
| Cash balance on posting | Usually populated (provider supplies a balance) |
SPLIT
Used for a forward stock split, where you receive more shares at a lower price per share.
| Field | Rule |
|---|---|
| Instrument | Required |
| Quantity | Positive (net gain in units) |
| Currency | Empty |
| Change | 0 |
| Corporate action ratio | Required, > 0 (e.g. 2.0 for a 2 split) |
| Related instrument | Empty |
| Cost basis (DKK) | Empty |
REVERSE SPLIT
Used for a reverse stock split, where you hold fewer shares at a higher price per share.
| Field | Rule |
|---|---|
| Instrument | Required |
| Quantity | Negative (net reduction in units) |
| Currency | Empty |
| Change | 0 |
| Corporate action ratio | Required, > 0 and < 1 (e.g. 0.2 for a 5 reverse split) |
| Related instrument | Empty |
| Cost basis (DKK) | Empty |
MERGER IN / MERGER OUT
Used when one company acquires another and you receive shares in the acquiring company in exchange for your shares in the acquired company. Always create two transactions: one MERGER OUT (surrender) and one MERGER IN (receipt).
MERGER IN (what you receive):
| Field | Rule |
|---|---|
| Instrument | The new instrument (successor) — required |
| Quantity | Positive |
| Currency | Empty |
| Change | 0 |
| Corporate action ratio | Required (new quantity / old quantity) |
| Related instrument | The surrendered instrument (predecessor) — required |
| Cost basis (DKK) | 0 (cost basis is inherited from the predecessor) |
MERGER OUT (what you surrender):
| Field | Rule |
|---|---|
| Instrument | The surrendered instrument (predecessor) — required |
| Quantity | Negative |
| Currency | Empty |
| Change | 0 |
| Corporate action ratio | Empty (ratio is on the MERGER IN side) |
| Related instrument | The new instrument (successor) — required |
SPINOFF IN / SPINOFF OUT
Used when a company spins off part of itself as a new independent company, and you receive shares in the new company. You keep your shares in the parent company, but a portion of the cost basis is transferred to the new instrument.
SPINOFF IN (the new instrument you receive):
| Field | Rule |
|---|---|
| Instrument | The new (spun-off) instrument — required |
| Quantity | Positive |
| Currency | Empty |
| Change | 0 |
| Corporate action ratio | Required (the fraction of the parent’s cost basis allocated here) |
| Related instrument | The parent instrument — required |
| Cost basis (DKK) | 0 |
SPINOFF OUT (cost basis reduction on the parent instrument):
| Field | Rule |
|---|---|
| Instrument | The parent instrument — required |
| Quantity | 0 (holding does not change) |
| Currency | Empty |
| Change | 0 |
| Corporate action ratio | Empty |
| Related instrument | The new instrument — required |
DEPOT TRANSFER IN / DEPOT TRANSFER OUT
Used when you move securities from one broker to another.
DEPOT TRANSFER IN (received from another broker):
| Field | Rule |
|---|---|
| Instrument | Required |
| Quantity | Positive |
| Currency | Empty |
| Change | 0 |
| Cost basis (DKK) | Required, positive |
| Corporate action ratio | Empty |
| Related instrument | Empty |
DEPOT TRANSFER OUT (transferred to another broker):
| Field | Rule |
|---|---|
| Instrument | Required |
| Quantity | Negative |
| Currency | Empty |
| Change | 0 |
| Cost basis (DKK) | Empty |
| Corporate action ratio | Empty |
| Related instrument | Empty |