How to import your CommSec CSV into SavvyPortfolio

By the end of this guide your CommSec trades will be in SavvyPortfolio, with your holdings, portfolio value and unrealised gains worked out for you. Once you have the file it takes about a minute.

You need two things before you start. First, a portfolio to import into: if you haven't made one, set up your first portfolio takes one text field. Second, your CommSec CSV. If you haven't downloaded it yet, our CommSec export guide shows where to find it inside CommSec and how far back to export.

The import is a four-step wizard: Source, Upload, Preview, Import. CommSec exports are auto-detected, so you never have to match a column to a field. The file in the clips below holds five transactions. Yours will hold whatever you exported.

Step 1 — Open the Import tab

In the side nav, click Import. The nav runs Overview, Holdings, Transactions, CGT Report, Import, AI Assistant, Action Hub, so Import sits fifth down.

The main pane swaps to the Import Transactions card. Its description tells you what the wizard accepts: "Upload a CSV file from your broker. CommSec exports are auto-detected. For other brokers, we'll help map your columns."

Under the description is the step indicator, reading Source → Upload → Preview → Import, lit on Source. That row is worth a glance now, because it is how you know where you are for the rest of the flow. Nothing has been uploaded and nothing has changed in your portfolio yet.

Step 2 — Leave "CommSec" selected, click "Next →"

The Source step is a radio group with two options. CommSec, described as "Auto-detected format — fastest import", is already selected. Below it sits Other Broker, described as "Stake, SelfWealth, NABtrade, CMC Markets, or any CSV".

If your file came from CommSec, change nothing. Click Next → at the bottom right and the step indicator ticks from Source to Upload.

Choosing CommSec is what buys you the short path. The app already knows CommSec's column headers and date format, so there is no Mapping step to work through. If your file came from anywhere else, pick Other Broker instead and follow the broker guide linked at the end of this post.

Step 3 — Drop in your CommSec CSV

The Upload step is a dashed dropzone reading "Drop your CSV file here or click to browse", with "Supports CommSec transaction exports" beneath it. Drag your file in from your downloads folder, or click the zone and pick it from the file browser.

There's no file chip and nothing to confirm: the moment you pick the file, SavvyPortfolio reads it and moves you straight on to the Preview step.

Two buttons sit in the footer. Back returns you to the Source step if you picked the wrong broker. Sample CSV gives you a file to trial the whole flow with, which is a good idea if you want to see what happens before you commit your own history.

Step 4 — Check the preview

The header reads "Preview (5 of 5)" — it samples the first ten rows, so a bigger file reads "Preview (10 of 240)". The table under it has four columns: Type, Stock, Qty and Total. BUY rows wear a green pill, SELL rows a red one, so a wrong transaction type is easy to spot at a glance.

This is your checkpoint. Compare two or three rows against your contract notes: the ticker, the quantity, and the total. If the totals look light, check that your export included brokerage, because brokerage forms part of your cost base and changes your capital gain later.

The preview shows the first ten rows at most; here all five fit. Nothing is saved until you press the button in the next step, and Back is still there.

Step 5 — Click "Import 5 Transactions"

The button names the exact count it is about to process: "Import 5 Transactions". Click it.

The preview gives way to a green "Import Successful" panel reading "Successfully imported 5 transactions", with an Import More button beneath.

That count is your receipt. If it doesn't match the number of trades you expected, the file is the place to look, not the app. Import More starts the wizard again from the Source step, which is what you want when you have a second export to add: an older date range, a joint account, or a file from another broker. Importing more files adds to the same portfolio rather than replacing it.

Step 6 — Watch your portfolio build itself

Now go to Overview. The ink balance hero shows your portfolio value, with a lime pill below it showing the day's move and your holdings count, and the holdings table fills in below.

Every figure on that screen came out of the one file. The app grouped your buys and sells by ticker, worked out the quantity you still hold, averaged your cost including brokerage, and compared it against the live price.

You did not type a single number.

What you should see

In the demo data the hero reads $16,600.00, with the pill +$119 · 0.72% and the line today · 4 holdings — that pill is the day's move, not your total gain. Your total gain is the +7.4% badge in the corner of the card, measured against a cost base the stat column shows as cost $15,462.

The holdings table shows four rows:

That is 4 of your 10 free holdings used. Unrealised gains are a market number, not a tax number: nothing here is taxable until you sell. When you do sell, the CGT report does the FIFO and 50% discount maths, and you should still have a registered tax agent review it before it goes near your return.

Common gotchas

• The preview only shows ten rows. A file of 240 reads "Preview (10 of 240)" — a sample, not a limit. Every row in the file imports when you press the button.
• The free plan caps you at 10 holdings and 1 portfolio. The demo above sits at 4 of 10. If your CSV covers more than ten different tickers you'll need Pro for unlimited holdings.
• Auto-detection is for the CommSec option only. A Stake or SelfWealth file loaded on the CommSec path is the wrong path. Go back and choose Other Broker, which adds a Mapping step.
• Dividends do not come in with your trades. A transaction export is buys and sells. You record dividends and their franking credits on the holding page, and automatic dividend imports are a Pro feature.
• Brokerage belongs in the file. A $22.50 buy of 40 WBC shares with $19.95 brokerage has a total of $919.95, and that full amount is your cost base. If your export dropped the fee column, your gains will read high.

What's next

If you're a CommSec user, you can skip straight to adding a transaction by hand, which covers the odd trade that never made it into a CSV: an off-platform buy, an old parcel, a correction. If your trades live with Stake, SelfWealth, NABtrade, CMC Markets or anyone else, read how to import from any broker CSV first, because your file needs the Mapping step. And if you want the rules behind the numbers the app is about to calculate for you, how to calculate CGT on shares in Australia explains FIFO, the cost base and the 50% discount in plain English.