How to Journal Options Trades (Free Template Included)
Updated
An options trading journal should record the plan before the trade, the actual execution, and the outcome — so you can compare what you intended with what you did. Download the free CSV template below and open it in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers.
The journaling checklist
- Before the trade: plan and thesis, entry and exit targets, planned contracts and maximum risk
- Each fill: date, contracts, option price and fees
- The underlying price at each fill
- After the close: outcome versus plan and one lesson learned
Import instead of retyping
Broker exports can fill in most execution fields. Your job is to add what a broker never records: the plan and the review.
Download
Download the options trading journal template (CSV) — one header row plus one example row. Free, no sign-up.
Fields to record
| Field | When | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Date opened / closed | Entry / exit | Holding period and review timing |
| Ticker, strategy, type (call/put) | Plan | Grouping results by strategy |
| Strike, expiration | Plan | Contract selection review |
| Delta, IV at entry | Entry | Explains later moves in price |
| Planned entry / exit targets (underlying) | Plan | Planned vs actual comparison |
| Planned capital | Plan | Position-size discipline |
| Thesis | Plan | Was the reason right, or just the result? |
| Contracts, entry price, exit price | Execution | Realised P&L |
| Underlying price at entry / exit | Execution | Did you follow your targets? |
| Fees | Execution | Net results |
| P&L | Close | (Exit − entry) × contracts × 100 − fees |
| Followed plan? (Y/N) and notes | Review | The most useful column over time |
Example row
Hypothetical: XYZ, long LEAPS call, Jan $80, delta 0.80, IV 30%, planned entry at $100 and exit at $120 on the underlying, planned capital $2,700. Bought 1 contract at $26.50 with XYZ at $100.40; sold at $38.00 with XYZ at $117.10. P&L = ($38.00 − $26.50) × 1 × 100 = +$1,150 before fees. Followed plan: No — exited before the $120 target. Note: exited early on earnings nerves.
That last column is the point. Over 30 or 50 trades, the “followed plan” column tells you whether your results come from your process or from exceptions to it.
How to review the journal
- Weekly: fill in any missing exits and notes while memory is fresh
- Monthly: win rate, average win and loss, and P&L by strategy (see Options Metrics)
- Quarterly: compare trades that followed the plan with those that didn't
Track fills, partial exits and accounts
A single trade can have several fills at different option prices. Record each date, quantity and premium, and keep the brokerage account attached to the position. If you bought two contracts at $5.00 and two more at $4.00, your four-contract average entry premium is $4.50. A later sale of only two contracts leaves two open; it is not a second independent trade.
Reconcile contracts bought minus contracts sold with what your broker shows. File imports can help transfer execution details, but check each row for the right account, option type, strike and expiration before saving. Your broker export usually cannot reconstruct what you planned or why you changed your mind; add that context in the journal yourself.
Calculate realized P&L on the option, not the stock
For a standard long equity option, the basic price difference on closed contracts is (exit option premium − average entry option premium) × 100 × contracts closed. In the example above, selling two contracts at $6.00 yields ($6.00 − $4.50) × 100 × 2 = $300 before fees. The other two contracts are still open and have no realized exit result. The stock's price may explain the decision, but it is not substituted for the option premium in this calculation.
Distinguish realized results on closed contracts from the changing, unrealized value of contracts still held. If a quoted option price is stale, an unrealized number can be misleading. Track any broker fees separately when reconciling net cash; the journal's core trade P&L uses recorded option premiums and contract quantity. This worked example is hypothetical and is not a prediction.
Review the decision, not just the outcome
Compare the original entry level, premium budget, contract count and intended exits with your actual fills. Did you enter at the planned level? Was the second fill an intentional scale-in or a reaction to a loss? Did you leave enough time before expiration, and did you close at the target you wrote down? Record the reason for each difference while you still remember it.
A profitable outcome can come from a broken process; a loss can occur even when you followed your rules. Over several trades, group the notes by setup and ask whether deviations such as chased entries or early exits repeatedly affected results. The options metrics guide explains win rate, expectancy and P&L by strategy, but a small sample should be treated as a question, not proof.