Free resource

Free Excel Trading Journal

A simple, powerful workbook to record every trade, calculate your results and learn from your own data. No registration required.

Download Trading Journal Excel (.xlsx) · Free · Works in Microsoft Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets

What is a trading journal?

A trading journal is a structured record of every trade you take - what you traded, why you entered, how you managed the position, how it ended and how you felt along the way.

It turns experience into data. Instead of relying on memory (which flatters our wins and softens our losses), you can see exactly what is working, what is not and where your discipline slips.

Why should traders keep one?

  • See the truth about your results - win rate, average risk-to-reward and net P&L after charges.
  • Find repeatable mistakes - the same error shows up in your notes again and again.
  • Improve discipline - writing down a plan before the trade makes it harder to break.
  • Understand your psychology - tracking your emotional state reveals which moods cost you money.
  • Test your strategies - compare performance by strategy, market and month.

How to use

Using the Excel sheet

  1. Open the "Trade Log" sheetEach row is one trade. Fill only the white input columns - grey columns calculate themselves.
  2. Enter your planAdd the date, instrument, direction, entry, stop loss, target and quantity before or as you enter the trade.
  3. Record the outcomeAdd the exit price and brokerage / charges. Gross P&L, net P&L and the result are calculated automatically.
  4. Write your reviewNote the reason for entry and exit, your emotional state, mistakes and lessons learned.
  5. Check the "Dashboard"Win rate, winning / losing trades, average risk-to-reward, total profit / loss and monthly performance update instantly.
  6. Review every weekSet aside time to read your notes and update your trading plan from what the data shows.

What is inside the workbook

21 tracking fields per trade plus a separate performance dashboard.

Trade Date Trading Instrument Market (Indian / Forex / Crypto) Trading Session Trade Direction Entry Price Stop Loss Target Price Exit Price Quantity / Lot Size Risk Amount Expected Risk-to-Reward Actual P&L Brokerage / Charges Net P&L Strategy Used Reason for Entry Reason for Exit Emotional State Mistakes / Observations Lessons Learned

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