What is the Trade Journal?
The Trade Journal is the beating heart of your trading operation. It's where you record, review, and learn from every single trade you take—whether it's a quick scalp on ES or a multi-hour NQ swing. Unlike spreadsheets or generic note apps, our trade journal is purpose-built for futures traders who need to capture the full story behind every entry and exit.
Every trade you log becomes part of your permanent trading history—a searchable, filterable, analyzable database that reveals patterns, validates strategies, and helps you eliminate costly mistakes. This isn't just data entry; it's the foundation of your trading improvement process.
"Before using this journal, I had trades scattered across broker statements, screenshots in my phone, and notes I couldn't find when I needed them. Now everything is in one place, and I can actually learn from my history instead of repeating the same mistakes."
Why Traders Choose Our Trade Journal
🎯 Capture What Actually Matters
Record entry/exit prices, contracts traded, P/L, fees—plus the context that brokers don't capture: your setup, your emotions, your mistakes, and your decision-making process. Get the complete picture of every trade.
📊 Attach Visual Evidence
Upload chart screenshots, entry diagrams, and session analysis images directly to each trade. Never lose track of what the market looked like when you pulled the trigger. Review your trades with full visual context months later.
🔍 Find Any Trade Instantly
Filter by date range, account, setup type, P/L result, session, contract, or any combination. Looking for all your losing breakout trades on NQ during London session? Found in seconds. Your entire trading history is searchable and accessible.
📈 Learn From Your History
See patterns emerge across hundreds of trades. Which setups work best for you? What time of day produces your best results? Where do emotions trip you up? The journal reveals truths that gut feelings miss.
What You Can Track in Every Trade
Our trade journal captures everything professional traders need to analyze their performance:
Core Trade Details
- Entry & Exit Data - Timestamps, prices, contract details (ES, NQ, specific contract month), position size
- Financial Results - Gross P/L, fees, net P/L (automatically calculated based on contract specifications)
- Account Assignment - Link trades to specific eval accounts, live funded accounts, or sim accounts
- Strategy Tagging - Categorize trades by your trading strategies for strategy-specific performance tracking
Trade Context & Analysis
- Setup Types - Tag with setup categories (breakout, pullback, reversal, trend continuation, etc.) to analyze which setups work best
- Session Information - Automatically captured: Asia, London, NY AM, Lunch, NY PM—see which sessions align with your edge
- Timeframe - Record your execution timeframe (1min, 5min, 15min, etc.) to understand your optimal trading rhythm
- Trade Notes - Write detailed notes about what you saw, why you entered, and what you learned
Performance Factors
- Emotional State - Tag trades with emotions (confident, fearful, revenge trading, FOMO, disciplined) to see how your mental state affects results
- Mistakes Made - Track specific mistakes (early exit, missed signal, overleveraged, etc.) to identify and eliminate repeated errors
- Trade Quality - Rate trades as "A+", "B", "C" setups based on your rules, not just whether they won or lost
Visual Documentation
- Chart Screenshots - Attach multiple images showing entry setup, execution, and exit context
- Session Analysis - Upload market structure analysis, key levels, and pre-trade planning screenshots
- Review Notes - Visual annotations showing what you did right or wrong for future reference
Powerful Filtering & Search
Your trade journal includes professional-grade filtering that helps you analyze specific scenarios or find trades quickly:
Date Range Filtering
View trades from today, yesterday, this week, this month, or any custom date range. Perfect for weekly reviews or comparing monthly performance.
Account Filtering
Isolate trades from specific accounts—view only your eval trades, only your funded account, or compare performance across multiple accounts.
Result Filtering
Show only winners, only losers, or only breakeven trades. Essential for studying what went right or identifying patterns in losing trades.
Setup Type Filtering
Filter by setup categories to analyze specific trade types. Are your breakouts profitable? Do pullbacks work better? Let the data decide.
Session Filtering
View trades from specific sessions (Asia, London, NY AM, etc.) to discover when you trade best and when you should stay out.
Contract Filtering
Separate ES trades from NQ trades, or filter by specific contract months for focused analysis on your primary market.
Trade Journal Best Practices
Get maximum value from your trade journal with these proven practices:
1. Log Trades Immediately
Record trades right after you exit (or within the same trading session) while details are fresh. Include why you entered, what you saw, and how you felt. Future you will thank present you for the context.
2. Always Attach Chart Screenshots
Take screenshots of your entry setup, execution, and exit. Visual evidence is invaluable when reviewing trades weeks or months later—you'll remember the exact market context that drove your decision.
