Import Flow Guide

Overview

Import your cryptocurrency transaction history from any exchange. PrivateACB automatically detects your exchange format using built-in profiles for 10 major exchanges and guides you through a 5-step process.

Steps: 1. Select File → 2. Review & Configure → 3. Review Classifications → 4. Preview & Validate → 5. Import

Time to complete: 2-3 minutes for recognized exchanges, 3-5 minutes for custom CSVs Built-in exchange profiles: Coinbase, Kraken (Trades + Ledger), Binance, NDAX (Trades + Staking), Newton, Shakepay, Crypto.com App — plus any CSV export

Before You Begin

You’ll need:

A CSV file exported from your exchange
Knowledge of which timezone your exchange uses (usually UTC)

Step 1: Select File

Where: File menu → Import Transactions, or Dashboard → “Import Data” button

Action: Click the upload zone or “Change file” to select your CSV file.

File requirements:

Must be a CSV file (.csv extension)
Can be from any exchange or wallet that exports CSV
No strict size limit, but very large files (100K+ rows) take longer to process

Tip: If your file is in Excel format (.xlsx), open it in Excel and use “Save As → CSV” first.

After File Selection

PrivateACB analyzes your file using the Column Oracle — an intelligent profiler that examines your column headers, data patterns, and cross-column correlations to identify the exchange format.

The profiling result shows:

File info: Filename, row count, column count, and detected format shape
Profile match: If recognized, shows the exchange name and confidence percentage (e.g., “Detected: Kraken Trades (pairBased) — Confidence: 100%”)

If your file matches a built-in exchange profile with high confidence, column mappings are pre-configured automatically — no manual mapping needed.

If the file isn’t recognized, PrivateACB still auto-maps columns using pattern matching. You can review and adjust in Step 2.

Click Next to continue.

Step 1: File Selection with Profile Match

Step 2: Review & Configure

This step shows your file analysis and import settings. Review each section and adjust as needed.

File Summary

A one-line summary of your data:

5 transactions across 3 assets (BTC, ETH, SOL) from 2024-01-20 to 2024-08-15.
2 transaction types detected (3 buy, 2 sell).
Matched: Kraken Trades (100% confidence). Timestamps are local time.

CSV Columns

Column badges show which columns were auto-mapped and which are unmapped:

Green badges: Mapped columns (e.g., time → Date, pair → Trading Pair, fee → Fee)
Grey badges: Unmapped columns (skipped during import — usually metadata like margin or misc)

Sample Data

A data grid shows all rows from your file with the mapped column headers. Verify the data looks correct — check that dates, amounts, and types are in the right columns.

Column Mapping

For high-confidence matches, column mappings are collapsed by default (the profile already mapped everything correctly). Click “Edit column mappings (N unmapped)” to expand and review or adjust.

For low-confidence or unrecognized files, the mapping table is expanded automatically. Each row shows:

CSV Column	Sample Value	Maps To
time	2024-01-15 10:30:00	Date/Time
type	buy	Type (Buy/Sell)
pair	BTC/CAD	Trading Pair
vol	0.5	Amount
price	45000.00	Price per Unit
fee	2.50	Fee
margin	0.00	— Skip —

Use the dropdown to change any mapping, or select — Skip — to exclude a column.

How PrivateACB Handles Different Formats

PrivateACB detects four CSV formats automatically. You don’t need to choose — the Column Oracle identifies the format from your data:

Standard Format (Coinbase, Generic)

Your file has separate columns for asset, type, and amount. Most straightforward format.

timestamp,type,asset,amount,price
2024-01-15,buy,BTC,0.5,45000

Pair-Based Format (NDAX, Kraken Trades)

Your file has a trading pair column like BTC/CAD or XXBTZUSD. PrivateACB automatically splits pairs into asset + quote currency, including Kraken’s concatenated format.

time,type,pair,vol,price
2024-01-15,buy,BTC/CAD,0.5,45000

Bidirectional Format (Newton, Shakepay, Crypto.com)

Your file has sent/received columns instead of a type column. PrivateACB infers the trade direction:

Sent CAD + Received BTC = Buy
Sent BTC + Received CAD = Sell
Sent BTC + Received ETH = Swap (creates 2 transactions)

date,type,sent_qty,sent_currency,received_qty,received_currency
2024-01-15,Trade,1500,CAD,0.03,BTC

Ledger Format (Binance, Kraken Ledger)

Your file has multiple rows per trade (debit + credit entries). PrivateACB groups related rows by transaction ID or timestamp and reconstructs complete trades.

txid,refid,time,type,asset,amount,fee
T1,R1,2024-01-15,trade,BTC,0.5,0.001
T2,R1,2024-01-15,trade,CAD,-22500,0

Import Settings

Below the column mapping, configure these import-wide settings:

Step 2: Import Settings

Exchange Name

Enter the exchange where these transactions occurred (e.g., Coinbase, Kraken). This is pre-filled when a profile matches. The name appears in your reports and helps identify transaction sources.

