Trading Journal Template: Free Download and the Columns That Matter
By Josh Nickens · Updated
A trading journal template is a spreadsheet with one row per trade. It records your plan before the trade, what actually happened, and whether you followed the plan. Download it free, with no sign-up: Excel (.xlsx) with formulas or CSV. The Excel file also opens in Google Sheets.
Download the free trading journal template
Download the Excel template (.xlsx). It has three sheets: Trades (one row per trade, with the calculated columns already filled in), Summary (win rate, profit factor, expectancy and plan-vs-actual results) and How to use.
Download the CSV template. It has the same columns with no formulas, for any spreadsheet app or for importing elsewhere.
Google Sheets: in Google Drive choose New, then File upload, select the .xlsx file, and open it with Google Sheets. The formulas and drop-downs work there too.
Both files include three example rows, labelled hypothetical. They show how the columns fill in and aren't real trades or recommendations. Delete them before you start.
What is a trade journal?
A trade journal (or trading journal) is a record of each trade's reasoning, execution and result, kept so you can find patterns in your own decisions. It isn't the same as your broker statement. A statement shows what you bought and sold, but not what you planned, why you took the trade, or whether you stuck to your rules. Those are the parts that help you improve.
The columns to include (and why)
The template's columns fall into four groups. Fill them in at the moment shown, not afterwards from memory.
Before the trade: the plan
| Column | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Ticker, Asset (Stock / Call / Put), Direction (Long / Short) | Lets you group results by what and how you trade |
| Setup / Strategy | Shows which setups actually work for you |
| Thesis | One line. Later you can tell whether the idea was right, or just the result |
| Strike and Expiration (options only) | For reviewing contract choice |
| Planned Entry, Stop, Target | The levels you'll compare against your actual fills |
| Quantity (shares or contracts) | Position size |
| Planned Risk ($) | What you lose if the stop is hit. It's the basis for the R-multiple |
At entry and exit: what happened
| Column | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Date Opened, Date Closed | Holding period, and finding trades for review |
| Entry Price, Exit Price | The actual fills, per share or per contract as quoted |
| Fees ($) | Results net of commissions and fees |
For options, enter the option's quoted price, such as $1.85, not the cost of the contract. A standard U.S. equity option contract normally covers 100 shares of the underlying stock (OCC), so the template multiplies by 100 for you.
Calculated: the formulas
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Multiplier | 1 for stocks, 100 for options |
| P&L ($) | Profit or loss after fees |
| Return % | P&L as a percentage of what the position cost |
| R-Multiple | P&L divided by planned risk, so +2.0 means you made twice what you risked |
| Holding Days | Days between opening and closing |
After the trade: the review
| Column | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Followed Plan? (Y/N) | Separates results that came from your process from results that came from breaking it |
| Mistake Tag | A short, repeatable label such as "Early exit" or "Held past stop", so mistakes can be counted |
| Lesson | One sentence you'd tell yourself before the next trade |
If you only track six columns, track ticker, planned risk, entry, exit, P&L and Followed plan. Everything else adds detail, but those six are enough to find out whether your rules work.
The formulas the template uses
The template works these out for you. Here's how each one is calculated, so you can check it or rebuild it in your own sheet:
- P&L = (exit price − entry price) × quantity × multiplier − fees. For a short trade, reverse it: (entry − exit). The multiplier is 1 for stocks and 100 for standard equity options.
- Return % = P&L ÷ (entry price × quantity × multiplier).
- R-multiple = P&L ÷ planned risk.
- Win rate = winning trades ÷ closed trades.
- Profit factor = gross profit ÷ the absolute value of gross loss.
- Expectancy per trade = total P&L ÷ closed trades. This is the same as (win rate × average win) − (loss rate × average loss).
Worked example (hypothetical)
These are the template's example rows. The stocks, prices and results are made up to show the arithmetic, and they're not recommendations.
| Trade | Entry → exit | Quantity | Fees | P&L | R-multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC stock, long | $50.20 → $55.40 | 100 shares | $0.00 | +$520.00 | +1.73 (risk $300) |
| XYZ call (LEAPS), long | $26.50 → $38.00 | 1 contract | $0.00 | +$1,150.00 | +1.64 (risk $700) |
| DEF put, long | $1.85 → $1.10 | 3 contracts | $3.90 | −$228.90 | −1.27 (risk $180) |
Working the options rows through: XYZ is ($38.00 − $26.50) × 1 × 100 = +$1,150. DEF is ($1.10 − $1.85) × 3 × 100 − $3.90 = −$228.90.
Across the three trades the Summary sheet shows a 66.7% win rate, total P&L of $1,441.10, a profit factor of 7.30 ($1,670.00 ÷ $228.90) and expectancy of $480.37 per trade. Three trades is far too few to judge a strategy. The numbers are only there to show the formulas working.
The DEF row is marked "Held past stop". It's the kind of mistake the Followed plan column is designed to catch.
How to review your journal each week
- Filter the Trades sheet to last week's closed trades and fill in anything missing while you still remember it
- Count the trades marked Followed plan = N, and read their Mistake Tags
- On the Summary sheet, compare average P&L when you followed the plan with when you didn't
- Pick one rule to work on next week, and write it at the top of your plan
Treat a small number of trades as a question, not proof. The options trading metrics guide explains what each number can and can't tell you.
Spreadsheet or journal app?
A spreadsheet is free and flexible, and for many traders it's enough. The trade-offs show up as you add trades: you type every fill by hand, formulas break when rows are moved or overwritten, and nothing alerts you when a stock reaches your planned level.
A journal app imports your broker's trade files and calculates P&L for you. Some are free and many are paid, and each handles options differently. If you're comparing them, see our comparison of the best options trading journals and the best swing trading journals.
When SwingLEAP is a better fit than a spreadsheet
SwingLEAP is built for options traders, swing and LEAPS, who want to plan each trade before taking it. You write a trade plan with entry and exit targets on the underlying stock, capital, maximum risk and your thesis. You get alerts when the stock reaches your levels, log your actual fills (including partial exits), and compare what you planned with what you did. It also tracks realized P&L and goals, and it imports trade files from Robinhood, Webull, Fidelity, Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Interactive Brokers and Tastytrade.
It's a paid app, with no free plan. It doesn't place orders, recommend trades, show live option chains or Greeks, sync automatically with your broker, or analyze multi-leg spreads. If you only trade stocks, keep using the spreadsheet. If you trade options and want the plan, the alerts and the review in one place, see the options trading journal. For a journal guide specific to options, read How to Journal Options Trades.