3. Be Brutally Honest About Mistakes
Tag mistakes even on winning trades. A win where you broke your rules is still a mistake. The journal only works if you're honest about what actually happened versus what should have happened.
4. Tag Emotional States Accurately
Record how you felt during the trade—not how you wish you felt. Patterns between emotions and outcomes are some of the most valuable insights you'll uncover.
5. Review Weekly, Not Just Daily
Use filters to review entire weeks of trading. Look for patterns across multiple trades that aren't visible in single-trade reviews. What worked consistently? What didn't?
6. Rate Trade Quality Separately From Results
A perfect setup that loses is still an A+ trade. A rule break that wins is still a C trade. Judge your process, not just the outcome. The journal helps you see this distinction clearly over time.
Who Uses This Trade Journal?
Prop Firm Traders
Track eval progress, monitor drawdown limits, and document every trade during evaluations. Separate eval trades from funded trades to compare performance under different pressures.
Full-Time Funded Traders
Build a comprehensive trading database to refine your edge, eliminate recurring mistakes, and maintain consistency. Use filters to ensure you're following your playbook every session.
Part-Time Traders
Make every trade count by capturing full context and reviewing performance weekly. Limited trading time means every mistake is costly—the journal helps you avoid repeating them.
Strategy Developers
Test and validate new trading strategies by tagging trades and comparing results. Track which strategies work in which conditions and build data-backed confidence in your approach.
How the Trade Journal Works
Adding a New Trade
- Click "Add Trade" from your dashboard or trades page
- Enter core details - Entry/exit time, prices, contract, account, strategy
- Categorize the trade - Add setup types, timeframe, and any relevant tags
- Record the story - Write notes, tag emotions, mark any mistakes made
- Attach evidence - Upload chart screenshots or session analysis images
- Save - P/L and session details are automatically calculated
Reviewing Your Trades
- Navigate to Trades page - See your complete trade history in a sortable table
- Apply filters - Narrow down to specific dates, accounts, setups, or results
- Click any trade - View full details, attached images, and notes
- Edit if needed - Add additional notes or corrections as you review
- Identify patterns - Use filters to compare similar trades and find what works
Using Advanced Filters
Combine multiple filters for powerful analysis scenarios:
- All losing NQ breakouts during NY AM session - Find specific weaknesses in your approach
- All A+ setup winners vs all C setup winners - Prove that process matters more than luck
- Trades tagged with "FOMO" emotion - See exactly how much that emotion costs you
- This month's eval account trades only - Monitor progress toward passing your evaluation
Trade Journal vs Broker Statements
| Feature | Broker Statement | Our Trade Journal |
|---|---|---|
| Entry/Exit Times & Prices | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| P/L & Fees | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Setup Type & Context | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Chart Screenshots | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Emotional State Tracking | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Mistake Documentation | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Trade Notes & Lessons | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Custom Filtering | ❌ Limited | ✅ Advanced |
| Multi-Account View | ❌ One account per statement | ✅ All accounts unified |
| Long-Term Pattern Analysis | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
Bottom Line: Broker statements tell you what happened. Our trade journal tells you why it happened and how to improve.
Mobile Access
Log trades from your phone, tablet, or any device with a web browser. The trade journal is fully responsive—whether you're at your trading desk or reviewing trades on your commute, your complete trading history is accessible anywhere.
Trade Journal + Analytics = Complete Picture
Your trade journal doesn't exist in isolation. Every trade you log feeds into comprehensive analytics that reveal patterns invisible in individual trades:
- Win Rate by Setup - See which setups actually work for you vs which ones you think work
- Hourly Performance - Discover your most profitable trading hours and your danger zones
- Emotional Impact Analysis - Quantify how much specific emotions cost you in P/L
- Mistake Frequency & Cost - See which mistakes you repeat most and their total impact
Learn more about how your journal data powers insights in our Analytics & Reports documentation.
Start Building Your Trading History
Every professional trader keeps a detailed journal. It's not optional—it's the difference between hoping you'll improve and knowing you will because you're learning from concrete data.
Your first trade takes less than 2 minutes to log. By your 100th trade, you'll have insights that change how you approach the markets. By your 500th trade, you'll have a trading database that's worth more than any course or indicator you could buy.
Ready to start tracking your trades?
Create your free account and log your first trade in under 2 minutes.
Get Started FreeNo credit card required • Free plan includes full trade journal
Next Steps
- Analytics & Reports - See how your journal data powers performance insights
- Session Trading - Learn how session analysis works with your trade journal
- Trading Psychology - Understand how emotional tracking reveals patterns
- CSV Import - Import historical trades from broker statements to build your database faster
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