Timezone

If your CSV timestamps don’t include timezone information (no “Z” suffix or offset), select the timezone your exchange uses.

Your CSV Shows	Select
`2024-01-15T10:30:00Z` or `+00:00`	UTC (auto-detected — no action needed)
`2024-01-15 10:30:00` (no timezone)	Your exchange’s timezone
Unsure	UTC (most exchanges use UTC)

A conversion preview shows how your timestamps will be stored:

2024-01-05 10:00:00 → UTC (America/Toronto)

Pricing Currency

This dropdown appears only when PrivateACB can’t determine the quote currency from your data (no quote currency column, no trading pair). Select the fiat currency your transactions are priced in (e.g., USD, CAD).

Fee Currency

Check the appropriate box if your exchange deducts fees from crypto:

Checkbox	When to Check	Example
Buy fees in crypto	Fee reduces crypto received	Buy 1 BTC, receive 0.999 BTC (0.001 BTC fee)
Sell fees in crypto	Fee reduces crypto sold	Sell 1 BTC, only 0.999 BTC counts toward proceeds

When unsure: Leave both unchecked. This assumes fees are in fiat, which is most common.

Tax Preparer (Optional)

Enter the name of who is preparing these tax records. This appears on generated reports.

When to use:

You’re a CPA preparing reports for clients
You want your name on reports for record-keeping

Examples: “John Doe CPA”, “Jane Smith”, or leave blank.

Click Next to continue.

Step 3: Review Classifications

This step appears when your CSV contains transaction types that PrivateACB doesn’t automatically recognize. If all types are recognized (common with major exchanges), this step may be skipped.

PrivateACB’s built-in registry recognizes 60+ common transaction types (BUY, SELL, STAKING, DEPOSIT, etc.). Any unrecognized types are highlighted for your review — select the appropriate tax classification from the dropdown and check Remember to save your choice for future imports.

The five tax classifications are:

Exchange — Capital gains tax (buy/sell trades)
Income — Taxable at fair market value (mining, staking, rewards)
Transfer — No tax impact (deposits, withdrawals)
DeFi — Capital gains (liquidity pools, swaps)
Ignored — Excluded from all calculations (spam, failed transactions)

For the full guide on classification categories, status indicators, filters, and the Remember feature, see the Classification Review Guide.

Step 3: Classification Review

Step 4: Preview & Validate

Review all transactions before importing. Each row shows the parsed data with a status indicator.

Transaction Table

The table displays:

Checkbox: Select/deselect individual transactions
Timestamp: Converted to UTC
Exchange: Source exchange
Type: Transaction type (buy, sell, staking, etc.)
Asset: Cryptocurrency symbol
Amount: Quantity
Price: Unit price
Quote Currency: Fiat currency (CAD, USD)
Status: Ready, Warning, or Error

Status Column

Status	Meaning	Action
✓ Ready	Valid, will import	None needed
⚠️ Warning	Minor issue, will still import	Review recommended
✗ Error	Cannot import	Fix mapping or CSV

Transaction Selection

☑️ Checked = Will import
☐ Unchecked = Will skip

Use Select All Valid Transactions checkbox to toggle all importable rows.

Pagination: Use the page controls to review all transactions if you have more than fit on one screen.

Common Validation Scenarios

All Green (✓ Ready)

All transactions passed validation. Click Start Import to proceed.

Some Warnings (⚠️)

Common warnings include:

Missing price data (can be fetched later from Market Data tab)
Crypto fees detected (may need price conversion)
Missing optional fields

Click warning rows to review details. If acceptable, leave checked and proceed.

Duplicates Detected

Some transactions already exist in your database (from a previous import). PrivateACB automatically skips duplicates (unchecked). This is usually correct.

Errors Found (✗)

Blocking problems that prevent import. Common causes:

Wrong column mapped (e.g., description mapped to “amount”)
Blank rows or corrupted data

Click error rows to see details. Go back to Step 2 to fix column mappings if needed.

Click Start Import when ready.

Step 4: Preview & Validate

Step 5: Import Complete

After clicking Start Import, PrivateACB processes your transactions and displays the results.

Import Summary

Import Complete!

