Free Trading Journal Google Sheets Template

A journal with explicit units and costs

This template records completed trades. Gross P&L is (exit minus entry) times direction, quantity, multiplier and FX conversion. Long uses +1 and Short uses -1. Fees are entered in the reporting currency and subtracted once to produce net P&L.

For shares or spot units, the multiplier is normally 1. For contracts or lots, enter the quote-currency value of a 1.0 price move per quantity unit from the contract specification. For example, a multiplier of 100 means a one-point move is worth 100 quote-currency units per contract. Do not apply a second lot or contract conversion to quantity.

FX Rate means reporting-currency units per quote-currency unit. Use 1 when the currencies match. The formula converts trade P&L at that stated rate; it does not calculate currency gains on cash held between entry and exit. Inverse contracts, exercise or assignment, funding and partial fills need separate reconciliation with the broker statement.

What the calculated columns mean

• Gross P&L includes direction and instrument units, before fees.
• P&L (%) is directional price change divided by the absolute entry price, expressed as percentage points. It is not margin or account return. Leave these cells as numbers; formatting 1.48 as a percentage would display 148%.
• Initial price risk is entry-to-stop distance times quantity, multiplier and FX. The stop must be below entry for Long or above entry for Short. This planned amount excludes fees and gaps.
• R-Multiple is gross P&L divided by initial price risk. Reward/Risk uses a target on the profitable side and a stop on the loss side.
• Cumulative Net P&L adds contiguous completed rows in one reporting currency. Missing earlier results or mixed currencies show a message instead of a partial total. This is a realized trade total, not mark-to-market account equity. The optional Account Equity field is manual; enter the broker-reported amount in the reporting currency and record its timing in Notes.

Check the sample before importing your records

The invented Long example enters 100 AAPL shares at 185.50 and exits at 188.25. With multiplier 1 and FX 1, gross P&L is 275.00. Costs of 2.00 leave net P&L of 273.00. A stop at 183.00 gives initial price risk of 250.00 and gross R-Multiple of 1.10. A Short trade with the same entry and exit would lose 275.00 before costs.

Blank input cells leave dependent results blank. Invalid populated inputs show Check inputs. Removing a required column leaves that metric blank in the export and displays the missing columns above. Selecting a preset changes columns only; it does not choose contract terms or exchange rates for you.

Continue the journal in Google Sheets

1. Import the CSV into a new sheet, or paste copied cells into A1 of an empty sheet. Confirm numbers and formulas were recognized.
2. Remove the illustrative trade values. Keep the formula row and fill its formulas down as you add completed trades.
3. Use positive quantity, multiplier and FX inputs. Enter Long or Short for direction and 0 for costs when no fees apply.
4. Reconcile each row with your broker statement. Keep one reporting currency and contiguous completed rows for the cumulative total.

A CSV is a starting layout. It does not import broker transactions or preserve spreadsheet formatting, charts or access controls. Recording a trade does not establish that the underlying strategy is profitable.

Frequently Asked Questions

Google Sheets import documentation · Google Sheets function list