Free trading journal Excel template

Download the template, log one row per trade (open and close time, symbol, long or short, quantity, entry, exit, fees), and the P&L, R-multiple and running totals fill in by formula. Add your setup and a one-line reason so you can review later. Save the trades sheet as CSV and our free Trade Autopsy reads it in your browser to show which habits cost you most. No sign-up, no macros.

Checked 5 November 2026 · sources below

Download the template (Excel, no macros) → Free, no sign-up.

What is in the template

• Trades sheet: open_time, close_time, symbol, side, qty, entry, exit, fees, then formulas for pnl, risk (from your stop), R-multiple and a running total. Columns for setup, reason and 'what I would do differently'.
• Summary sheet: total P&L, win rate, average win and loss, profit factor, largest loss and fees as a share of gross profit - all formulas, nothing hidden.
• CSV version: the same first nine columns as a plain CSV, for Google Sheets or Numbers.

Also available: CSV version.

How to use it in 3 minutes

1. After each trade, fill one row. Times as 2026-11-05 09:15.
2. Write the stop you planned in the stop column so the R-multiple works.
3. Once a week, sort by R-multiple and read the reasons on your five worst trades.
4. To find habits automatically, save the Trades sheet as CSV (File > Save As > CSV) and open it in Trade Autopsy.

What the summary numbers mean

• Win rate = winning trades / all trades. On its own it says little: 70% winners can still lose money if losses are bigger than wins.
• Profit factor = gross profit / gross loss. Below 1.0 the trades lost money; costs are already inside if you log fees.
• Average R-multiple (expectancy) = average profit per trade in units of the risk you planned. +0.2R means each trade made, on average, a fifth of what you risked.
• Fees as % of gross profit - if this is above about a third, costs are a big part of the problem.

A weekly review in 10 minutes

1. Sort by R-multiple. Read the reason column on the 5 worst trades - were they planned setups?
2. Filter losing trades where the loss was bigger than 1R: those went past your stop.
3. Look at trades opened within an hour after a loss: were they bigger than usual?
4. Count trades per day: do your worst days have the most trades?
5. Write one rule for next week, and nothing else.

Trade Autopsy does steps 2-4 for you and puts a money figure on each habit.

What a journal can and cannot tell you

A journal shows what you did; it does not prove a strategy works. Fewer than 30-50 trades is rarely enough to judge a win rate - see how many trades you need. The most useful columns are usually the boring ones: size, fees and how far past your stop the losses went.

Questions

Is there a free trading journal template for Excel?

Yes - the one on this page is free, needs no sign-up and has no macros. It also opens in Google Sheets and Numbers.

What columns should a trading journal have?

At minimum: open and close time, symbol, side, quantity, entry, exit and fees. Adding the planned stop lets you measure R-multiples; a reason column makes reviews useful.

Can I import my broker statement instead?

Yes. Trade Autopsy reads exports from several brokers and platforms directly; the template is for people who log by hand.

Does my data get uploaded?

No. Trade Autopsy reads the file inside your browser.

Sources

• Microsoft Support: Save a workbook as CSV
• Investopedia: R-multiple and risk-reward basics
• TradingSim: Trading journal template guide