Start
How to use the file, and the settings the other sheets use.
- Step-by-step instructions
- Account currency
- Where starting balances go
- How to clear the example trades
Free trading journal template for Excel and Google Sheets
A spreadsheet trading journal you can download and use right away, with no account and no email. You log trades on one sheet; the dashboard, the P&L calendar and the prop challenge tracker all read from the same rows.
Excel file (.xlsx) · 6 sheets · 500 journal rows · about 30 example trades · dark design matching the Fips app
Using Google Sheets? Download the file, then in Google Sheets choose File > Import and upload it.
What is in the template
Six sheets. You type trades into Journal; everything else is calculated from it.
Journal
500 rows, one trade per row.
- You enter: open and close date and time, account, symbol, side, lots, entry, exit, stop loss, take profit, commission and swap
- Calculated: gross P&L from the contract size and a conversion rate, net P&L, risk at the stop, R multiple and result
- An optional broker P&L column that overrides the calculated figure
- Review fields: setup, session, mistake, emotion, followed plan, notes and a screenshot link
Dashboard
Your statistics, filtered by account and date range.
- Net P&L, win rate, profit factor, payoff ratio, expectancy and average R
- Max drawdown, largest win and loss, best and worst day, share of winning days and longest losing streak
- Costs (commission and swap) and how often you followed your plan
- Tables by month, setup, symbol, weekday and session, plus what each mistake cost you
- Equity curve and monthly P&L charts
Calendar
Pick a month and see it as a P&L grid.
- Daily P&L with weekly totals
- Green and red days at a glance
Prop challenge
A prop firm challenge, checked against its rules.
- Profit target, daily loss limit, max loss (static or trailing), minimum trading days and consistency share
- Live headroom: how much room is left before each limit
- A day-by-day table that flags the days that broke a rule
Lists
The drop-down values. Edit them to match how you trade.
- Setups, mistakes, sessions, emotions and accounts
- Symbols with their contract size and conversion rate
How to use it in 5 steps
- Download the file and open it in Excel, or in Google Sheets with File > Import.
- On Start, set your account currency; on Lists, enter your accounts with their starting balances. When you have seen how the dashboard works, clear the example trades as Start explains.
- On Lists, check every symbol you trade: its contract size and the rate that converts it to your account currency. Add your own setups, mistakes and accounts.
- After each trade, fill in one row on Journal: times, symbol, side, lots, prices, stop, costs and the review fields. Keep the rows in the order the trades closed.
- Review on Dashboard and Calendar every week. In a challenge, enter the firm’s rules on Prop challenge and keep an eye on the headroom.
What the formulas assume
The sheet is simple on purpose. Keep these points in mind and the numbers stay right.
Rows are in close-time order
Drawdown, the equity curve, the losing streak and the day-by-day prop table are read from top to bottom. Enter trades in the order they closed, or sort Journal by close time.
Each symbol has a contract size and a conversion rate
Gross P&L is the price move times lots times the contract size, converted into your account currency with the rate on Lists. The rate is a fixed number you set, not a live price, so update it when it has moved a lot.
Use the broker P&L override for indices and CFDs
Index, crypto and other CFD contract sizes differ between brokers. If the calculated figure does not match your statement, type the broker’s P&L into the override column and the sheet uses it instead of its own calculation.
R needs a stop loss
Risk at the stop is the distance from entry to stop loss in money. The R multiple divides the trade result by that risk, so a trade without a stop loss has no R.
The template vs the Fips app
The spreadsheet is free and yours to change. It is also manual. Here is the honest difference.
The template
- Free, no account, works offline in Excel
- You type or paste every trade yourself
- Formulas you can read and change
- One file: you keep the copies and backups
The Fips app
- MT4 and MT5 sync automatically with the read-only investor password or the Fips connector; cTrader, Interactive Brokers and major crypto exchanges sync through read-only access too
- Other platforms, such as TradeLocker, DXtrade or Match-Trader, come in by CSV import, or you add trades manually
- Statistics, the calendar and prop firm rule tracking are calculated for you
- In private beta: access is by invite from the waitlist
Fips never asks for your trading login or for a key that can place trades. A filled-in Journal sheet can be saved as CSV and brought into Fips with CSV import.
Questions about the template
Yes. Download the .xlsx file without signing up or leaving an email. Use it, change it and keep it.
Yes. The file is built for both Excel and Google Sheets. Download it, open Google Sheets, choose File > Import and upload the file.
The file comes with about 30 example trades so you can see the dashboard working before you start. The Start sheet explains how to clear them.
Yes. On the Prop challenge sheet, enter the profit target, daily loss limit, max loss (static or trailing), minimum trading days and consistency share. The sheet shows the room left before each limit and flags the days that broke a rule. Check your firm’s current rules first; the Fips prop firm rules page lists them with official sources.
Usually the contract size or the conversion rate is different. Check the symbol on the Lists sheet, or type the broker’s P&L into the override column. Index and crypto CFDs differ most between brokers.
No. The template is an Excel file that also opens in Google Sheets.
Yes. Save the Journal sheet as CSV and use CSV import in Fips; the column mapper matches your columns. Fips is in private beta and access is by invite from the waitlist.
The template is provided as is, for record keeping. It is not financial advice. Check calculated values against your broker statement.
Ready when you are.
Journal, review and size your trades with precision, speed and clarity.