How to Track Prop Firm Progress with Excel or Google Sheets

Tracking your progress with a proprietary trading firm can be a game-changer for your trading career. It allows you to monitor your performance, stay disciplined, and make data-driven decisions to improve your results. Excel and Google Sheets provide accessible, flexible tools for managing your trading data without the need for expensive or complex software. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced trader, setting up the right spreadsheet can help you stay focused and organized throughout your prop trading journey.

Why Tracking Your Prop Firm Progress Matters

Consistent tracking enables you to objectively evaluate your trading strategies and performance. It helps identify patterns in your wins and losses, risk management errors, and emotional triggers affecting your decisions. With detailed records, you can pinpoint what’s working and what needs adjustment. For prop firm traders, who often operate under strict rules and performance targets, having a clear progress report helps you stay compliant and focused on hitting your trading milestones.

Additionally, most prop firms require regular performance reports for accountability. Having your own tracking system in Excel or Google Sheets can simplify this task by compiling your results in one place, ready to share or analyze anytime.

Setting Up Your Excel or Google Sheets Workbook

Begin by creating a new workbook specifically for your prop firm tracking. You’ll want several sheets organized to capture various aspects of your trading activity. For example:

• Daily Trades
• Monthly Summary
• Risk Management
• Goal Tracking

Label your columns clearly. Standard columns in the Daily Trades sheet might include:

• Date
• Symbol
• Entry Price
• Exit Price
• Position Size
• Direction (long or short)
• Profit/Loss
• Notes

In Google Sheets, you can use cloud access features to review and update your sheets on any device, making it easier to keep your data current. Excel offers powerful formulas and charting features if you prefer offline or desktop-based tracking.

Recording Each Trade Effectively

Accuracy and detail matter when entering your trades. Record each trade on the day you execute or close it to avoid errors or forgetfulness. Include important details such as:

• Exact entry and exit prices
• Trade duration
• Reason for entering (e.g., setup, news, indicator)
• Emotional state or market conditions if relevant

These details will build context for later review sessions. Over time, you’ll be able to identify which setups are more profitable and which emotions cause you to deviate from your strategy.

Automating Calculations with Formulas

One of the main strengths of Excel and Google Sheets is the ability to automate calculations using built-in formulas. For prop firm tracking, some useful formulas include:

• SUM to total profits and losses over a week or month
• AVERAGE to find average profit per trade
• COUNTIF to count winning versus losing trades
• MAX and MIN to find your best and worst trades
• IF statements to create alerts or flags, such as marking trades that exceed risk limits

For example, a formula like =SUM(H2:H31) in the Monthly Summary sheet will sum your P/L column for all trades recorded within that month. Conditional formatting can highlight losing streaks or trades outside your risk parameters.

Visualizing Progress with Charts and Graphs

Visual data helps quickly convey your performance over time. Excel and Google Sheets allow you to generate charts based on your trade data, such as:

• Equity curve showing cumulative profit or loss
• Pie chart of win versus loss ratio
• Bar charts comparing profits by different symbols or time frames
• Drawdown charts that illustrate the risk and setbacks during your trading

Creating these visuals requires selecting your data range and inserting the appropriate chart type. Regularly reviewing your equity curve can keep you motivated and alert you to potential issues early.

Monitoring Risk and Position Sizing

Prop firms prioritize strict risk management, and tracking this aspect in your spreadsheet is essential. Include columns dedicated to:

• Risk per trade (in dollars or percentage)
• Stop loss level
• Reward-to-risk ratio
• Trailing stops or adjustments

You can use formulas to calculate risk based on your entry price and stop loss. For example, if your stop loss is at 1.5% below entry, calculate the dollar risk by multiplying the position size by 1.5%. Updating these details helps you stay within your risk limits and avoid account blowouts.

Creating a Goal Tracker within Your Workbook

Setting clear, measurable goals is key to success when trading with a prop firm. Create a dedicated sheet to track your:

• Daily, weekly, and monthly profit targets
• Max drawdown limits
• Number of consecutive profitable days or trades
• Compliance with prop firm rules (e.g., no overnight positions, max position size)

Use data validation and checkboxes in Google Sheets or Excel to mark goals as achieved. Progress bars or conditional formatting can display your advancement toward goals visually, keeping you focused and motivated.

Tips for Maintaining Your Trading Journal

Beyond numerical tracking, keeping qualitative notes about your trades can greatly improve your learning curve. Make it a habit to write brief notes about:

• Market conditions on trade day
• Your mental and emotional state
• What you could do better next time
• Any discipline issues or rule breaches

This practice turns your Excel or Google Sheets workbook into a comprehensive trading journal that fosters self-reflection. Regular reviews of your journal can help identify subtle but important insights.

Leveraging Templates and Add-ons

If you’re new to spreadsheet tracking, consider starting with free or paid templates built specifically for traders. Many traders share customized Excel or Google Sheets templates online that include built-in calculations and charts.

Also, explore add-ons and integrations for Google Sheets. Some apps can pull real-time price data directly into your sheet, updating your positions automatically, which cuts down manual entry and errors.

Scheduling Regular Reviews Using Your Spreadsheet

Consistency is crucial in tracking progress. Schedule weekly or monthly review sessions where you study your data, look at performance metrics, and update your goals. Use your spreadsheet’s metrics and visualizations to guide your review.

Ask yourself questions like:

• Am I meeting my profit targets?
• How does my risk compare to my plan?
• What patterns appear in my winning and losing trades?

These reflection periods transform raw data into actionable insights that improve your trading over the long term.

Backing Up and Securing Your Workbook

Your trading records are valuable, so ensure you back up your Excel or Google Sheets files regularly. Google Sheets automatically saves to the cloud, but making periodic offline copies is a wise practice. For Excel users, save versions as backups and consider using cloud storage like OneDrive or Dropbox.

Additionally, protect your workbook or sheets with passwords if you want to keep your trading data confidential. This adds another layer of security especially if you share your computer or work in a public environment.

Final Recommendations for Efficient Prop Firm Tracking

Start simple and gradually enhance your workbook. Begin with daily trade entries and basic metrics, then add complex calculations and charts as you become comfortable. Stay disciplined about updating your sheet consistently and reviewing your data at set intervals.

Remember, the goal is to create a personalized, reliable system that supports your trading success within the prop firm framework. Adequate tracking paired with thoughtful analysis is a proven strategy for growth and consistency in the competitive world of prop trading.