Trading Journal Template: 5 Copyable Formats

A trading journal template helps you keep transaction records and your own decisions together. Below are five formats you can copy into a spreadsheet or document. They are blank working templates, not a study of funded traders or a promise of profitability. Keep the original broker records so you can check what the journal includes.

Choose What One Record Represents

Before entering data, decide whether each row represents an execution, a closed position or a completed trading idea. Partial fills and partial closes can create several broker rows for one idea. Keep the source identifiers and your grouping rule; do not count the same result once as a deal and again as a position.

Separate transaction facts from your annotations. A source statement can show a fill or fee; your notes explain your intention. Neither a screenshot nor a manually entered journal is an independent audit of performance. Avoid calling a strategy validated because one filtered set of trades was profitable.

1. Copyable Spreadsheet Trade Log

Copy this header into a CSV file or spreadsheet. Each row should follow the same record definition. Use a consistent timestamp format and store the time zone explicitly.

RecordID,AccountLabel,ClosedAt,TimeZone,Symbol,Direction,Quantity,NetPL,Currency,InitialRisk,Setup,Notes,SourceRef

• RecordID and SourceRef: Link back to the original ticket/deal or source row and retain any grouping notes.
• Quantity: Label whether it means lots, shares or contracts. Do not combine different quantity units as though they were equivalent.
• NetPL: Record the outcome after the costs included in your chosen definition. Reconcile commissions, financing and fees rather than assuming an export includes all of them.
• Currency and InitialRisk: Record currency explicitly. InitialRisk is the planned monetary risk recorded before the trade; do not substitute the eventual loss or invent a missing initial stop.
• Setup and Notes: Keep your annotations separate from the imported transaction facts.

For a single account currency and a numeric NetPL column H, these spreadsheet formulas illustrate a defined summary. Adjust the row range to your data; some spreadsheet locales use different separators or translated function names. Format the win-rate result as a percentage.

Win rate including break-even records:
=IF(COUNT(H2:H1000)=0,"n/a",COUNTIF(H2:H1000,">0")/COUNT(H2:H1000))

Profit factor using positive profits / absolute negative losses:
=IF(-SUMIF(H2:H1000,"<0",H2:H1000)=0,"n/a",SUMIF(H2:H1000,">0",H2:H1000)/-SUMIF(H2:H1000,"<0",H2:H1000))

Realised R for one row, only with recorded positive initial risk in J2:
=IF(AND(ISNUMBER(H2),ISNUMBER(J2),J2>0),H2/J2,"n/a")

The win-rate denominator above includes numeric zero outcomes and ignores blank/text cells. It is not the alternative wins-divided-by-wins-plus-losses convention. Profit factor is unavailable when no negative losses are recorded; do not show an invented zero or a finite ratio. Realised R requires NetPL and initial risk in the same currency and scope. Deposits, withdrawals and transfers are not trade profits or losses and do not belong in these outcome formulas.

For spreadsheet syntax, see Microsoft's COUNTIF guidance and SUMIF guidance. These formulas assume the outcome cells contain valid numbers, without error cells or numbers stored as text; check that before relying on the summary.

2. Printable Trade Review Sheet

Copy the fields below into a document and print it or save it as a PDF using your own document software. This page provides the field layout; it does not include a downloadable fillable PDF.

Record ID / source reference:
Account label / instrument / quantity unit:
Entry time / exit time / time zone:
Entry / original stop / target / actual exit:
Planned monetary risk / currency:
Reported result / costs included:
Reason for entry:
Reason for exit:
Plan followed? Evidence / deviation:
One question for the next review:

A short review sheet is useful for decisions you want to revisit. Keep a separate source record for calculations and avoid transcribing an account password, login secret or private identifier into a shared sheet.

3. Strategy-Focused Journal

RecordID,StrategyID,RuleVersion,SetupVariation,PlannedRisk,NetPL,Currency,Deviation,SourceRef

Give the strategy and rule version a stable label before reviewing outcomes. Record excluded trades and exclusion reasons rather than silently removing them. Compare the sample period, instruments and cost basis when comparing strategy groups; a better-looking subset is not by itself evidence of a repeatable edge.

Keep a separate review note with the question, records included, sample size, calculation definition and proposed next check. This is a way to organise investigation, not a statistical validation rule or a minimum trade-count guarantee.

4. Decision and Emotion Log

RecordID,BeforeEntry,PlannedAction,DuringTrade,ActionTaken,AfterExit,ReviewQuestion

Record observations close to the decision if practical and distinguish a note made beforehand from a later explanation. If you use an emotion scale, define its labels consistently. An association between a label and an outcome does not establish what caused the result or diagnose a psychological condition.

Use the actual sequence of actions in the review: what you planned, what happened, what you changed and what evidence you have. Do not turn a profitable rule violation into proof that breaking the rule was sound.

5. Screenshot and Evidence Index

RecordID,ImageRef,CapturedAt,TimeZone,ChartSymbol,ChartTimeframe,AnnotationMadeAt,SourceRef

Keep the entry/exit references and chart context with each image. Mark later annotations as later additions. Check that the time zone, contract and timeframe correspond to the record you are reviewing; a screenshot of a chart is not proof of an executed fill.

Use access settings appropriate to the file and remove account details before sharing. A link in the journal is only useful if you can reopen the intended image later.

Reconcile the Template Before Using the Summary

1. Reconcile record counts and a few source identifiers, including partial closes if present.
2. Compare the date range, time zone, instrument and account currency with the original report.
3. Check reported outcomes and the costs included. Retain missing or uncertain fields as missing.
4. Confirm that transfers and cash flows are classified separately from trading outcomes.
5. Reopen saved files and evidence links. Keep a recoverable copy of the original records and notes.

Choose a review schedule that fits the decisions and data you need to check. A fixed weekly interval does not establish a sufficient statistical sample, and a journal does not enforce a prop firm's current rules or ensure a payout.

Where MyVeridex Fits

MyVeridex is trading analytics with journal notes; it does not place trades or guarantee trading results. Its current direct account routes are MT4 and MT5 with the exact broker/server, account number and investor password. Those MetaTrader credentials permit read-only access rather than trading authority. Check the current connection status and available history; a directory listing does not prove every broker account works.

The current statement route expects supported MetaTrader closed-transaction structures. These custom template headers are not a supported broker-import format merely because you save them as CSV. cTrader, DXTrade, Match-Trader and TradeLocker direct connections are not currently available. Statement-derived daily history cannot reconstruct unrecorded floating equity; closed-trade balance and intraday equity drawdown are different measures.

Journal notes can include tags, strategy and emotions. Save, reload and reopen an entry before relying on it: a save failure can leave a local visible item, and selected-trade linkage is not stored as a durable association. Keep a separate copy of important notes. A MyVeridex product badge or public profile is not an independent audit or proof that a recipient accepts the record.

MetaTrader documents the investor-password permission and the distinction between orders, deals and report fields. The MyVeridex availability and limitations above were checked against its current product source on 16 October 2026.

For broader software selection, see Trading Journal Software: Data, Notes and Selection Checks. This template page focuses on the record layouts you can copy, rather than repeating a software ranking.