A trade log template: the columns, the formulas and a free download

Q: What should a trade log template include?

A trade number, open and close time, symbol, direction, lots, entry, exit, stop loss, take profit and net result, plus a risk amount and an R multiple. Add a setup, a plan-followed column and notes to make it a journal.

Q: Is there a free trade log template?

Yes. The free MT5 trading journal template on this site is an Excel file with a Trades sheet, a Dashboard and a Weekly review, and the forex template has a CSV version for any spreadsheet.

Q: How do I calculate profit factor in a trade log?

Divide the sum of your winning trades by the absolute sum of your losing trades, for example =SUMIF(K2:K,">0")/ABS(SUMIF(K2:K,"<0")). Above 1 means the winners outweigh the losers.

Q: Can I fill a trade log automatically from MetaTrader 5?

Yes. You can paste an export of the History tab, or use an app that reads your closed MT5 positions and exports an Excel workbook in the same layout.

Q: Should the log use broker time or my time?

Pick one convention and keep it. Broker server time matches the History tab, which makes cross-checking easy.

The smallest set of columns that still answers what traders ask. A filled-in example, the formulas to build and free downloads, plus how to stop typing the numbers.

What a trade log template needs

A trade log template is a table with one row per trade and a fixed set of columns. The columns decide whether the log is useful. Too few and you cannot analyse anything. Too many and you stop filling it in. The set below is the smallest one that still lets you answer the questions traders actually ask: which instrument, which side, which setup and which habit costs me money.

The columns, in order

Column	Type	Why it is there
Trade number or ticket	Number	So a trade can be found and cross-checked with the broker
Date and time opened	Date and time	To sort, and to find your best and worst hours
Date and time closed	Date and time	To date the result and measure how long you hold
Symbol	Text	To compare instruments
Direction	Buy or Sell	To see whether you do better long or short
Lots	Number	To see size, and whether it crept up after a loss
Entry price	Number	The raw fact of the trade
Exit price	Number	The raw fact of the trade
Stop loss	Number	To judge the plan and calculate R
Take profit	Number	To compare the plan with the result
Net profit or loss	Money	The result, after commission and swap
Risk amount	Money	What you were willing to lose, for the R multiple
R multiple	Formula	Result divided by risk, so trades of different size compare
Setup	Text	A short, consistent name for the pattern or plan
Plan followed	Yes or No	To separate good decisions from lucky outcomes
Notes	Text	Two lines: why you took it, what you would change

The last three columns turn a log into a journal. If you want only the log, the first twelve columns are enough. Keep the names the same from the first day, because a spreadsheet cannot find “breakout” if half the rows say “BO”.

Download a ready-made template

The free MT5 trading journal template (Excel) has a Trades sheet with these columns, a Dashboard and a Weekly review. It also opens in Google Sheets, as the Google Sheets guide explains.
The forex trading journal template has a CSV version you can import into any spreadsheet.
The free Notion template is the same idea for a Notion table.

Delete the example rows, type or paste your trades and the totals fill in by themselves.

The formulas every log should have

Metric	Formula (results in column K, from row 2)
Number of trades	=COUNT(K2:K)
Net result	=SUM(K2:K)
Win rate	=COUNTIF(K2:K,">0")/COUNT(K2:K)
Average win	=AVERAGEIF(K2:K,">0")
Average loss	=AVERAGEIF(K2:K,"<0")
Profit factor	=SUMIF(K2:K,">0")/ABS(SUMIF(K2:K,"<0"))
Expectancy per trade	=AVERAGE(K2:K)
R multiple for a trade (row 2)	=K2/L2 where L is the risk amount

The average win and loss calculator and the expectancy calculator let you check the arithmetic before you build the formulas.

A filled-in example (hypothetical)

#	Opened	Symbol	Side	Lots	Entry	Exit	Net	R	Plan
1	Mon 09:42	XAUUSD	Buy	0.10	2350.00	2362.50	+125.00	+2.5	Yes
2	Mon 14:10	EURUSD	Sell	0.50	1.0850	1.0870	-100.00	-1.0	Yes
3	Tue 10:05	XAUUSD	Buy	0.10	2358.00	2353.00	-50.00	-1.0	Yes
4	Wed 15:30	GBPUSD	Buy	0.30	1.2640	1.2610	-90.00	-1.8	No
5	Thu 09:20	XAUUSD	Sell	0.10	2371.00	2356.00	+150.00	+3.0	Yes

The numbers are invented. The five rows still show the point of the log: two of the three losing trades were the plan’s ordinary stops at -1R, and the third, at -1.8R, is the one with a plan broken. A log makes that visible in seconds.

Filling the log without typing

Typing is why most spreadsheet logs fade after a few weeks. There are two ways around it. You can export the History tab from MetaTrader 5 and paste the rows, which is free but repeated for every period; the history export guide shows how. Or you can let an app read the terminal for you. AI Trading Journal reads every closed position into a journal on your PC, including your whole account history on the first run, and its Export Report button writes an Excel workbook with a Trades sheet in the same layout: one row per position, with the open and close time, the prices, the stop and take profit, and the net result. The Excel report guide describes the sheets.

Rules that keep a log honest

One row per position, not per fill. A trade closed in two parts is one trade.
Net results. Include commission and swap, or the log will look better than your balance.
One clock. Use the broker’s server time throughout, the same as the History tab.
Log at the end of the session, not at the end of the week.
Never edit a result later. If a number was wrong, fix it and write why.

Where a template stops being enough

A template is a good start and a fine home for a few trades a week. Once you take dozens of trades, trade several accounts or notice that you have stopped updating it, the typing is the problem and an automatic journal is the answer. The spreadsheet versus app comparison is honest about where each one wins, and the log versus journal guide explains why you want both halves in one place.

Frequently asked questions

What should a trade log template include?

A trade number, open and close time, symbol, direction, lots, entry, exit, stop loss, take profit and net result, plus a risk amount and an R multiple. Add a setup, a plan-followed column and notes to make it a journal.

Is there a free trade log template?

Yes. The free MT5 trading journal template on this site is an Excel file with a Trades sheet, a Dashboard and a Weekly review, and the forex template has a CSV version for any spreadsheet.

How do I calculate profit factor in a trade log?

Divide the sum of your winning trades by the absolute sum of your losing trades, for example =SUMIF(K2:K,">0")/ABS(SUMIF(K2:K,"<0")). Above 1 means the winners outweigh the losers.

Can I fill a trade log automatically from MetaTrader 5?

Yes. You can paste an export of the History tab, or use an app that reads your closed MT5 positions and exports an Excel workbook in the same layout.

Should the log use broker time or my time?

Pick one convention and keep it. Broker server time matches the History tab, which makes cross-checking easy.

Related guides

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