Tax and record keeping

[MCN]

Hi all,

 

I was wondering how others on the board keep track of their trades for profit/ loss and performance calculations and tax purposes.

 

So far i've been using my own spreadsheet concoction but it's a bit clunky and time consuming so i'm looking for other solutions.

 

Any recommendations?

 

Thank you

[MCN]

Anyone ??

[racemize]

I do everything by custom spreadsheet.  It's the only way I can keep a good IRR over time as well.

[abcd]

Did you check out GainsKeeper? I know TDAmeritrade offers it as part of your account.

[Kiltacular]

While I use portfolio management software from Advent (called AXYS), it is very expensive if you're looking at just doing your own portfolio.

 

This software is cheap and nifty: http://www.timevalue.com/products/tvalue/overview.aspx

 

While I believe it was built originally for loan amortization schedules, you can use it very effectively to calculate returns because you can enter cash outflows and inflows with exact dates and solve for rate of return. 

 

It will require a bit of work to get used to it but the manual is pretty good and I believe you can even call them for support (may be additonal fee in excess of the one time $149 for the program itself).

 

 

[scorpioncapital]

Unless you trade in foreign currencies, I don't see much need to keep any records as the broker has all the data and calculations. For example, my broker even provides an annual statement with cost based, realized gains, etc.. Therefore, I've concluded foreign currency is the only enemy

[MCN]

I'm based in Europe and often invest in foreign companies, mostly US, Japan, Uk. I also keep the bulk of my cash outside of the Euro mostly Sing$ & US/HK$

Keeping on top of the currency aspect is a bit of a headache at times.

 

Thanks for the replies so far.

[mpauls]

I had someone build a database from scratch for such purposes.  He's planing to take the product to market as the low cost provider.  He developed the FCC's database among others, so the product is quite good.  I'll update when appropriate.