ICC Excel workbook with trades, stats, drop-down lists and a how-to sheet. Free, no sign-up, about 70 KB. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
A trading journal only works if it is quick to fill in and you read it back. This template keeps the fields you actually use, and does the maths for you: net result after costs, R multiple, win rate, profit factor, expectancy, drawdown, and results per setup and per mistake. Type the trade; the grey columns and the Stats sheet fill in by themselves.
What is inside
- Trades: one row per closed trade, 500 rows ready, with five grey example trades to delete.
- Stats: trades, win rate, net P&L, profit factor, average win and loss, expectancy in money and in R, largest win and loss, max drawdown and the share of trades where you followed your rules.
- By setup and by mistake: trades, win rate, net P&L and average R for each of your setups and each mistake tag, so you can see which setup pays and which habit costs.
- Lists: your own setups, mistakes and emotions for the drop-down menus.
- How to use: the short version of this page, inside the file.
The columns
| Column | What to type |
|---|---|
| Open time, Close time | Date and time, for example 2026-10-12 09:35. |
| Account, Symbol, Side | Which account, the instrument (XAUUSD, EURUSD, NAS100...) and Long or Short. |
| Setup | The playbook or pattern you traded, from your list. |
| Size, Entry, Stop loss, Take profit, Exit | Lots and prices as your platform shows them. |
| Risk ($) | The money you would have lost at your stop. Needed for R and expectancy. |
| Gross P&L, Commission, Swap | Result before costs and the costs. Commission is always subtracted. |
| Net P&L, R multiple, Outcome | Worked out for you (grey). |
| Rules followed, Mistake, Emotion, Rating | Yes or No, one mistake tag, how you felt, and a 1-5 score for your execution. |
| Notes, Screenshot link | One or two lines, and a link to your chart picture. |
| Cumulative P&L, Drawdown | Worked out for you: running total and the distance from its last high. |
How to use it in Excel
- Download the .xlsx file and open it. If Excel shows "Protected View", click Enable Editing.
- On the Trades sheet, delete the five grey example rows.
- Add your own setups and mistakes on the Lists sheet.
- After each session, add one row per closed trade. Fill Risk ($) every time.
- Once a week, open Stats.
How to use it in Google Sheets
- Open Google Drive, click New > File upload and choose the .xlsx file.
- Open it, then File > Save as Google Sheets. You now have your own copy in your Drive.
- Use it the same way as in Excel: every formula and drop-down list works in Google Sheets.
Prefer the CSV? In a new Google Sheet use File > Import > Upload. The CSV has the same columns and example rows, but no formulas or Stats sheet.
How the numbers are worked out
- Net P&L = Gross P&L − Commission + Swap.
- R multiple = Net P&L ÷ Risk ($). A trade that made twice what you risked is +2R; a full stop-out is about −1R.
- Win rate = winning trades ÷ all trades.
- Profit factor = money made by winners ÷ money lost by losers. Above 1 means the winners paid for the losers.
- Expectancy = the average R per trade: what one more trade is worth, on average, in units of risk.
- Drawdown = how far the running total is below its highest point so far.
Not sure what R and expectancy mean in practice? Read R-multiple and expectancy explained or try the R-multiple calculator.
A 10-minute weekly review with the template
- Look at Expectancy (average R). Positive means your trading has an edge so far; negative means something must change.
- In By setup, find the setup with the best average R and the one with the worst. Trade more of the first, fix or drop the second.
- In By mistake, find the mistake that cost the most. Write one rule for next week against it.
- Check Rules followed. If it is below 80%, the problem is discipline, not the strategy.
When a spreadsheet stops being enough
A spreadsheet is a good start. After a few hundred trades, typing every fill, cost and time by hand becomes the reason journals stop. ICC Zillas does the typing for you: the Sync EA sends every closed MetaTrader 4 / 5 trade by itself, or you import a report or CSV from any platform. Then you get 50+ reports, playbooks, a daily journal, trade replay and prop firm tracking on top.
Keep this template's habits and drop the typing. The template's CSV columns can be imported into ICC Zillas too. 7-day free trial, no card needed.
Start free →Questions
Is the trading journal template really free?
Yes. Download it, use it and share it. There is no sign-up and no email needed.
Does it work in Google Sheets?
Yes. Upload the .xlsx file to Google Drive and save it as a Google Sheet. The formulas, drop-down lists and the Stats sheet all work there.
Why does it ask for Risk ($)?
Because R multiple and expectancy compare each result with what you risked. Without the planned risk a +100 trade could be great or terrible; with it, you know it was +0.5R or +3R.
Can I move my template trades into ICC Zillas later?
Yes. Save the Trades sheet as CSV (or use the CSV version) and import it in ICC Zillas under Accounts & Import. The column names are ones the importer recognises.