Free Trading Journal Template for Excel

Q: How do I make a trading journal in Excel?

Give each closed trade one row with entry and exit time, symbol, side, size, entry and exit price, fees and the dollar risk at your stop. Add formula columns for gross P&L, net P&L and R-multiple, then a summary sheet with COUNTIF for wins and losses, AVERAGEIF for the average win and loss, and a running total for drawdown. The template on this page has all of that built, so you only type the trade itself.

Q: Does the template work in Google Sheets?

Yes. Upload the .xlsx file to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets, or use File, Import in a blank sheet. It only uses functions both programs share (SUM, COUNTIF, COUNTIFS, AVERAGEIF, SUMIF, IFERROR, MIN and MAX), and the Side and Strategy drop-downs carry over.

Q: What should a trading journal include?

The trade itself (time, symbol, side, size, prices, fees), the risk you planned at entry, the setup you traded and any rule you broke. The first part gives you P&L; the risk gives you R-multiples; the setup and mistake columns tell you which part of your trading makes or costs the money.

Q: Can I import the spreadsheet into ExpectancyIQ later?

Yes. Save the Trades sheet as a CSV file and import it as a Generic CSV. The column names were picked so the importer maps them on its own, including Strategy, Mistakes, Tags and Risk $. Blank formula rows are skipped.

By Reid KashUpdated October 14, 2026How we calculate

This free trading journal template is an Excel workbook that also opens in Google Sheets. You log each closed trade on one row, and the summary works out your win rate, average win and loss, profit factor, expectancy, R-multiple and maximum drawdown. There is no email form and no signup: the button below downloads the file.

It comes with 12 made-up futures and forex trades so every formula shows a number on first open. Delete them and start with your own.

Download the template (.xlsx)Excel and Google Sheets · 150 KB · 4 sheets

What's in the trading journal template

Trades: your log. Yellow columns are yours to fill; white and grey columns are formulas, pre-filled for 1,000 trades.
Summary: 17 figures from the Trades sheet, plus your starting balance.
By Strategy: trades, win rate, net P&L, expectancy and average R for each setup you name. The names also fill the Strategy drop-down.
How To Use: the setup steps below, inside the file.

The Trades sheet: one row per trade

Point Value turns a price move into dollars, so one sheet handles any futures contract or forex pair: one point on MES is $5, on MNQ $2 and on CL $1,000. The futures calculators list the point value for every common contract.

The Summary sheet: every formula, with the example values

The formulas below are shortened for reading. In the file they also skip blank rows, so an unused row never counts as a trade. All of them work on Net P&L, after fees.

Reading the example trades

The 12 example trades win 58.3% of the time. The average winner is $162.58 and the average loser $86.12, so one win pays for 1.89 losses. At that ratio the break-even win rate is 34.6%, well under the 58.3% achieved, and the expectancy comes out at $58.95 a trade.

Expectancy = Net P&L ÷ Trades = $707.44 ÷ 12 = $58.95

The largest loss is the MNQ long on 8 October. It risked $90.00 and lost $207.72, which is -2.3R. The Mistakes column says why: the stop was ignored. That one trade is also the whole $207.72 maximum drawdown.

On the By Strategy sheet, the VWAP pullback won one trade out of four and lost money overall, while the other two setups made all of the profit. Twelve trades is far too few to drop a setup; how many trades before you can trust a win rate covers the sample-size side. To test other numbers, the expectancy calculator and win rate calculator run the same sums.

How to use the template in Excel or Google Sheets

Download the file and open it in Excel, or upload it to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets.
On Trades, clear the 12 example rows (the yellow cells in rows 2 to 13). Leave the formula columns alone.
On Summary, type your starting balance in B3.
On By Strategy, replace the three example setups with your own.
After each session, add one row per closed trade, in the order the trades closed. Fill in Risk $ from your stop at entry, not after the fact.
Once a week, read Summary and By Strategy, and filter Trades by the Mistakes column.

