A trading journal template should capture the decision you made, the risk you accepted and the lesson you can reuse. If it records only entry, exit and profit, it tells you what happened but rarely why.
Copy the template below into a note, document or spreadsheet. If you are building your first journal, start with the step-by-step trading journal guide, then return here for the fields and prompts.
Copyable trading journal template
TRADE ID:
PRE-TRADE PLAN
Date identified:
Ticker and exchange:
Direction:
Strategy or setup:
Chart timeframe:
Market and sector context:
Entry trigger:
Planned entry:
Initial stop:
Why this stop invalidates the idea:
Target or exit plan:
Planned position size:
Risk per share:
Planned dollar risk (1R):
Planned reward-to-risk ratio:
Upcoming earnings, dividend or other event:
Setup checklist passed:
Trade thesis in two sentences:
Emotional state:
Reason to skip the trade:
EXECUTION
Entry date and time:
Actual entry price:
Order type:
Actual quantity:
Actual initial stop:
Fees at entry:
Difference from plan:
Reason for any difference:
DURING THE TRADE
Date and observation:
Price or stop adjustment:
Rule that allowed the adjustment:
Emotional reaction:
Action taken:
POST-TRADE REVIEW
Exit date and time:
Exit price:
Exit reason:
Gross profit or loss:
Total fees:
Net profit or loss:
Initial dollar risk (1R):
Result in R:
Holding period:
Entry rules followed:
Exit rules followed:
What went well:
What I would change:
One reusable lesson:
Would I take this setup again:
Chart or screenshot link:
Tags:
Adapt these prompts to your notebook, spreadsheet or journal. Keep the fields that help you compare decisions consistently. For a shorter explanation of what each category reveals, see what a trading journal should contain.
How to fill the pre-trade section
Write the plan before placing the order. The entry trigger says what must happen before you act. The stop explains where the setup is wrong, rather than where a convenient percentage happens to sit. The target or exit plan says how you will respond if price moves in your favour.
Calculate risk from the planned prices:
Risk per share = planned entry - initial stop
Planned dollar risk = risk per share x quantity
For a long trade with a fixed target:
Planned reward-to-risk = (target - entry) / (entry - stop)
The checklist should contain observable rules for your setup. Avoid vague entries such as "chart looks strong." A useful checklist might ask whether the trend, pullback, volume pattern and event calendar match the written strategy.
What to record during the trade
Keep this section brief. Record decisions that change the original plan, such as a partial exit or a stop adjustment. Include the rule behind the change. That makes it easier to separate disciplined management from an anxious reaction later.
Do not rewrite the original thesis after price moves. If new information changes your view, add a dated note. Preserving the original plan is what makes the review honest.
Complete fictional trading journal example
The following trade is hypothetical. NVR.AU is a fictional ticker used to demonstrate the template.
Pre-trade plan
- Trade ID: NVR-2026-04-08
- Date identified: 8 April 2026
- Ticker and exchange: NVR.AU, fictional
- Direction: Long
- Strategy: Daily pullback in an established uptrend
- Market context: Broad index above its 50-day moving average; fictional industrial sector holding relative strength
- Entry trigger: Buy only after price trades above the prior day's high at $25.20
- Planned entry: $25.25
- Initial stop: $24.45, below the pullback low that would invalidate the setup
- Target: $26.85, near prior resistance
- Quantity: 500 shares
- Risk per share: $25.25 - $24.45 = $0.80
- Planned dollar risk: 500 x $0.80 = $400, or 1R
- Planned reward: 500 x ($26.85 - $25.25) = $800 before fees
- Planned reward-to-risk: $1.60 / $0.80 = 2R
- Event check: No known fictional company announcement scheduled during the planned hold
- Thesis: The pullback held above the previous breakout area while selling volume eased. I will enter only if buyers reclaim $25.20; otherwise there is no trade.
- Emotional state: Calm, but tempted to enter early after missing yesterday's move
- Reason to skip: Opening gap above $25.60, failed trigger or a new market-wide selloff
Execution and trade management
- Actual entry: 9 April at $25.30 through a limit order
- Actual quantity: 500 shares
- Initial stop: $24.45
- Actual initial risk: ($25.30 - $24.45) x 500 = $425
- Difference from plan: Entry was $0.05 higher, so risk increased by $25 and planned reward fell to about 1.82R before fees
- Management note, 13 April: Price closed at $26.10. No change because the written rule moves the stop only after a close above $26.20.
- Management note, 14 April: Price closed at $26.35. Stop moved to $25.25 under the existing rule, just below the latest higher low.
- Management note, 15 April: Price made another higher low, then closed above $26.80. Under the same trailing rule, the stop moved to $26.70.
Post-trade review
- Exit: 16 April at $26.70 when the raised stop was filled after a reversal
- Gross profit: ($26.70 - $25.30) x 500 = $700
- Total fictional fees: $20
- Net profit: $680
- Result in R: $700 gross profit / $425 initial risk = +1.65R before fees; $680 / $425 = +1.60R after fees
- What went well: I waited for the trigger and used the written stop rule. I did not lift the target after price rallied.
- What I would change: The higher fill changed the trade economics. Next time I will recalculate quantity and reward-to-risk before accepting a worse entry.
- Lesson: A small entry change can alter both dollar risk and planned reward. Recheck the whole plan at the actual fill.
- Would I take it again: Yes, provided the actual fill still meets the strategy's acceptance rule.
This example records reasoning, execution and arithmetic together. The gallery of strong trading journal entries shows other ways to document winners, losses and rule breaks.
Weekly and monthly review template
One entry teaches you about one decision. A review helps you see repeated behaviour.
Copy this block at the end of each review period:
REVIEW PERIOD:
Closed trades reviewed:
Net result:
Average result in R:
Win rate:
Average win in R:
Average loss in R:
Setup with the clearest execution:
Rule followed most consistently:
Rule broken most often:
Recurring emotion or decision:
One trade to study again:
One change for the next period:
What must stay unchanged until more evidence appears:
For a weekly review, focus on execution and one small behaviour change. For a monthly review, group results by strategy, market condition and rule compliance. Do not rewrite a strategy because of one trade. Look for a repeated pattern in a useful sample from your own journal.
Ask three questions:
- Did I follow the plan on losing trades as carefully as on winners?
- Did my actual entries, stops and fees materially change the risk I planned?
- Which single rule would have improved decision quality most often?
Sample review conclusion
Suppose a fictional monthly review covers eight trades: three winners averaging +1.6R and five losses averaging -0.8R. The result is (3 x 1.6R) - (5 x 0.8R) = +0.8R before fees.
The useful conclusion is deeper than "positive month." Six entries followed every rule. The two rule breaks were both early entries, and together they lost 1.4R. The trader's next-period action is to require the trigger price in the order note before submitting an entry. Position size and exit rules stay unchanged until more evidence appears.
This review separates outcome from process. A profitable trade can contain a poor decision, and a planned loss can show excellent execution.
Make the template sustainable
A complete template is useful only if you keep using it. Make the pre-trade section mandatory, then trim optional prompts that never affect a decision. Save screenshots with consistent names and add a small set of tags you will actually review.
Swingfolio brings trade records, notes and performance review into one workflow, so you can spend more time interpreting decisions and less time rebuilding calculations. You can also import a CSV during an active trial and review the rows before saving them.
Use this template for your next five trades without changing the fields. Then review which prompts exposed a useful pattern. Start the 30-day trial and turn those entries into a repeatable review habit.