Quick Start
Overview
It is highly recommended to start by downloading both the software for your computer as well as the example data files to see what reports the program produces based on dummy data files. This will allow you to quickly get an overview of what this program can achieve and how the input data files are structured. Based on these, you can determine if this program provides the features you need and works in a way you like.
Extracting the files
Once you have downloaded the main program and the example data files, you should extract these two archives to your local disk, and place all files in the same directory. The program and the data files must be located in the same directory, without any sub-directory, as the program will search for data files located in the directory from which the program is running.
C:\investorderly>dir
Volume in drive C is Windows
Volume Serial Number is 16EC-5273
Directory of C:\investorderly
27/01/2025 07:57 <DIR> .
27/01/2025 07:57 2,570,752 investorderly-0.1.0-windows-amd64.exe
27/01/2025 07:57 104 investorderly-0.1.0-windows-amd64.sha256
27/01/2025 07:57 95 investorderly-data-110-settings.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 697 investorderly-data-120-accounts.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 186 investorderly-data-130-taxscopes.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 643 investorderly-data-140-assets.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 58 investorderly-data-210-snapshots.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 177 investorderly-data-220-taxyears.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 389 investorderly-data-310-expect.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 604 investorderly-data-320-rates-gbp-eur.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 2,227 investorderly-data-320-rates-gbp-usd.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 304 investorderly-data-330-prices-metals-gold.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 313 investorderly-data-330-prices-metals-phgp.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 303 investorderly-data-330-prices-shares-veve.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 305 investorderly-data-330-prices-shares-vhyl.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 311 investorderly-data-330-prices-shares-vwrd.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 2,925 investorderly-data-410-transactions-gbuln-gold.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 1,632 investorderly-data-410-transactions-gsipp-phgp.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 651 investorderly-data-410-transactions-gsipp-vhyl.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 2,074 investorderly-data-410-transactions-gsipp-vwrd.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 715 investorderly-data-410-transactions-sigia-veve.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 2,087 investorderly-data-410-transactions-siisa-vhyl.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 714 investorderly-data-420-distributions-gsipp-vhyl.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 673 investorderly-data-420-distributions-gsipp-vwrd.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 348 investorderly-data-420-distributions-sigia-veve.csv
27/01/2025 07:57 714 investorderly-data-420-distributions-siisa-vhyl.csv
Running the program
The program can be executed either from a graphical file explorer such as the Windows Explorer, or from a terminal. You operating system may not trust the program and show you a warning, in which case you will have to say you trust the program and want to continue. The program will print messages in the console output as it works in text mode. It is important to look at the output in case of errors so you can understand what the problem is and how to sort it out. Before exiting, the program will ask you to press enter so you have a chance to read the messages before the messages disappear. The program should run very quickly and generate output files almost immediately. A new folder named “investorderly-output-YYYY-MM-DD” (with the date of the current day) will be created in the current directory, and this directory will contain the output files. The program will show an error message in case the directory with this name already exists. Hence you will need to manually delete the folder if you run the program multiple times on the same day.
Program outputs
The outputs folder contains a bunch of text files which represent the reports. These text files can be read using a standard text editor such as Notepad++. The report is available in two formats. You can either use the full version, where all information in present in a a single file, or you may prefer to use the split version, where each section of the report is written to a separate text file. Ultimately both versions of the report contains the exact same information. You can use the full report if you prefer to have all the information in one place, as it may be easier to manipulate. Or you may prefer to use partial reports, for example if you are only interested in one specific section of the report, so you can go directly to what you are interested in, without having to scroll through a large file.
Overview of the example data files
The example data files provided on the download page allow you to run the program immediately, without having to spend any time preparing custom data files. These data files can also be used as a starting point for your own data files so you can start working on data files which are structured correctly, and on the top of which you can make incremental changes until the data contain all records for your personal situation.
These data files are in the CSV format (Comma Separated Values). These files can be edited using either as plain text with a text editor, or using a spreadsheet program such as Libre Office or Only Office.
Structure of the data files
To be able to use this program effectively, it will be important to make sense of how the data files are structured. Here is a general overview of what the example data files represent so you can make sense of it. The example files demonstrate the situation of an investor based in the United Kingdom. This investor owns different types of investments, in multiple accounts, held with different platforms. He is investing in two asset classes: globally diversified shares via Vanguard ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), and Gold (either directly or via ETFs). The investor has an account named “SIPP” (this stands for “Self Invested Personal Pension” in the UK) where he can invest for his retirement, and he cannot withdraw the money from this account before the retirement age. This account has been assigned to a category named “Pension”. The investor also owns investments in other accounts which can be accessed before the retirement age. These accounts have been assigned to a category named “Accessible” to distinguish these from “Pension”.
The investor is using the Great British Pounds (GBP) as his primary currency, hence all amounts will be converted to GBP if necessary, so all metrics in the reports are expressed in the primary currency. This investor owns investments which are traded either in GBP or in US Dollars (USD). The program uses the exchange rates provided in the data files to convert amounts from USD to GBP.
The report contains detailed information, such as the total value of the investments and the asset allocation, and these are provided for both the top-level categories (ie: “Pension” vs “Accessible”), and also for the sub-categories of investments (such as stocks for “Growth” vs stocks for “Income”).
Please refer to the detailed section about the structure of the data files to understand more about what each data file represent more specifically.