Sort Trades only by Exit Time, because the drawdown columns run top to bottom. And past 1,000 trades, copy the last row down and widen the ranges on Summary and By Strategy.

Where a spreadsheet trading journal stops working

A spreadsheet is a good place to start. It is free, the file is yours, and building the columns makes you decide what to track. It gets harder as the trade count grows. Every row is typed by hand, so a 15-trade day means 15 rows to copy from the broker and check. A formula range that stops one row short gives a wrong figure with no warning. Time-of-day and session results, futures sessions that cross midnight, and several accounts at once each need another formula project. The trading journal vs Excel comparison goes through these with numbers.

When you get there, the ExpectancyIQ trading journal imports broker CSV files directly and builds the same figures, plus a trading dashboard with Trade Score, equity curve and reports by setup, session and mistake. The template's Trades sheet, saved as CSV, imports as it is, so your spreadsheet history comes with you. Formulas follow the methodology page. This page is educational, not financial advice; see the risk disclosure.

Trading journal template questions

How do I make a trading journal in Excel?

Give each closed trade one row with entry and exit time, symbol, side, size, entry and exit price, fees and the dollar risk at your stop. Add formula columns for gross P&L, net P&L and R-multiple, then a summary sheet with COUNTIF for wins and losses, AVERAGEIF for the average win and loss, and a running total for drawdown. The template on this page has all of that built, so you only type the trade itself.

Does the template work in Google Sheets?

Yes. Upload the .xlsx file to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets, or use File, Import in a blank sheet. It only uses functions both programs share (SUM, COUNTIF, COUNTIFS, AVERAGEIF, SUMIF, IFERROR, MIN and MAX), and the Side and Strategy drop-downs carry over.

What should a trading journal include?

The trade itself (time, symbol, side, size, prices, fees), the risk you planned at entry, the setup you traded and any rule you broke. The first part gives you P&L; the risk gives you R-multiples; the setup and mistake columns tell you which part of your trading makes or costs the money.

Can I import the spreadsheet into ExpectancyIQ later?

Yes. Save the Trades sheet as a CSV file and import it as a Generic CSV. The column names were picked so the importer maps them on its own, including Strategy, Mistakes, Tags and Risk $. Blank formula rows are skipped.

Trading journal

Skip the typing when you outgrow the sheet

Import a broker CSV, or this template's Trades sheet, and see your win rate, expectancy and drawdown on one screen.

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Column	Filled by	What goes in it
Entry TimeDate and time you opened the trade (yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm).	You	Date and time you opened the trade (yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm).
Exit TimeDate and time you closed it. Keep rows in exit-time order so drawdown is right.	You	Date and time you closed it. Keep rows in exit-time order so drawdown is right.
SymbolContract or pair, e.g. MES, MNQ, CL, 6E or EURUSD.	You	Contract or pair, e.g. MES, MNQ, CL, 6E or EURUSD.
SideLong or Short (drop-down).	You	Long or Short (drop-down).
QtyContracts or lots.	You	Contracts or lots.
Entry PriceAverage entry price.	You	Average entry price.
Exit PriceAverage exit price.	You	Average exit price.
Point ValueDollars per 1.00 move per contract: MES 5, MNQ 2, ES 50, NQ 20, CL 1,000, 6E 125,000.	You	Dollars per 1.00 move per contract: MES 5, MNQ 2, ES 50, NQ 20, CL 1,000, 6E 125,000.
Gross P&L(Exit − Entry) × Qty × Point Value, sign flipped for shorts.	Formula	(Exit − Entry) × Qty × Point Value, sign flipped for shorts.
FeesCommission and exchange fees for the round trip, as a positive number.	You	Commission and exchange fees for the round trip, as a positive number.
Net P&LGross P&L minus fees. Every summary figure uses this column.	Formula	Gross P&L minus fees. Every summary figure uses this column.
Risk $What you stood to lose at your stop when you entered.	You	What you stood to lose at your stop when you entered.
R MultipleNet P&L ÷ Risk $. A full stop-out is −1R; a loss past −1R means the stop was not honoured.	Formula	Net P&L ÷ Risk $. A full stop-out is −1R; a loss past −1R means the stop was not honoured.
ResultWin, Loss or Scratch from Net P&L.	Formula	Win, Loss or Scratch from Net P&L.
StrategySetup name (drop-down from the By Strategy sheet).	You	Setup name (drop-down from the By Strategy sheet).
MistakesRule breaks, separated by ; (e.g. Moved stop; Chased entry).	You	Rule breaks, separated by ; (e.g. Moved stop; Chased entry).
TagsAnything else you want to filter by, separated by ;.	You	Anything else you want to filter by, separated by ;.
NotesWhy you took it and what you would do differently.	You	Why you took it and what you would do differently.
Cumulative P&LRunning total of Net P&L.	Formula	Running total of Net P&L.
PeakHighest running total so far (never below the starting line).	Formula	Highest running total so far (never below the starting line).
DrawdownDistance below the peak in dollars.	Formula	Distance below the peak in dollars.
Drawdown %Drawdown as a share of the account at its peak (uses the starting balance on Summary).	Formula	Drawdown as a share of the account at its peak (uses the starting balance on Summary).