✓ Successfully imported: 69 transactions
📋 Total records processed: 69 transactions
Source: your-file.csv
Import Time: 0.2 seconds

Next Steps

The completion screen offers three options:

Button	Action
View Imported Data	Go to Data Viewer to see your transactions
Calculate ACB	Go directly to ACB Calculator
Import More Data	Start another import (for additional exchanges)

Recommended workflow:

Import all your exchanges first before calculating ACB
Go to Market Data tab → Import exchange rates and crypto prices for transaction dates
Go to ACB Calculator → Calculate ACB for each asset
Go to Reports → Generate tax forms

Verifying Your Import

To confirm everything imported correctly:

Go to Data Viewer tab
Check the record count matches “Successfully imported” from the summary
Sort by timestamp and verify dates look correct
Spot-check a few transactions for correct asset symbols, amounts, and types

Red flags to watch for:

All timestamps are the same or show 1970 (wrong column mapped to timestamp)
All amounts are zero
Asset symbols are blank or all “Unknown”
Trade types are all “BUY” when you know you had sells

If something looks wrong, use the deletion controls to remove the bad import, fix your settings, and re-import.

If Import Fails

Import failures are rare, but if something goes wrong:

Common causes:

Database file is locked (close other programs accessing it)
Disk is full (no space to write new data)
File was moved during import

What to do:

Check system messages for details
Fix the underlying issue
Try again

Important: If import fails partway through, PrivateACB rolls back ALL changes. You won’t have partial data — it’s all-or-nothing.

Built-in Exchange Profiles

PrivateACB ships with profiles for these exchanges. When your CSV matches, columns are mapped automatically:

Exchange	Format	Notes
Coinbase	Standard	9 columns, USD pricing
Kraken Trades	Pair-Based	13 columns, handles XXBTZUSD format
Kraken Ledger	Ledger	10-11 columns, refid-linked grouping
Binance	Ledger	7 columns, timestamp-linked grouping, stablecoin normalization
NDAX Trades	Pair-Based	10 columns, BTC/CAD pairs
NDAX Staking	Standard	4 columns, staking rewards
Newton	Bidirectional	8 columns, sent/received
Shakepay	Bidirectional	11 columns, purchase/sale
Crypto.com App	Bidirectional	10 columns, sign-based amounts
Generic Standard	Standard	Fallback for standard-format CSVs
Generic Bidirectional	Bidirectional	Fallback for sent/received CSVs

For exchanges not listed, PrivateACB auto-maps columns using pattern matching. You can review and adjust mappings in Step 2.

Common Decisions Summary

Step	Decision	Quick Answer
2	Which timezone?	UTC for most exchanges
2	Fees in crypto?	Leave unchecked if unsure
3	How to classify unrecognized types?	Use the Classification Guide
3	Check “Remember”?	Yes, saves time on future imports
4	Import with warnings?	Usually yes, review first

Troubleshooting

”Failed to profile CSV file”

→ The file may not be a valid CSV. It might be Excel (.xlsx) or corrupted. Open in Excel and “Save As → CSV”.

Low confidence detection

→ Normal for custom CSVs. Expand “Edit column mappings” in Step 2 to verify and adjust. PrivateACB will still work — just check your mappings.

”All transactions show errors”

→ Wrong column mapped. Go back to Step 2 and check column mappings. A common mistake is mapping a description field to “amount”.

Step 3 was skipped

→ Normal if all your transaction types are recognized. Proceed to Step 4.

Transactions have wrong dates (all show 1970 or far future)

→ Cause 1: Wrong timestamp column mapped. Go to Step 2 and check. → Cause 2: Wrong timezone selected. Most exchange exports use UTC.

Duplicate warnings for transactions I’ve never imported

→ Your CSV may have the same transaction twice, or your exchange exported duplicates. Review in Step 4 — if they’re true duplicates, let PrivateACB skip them.

Import completes but ACB calculations fail

→ Imported transactions may be missing price data. Go to Market Data tab to fetch prices before running ACB.

Tips and Best Practices

Before Importing

Test with a small file first — Importing from a new exchange? Test with 10-50 transactions to verify mappings work before importing your full history.
Export by year — If you have 10+ years of transactions, export one year at a time. Smaller files are faster and easier to troubleshoot.
Back up your database — Before importing large files, copy your .db file to a safe location.

During Import

Don’t close the app — Let the wizard finish. Interrupting mid-import rolls back all changes.
Review warnings in Step 4 — Don’t click “Start Import” blindly. Take 30 seconds to check that the preview looks reasonable.
Leave duplicates unchecked — If you see duplicate warnings, leave those transactions unchecked.

After Import

Verify immediately — Go to Data Viewer and spot-check transactions while the import is fresh in your mind.
Keep your CSV files — Don’t delete them after import. Keep as backup.
Run ACB calculations — Don’t wait. Go to ACB Calculator while the import is fresh.

Last Updated: March 2026 PrivateACB Version: 2.5.0