Trading Journal Template: Free Excel with R Formula
A good trading journal template has these columns: date, symbol, direction, entry, stop, target, size, exit, the result in R, the reason for the entry, the emotion and the lesson. The Excel file on this page has all twelve, plus fifteen more for the risk, the setup, the plan and your state, with the risk and R formulas already written, and a CSV for any other app. Below it: what each field is for, the formulas, and where each field lives in Navrya.
Spec
- Category
- Journaling
- Reading time
- 7 min read
- Updated
- Sections
- 10
- Language
- English
Where do I download the file?
Right here, two files with a column for each field on this page (the evidence you used goes in the reason column): the Excel version (xlsx), which works out the risk in money, the risk as a percentage of the account, the result in money and the result in R by itself, and a CSV with the same columns and no formulas, for any app that imports tables.
Download the journal template (Excel)27 columns, four of them formulas, 200 rows ready; opens in Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice. No macros.
Download the journal template (CSV)The same 27 columns without formulas, one example row, UTF-8.
In Google Sheets, open the xlsx with File › Import; the formulas and the drop-downs for direction and plan adherence come with it. Row 2 is an invented example: delete it after reading.
Why fields, not free text?
Free text is hard to compare. Two trades written in two different styles tell you about the writing, not the trades. Fields ask the same questions every time, so you can sort, count and filter the journal when you review it.
Which basics do I record?
- Date, time and session: the market and the main timeframe.
- Instrument, and the chart timeframe you traded on.
- Direction: long or short.
- Planned entry, stop and target, written before the order.
- Position size, and the risk in money and as a percentage of your account. Work them out before the order, not after it; the formulas are in the section on the sheet's formulas below.
How do I write the reason?
- The setup or scenario name, written the same way every time.
- The reason, written before the entry, in a sentence or two.
- A reference to the chart: a screenshot, a file name or the time on the chart.
- The evidence you used, in a few words: a level, a pattern or a news event.
How do I record the outcome?
- The exit price, and the reason for the exit: the stop, the target or your own decision.
- The result in money, and in R if you record your stop; the sheet computes both from the entry, the stop, the exit and the size.
- Whether you followed the plan, yes or no, and which rule it was.
How do I record my state?
- The emotion before the entry, in one word from your list.
- The emotion after the exit, in one word.
- Sleep, distractions, or anything else that changed your focus that day.
What is the lesson field?
End each entry with one sentence: what to keep, and what to change. The lesson is the field you read first when you review the journal, so keep it short enough to finish in a minute.
What are the sheet's formulas?
Four columns are computed; everything else you type. The formulas read the direction from where the stop sits relative to the entry, so the same row works for a long and a short.
| Column | Formula | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Risk (money) | ABS(entry − stop) × size | The distance from the entry to the stop, times the size: what the trade loses if the stop fills at its price, before fees; a gap or slippage can make it more. |
| Risk (% of account) | risk (money) ÷ account balance × 100 | The same loss as a share of the account; the number your risk rule is written in. |
| Result (money, before fees) | (exit − entry) × size × SIGN(entry − stop) | Positive when the trade went the way of the plan, for a long or a short; fees go in their own column. |
| Result (R) | (exit − entry) ÷ (entry − stop) | The result as a multiple of the original risk: a trade that hit its stop reads −1, a trade that hit a target twice as far reads +2. |
R needs a stop recorded at entry. If a row has no stop, the sheet leaves the risk, the result in money and R blank rather than guessing; type the result in money over the formula in that row, and say so in the lesson.
How do I keep it consistent?
Use the same fields for every trade, including the ones you did not take. For a skipped trade, fill in the setup, the reason you skipped it, and what would have made you take it. A template you fill in only on good days measures your mood, not your trading.
Test the template for two weeks before you judge it. If a field is never filled in, remove it. If you keep wanting to write something that has no field, add one.
Where does each field live in Navrya?
In Navrya these fields are spread across the trade form and the reflection after it, and the app fills in the calculated columns itself:
- Basics: the status and timeframe steps of the trade form, with the account, symbol, direction, entry, stop, one or more targets, leverage and fees.
- Risk and size: the trade calculator works out the position size, the risk in money and as a percentage, the margin, an approximate liquidation price, the risk-reward ratio and the fees from those inputs.
- Reason: the step for what you saw, with your read of each timeframe, the concepts and patterns, the strategy and a typed or voice note, and the screenshot step.
- Your state: the emotions step, with up to three emotions, their intensity and their reason, plus stress, focus, sleep and how closely you followed the plan.
- Result and lesson: the result in R is recorded when you close the position, and the reflection after the trade asks about setup quality, plan adherence and your line of the day.
- How to calculate position sizeThe formula behind the risk column, with worked examples and a calculator.
- Risk-reward ratio and break-even win rateHow to turn the R column into one number for the whole journal.
- Year-end and weekly journal reviewWhat to do with these fields each week, and once a year.
- Trading psychology journalThe state fields, in more detail.
- What a trading journal isWhat to record, and how logging works in Navrya.
- What an AI trading journal recordsHow Navrya’s sessions and scenarios map to these fields.
Frequently asked questions
Should I open the template in Excel or Google Sheets?
Either. The xlsx opens directly in Excel and LibreOffice; in Google Sheets use File › Import, and the formulas and drop-downs come with it. The CSV has the same columns without formulas, for any other app.
How many columns are enough to start?
This guide starts with twelve: date, symbol, direction, entry, stop, target, size, exit, result in R, the reason written before the entry, the emotion before the entry and the lesson. The file has 27 so that the risk and the result are computed and the review has something to sort by; hide the columns you do not use rather than deleting them.
Should I log the trades I did not take?
Yes, in the same rows: the setup, the reason you skipped it and what would have made you take it. The price and size columns stay empty, and the sheet leaves the computed columns blank for that row.
Does the template work for short trades?
Yes. The formulas read the direction from where the stop sits relative to the entry, so a short with its stop above the entry gets the same positive R for a winning trade and −1 for a stopped one.