Figure	Formula	Example	What it tells you
TradesClosed trades with a Net P&L.	`COUNT(Net P&L)`	12	Closed trades with a Net P&L.
WinsTrades that made money after fees.	`COUNTIF(Net P&L, >0)`	7	Trades that made money after fees.
LossesTrades that lost money after fees.	`COUNTIF(Net P&L, <0)`	5	Trades that lost money after fees.
Win rateScratches are left out, so a flat trade doesn't count as a loss.	`Wins ÷ (Wins + Losses)`	58.3%	Scratches are left out, so a flat trade doesn't count as a loss.
Net P&LTotal after fees.	`SUM(Net P&L)`	$707.44	Total after fees.
Return on starting balanceSimple % return. Deposits and withdrawals will distort it.	`Net P&L ÷ Starting balance`	7.1%	Simple % return. Deposits and withdrawals will distort it.
Average winMean of the winners.	`AVERAGEIF(Net P&L, >0)`	$162.58	Mean of the winners.
Average lossMean of the losers (a negative number).	`AVERAGEIF(Net P&L, <0)`	-$86.12	Mean of the losers (a negative number).
Win/loss ratioHow many losers one average winner pays for.	`Average win ÷ \|Average loss\|`	1.89	How many losers one average winner pays for.
Break-even win rateThe win rate you need at this ratio just to break even.	`1 ÷ (1 + Win/loss ratio)`	34.6%	The win rate you need at this ratio just to break even.
Profit factorAbove 1 makes money; 1.5 or more is solid over a large sample.	`Gross wins ÷ \|Gross losses\|`	2.64	Above 1 makes money; 1.5 or more is solid over a large sample.
Expectancy per tradeThe average result of one trade: the number that says whether you have an edge.	`Net P&L ÷ Trades`	$58.95	The average result of one trade: the number that says whether you have an edge.
Average RExpectancy in units of risk, comparable across account sizes.	`AVERAGE(R Multiple)`	0.52R	Expectancy in units of risk, comparable across account sizes.
Largest winOne outsized winner can carry a month; check how much.	`MAX(Net P&L)`	$345.20	One outsized winner can carry a month; check how much.
Largest lossCompare with Risk $: anything far past it is a broken stop.	`MIN(Net P&L)`	-$207.72	Compare with Risk $: anything far past it is a broken stop.
Max drawdownDeepest drop from a running peak, trade by trade.	`MIN(Drawdown)`	-$207.72	Deepest drop from a running peak, trade by trade.
Max drawdown %The same drop as a share of the account at its peak.	`MIN(Drawdown %)`	-1.9%	The same drop as a share of the account at its peak.

Free Trading Journal Template for Excel and Google Sheets