This free pre-trade checklist template gives discretionary traders a structured, binary gate system to evaluate every trade before capital is committed. Available as a Google Sheets file, it includes a 7-item day-trading version, a 12-item swing-trading version, and a filled-in SPY breakout example that walks each gate with real numbers. Download it free — no account required.
What’s Included
- Day-Trading Checklist (7 gates) — Designed to complete in under 60 seconds at the market open; each cell accepts only PASS or FAIL, and the row turns red if any gate fails.
- Swing-Trading Checklist (12 gates) — Reviewed the evening before entry, with additional fields for sector context, earnings dates, and multi-timeframe alignment.
- Filled-In SPY Example — A complete, real walkthrough of a SPY 5-min breakout trade at $528 resistance, showing exactly how each gate evaluates with specific prices, stop levels, and share counts.
- Gate Definitions Tab — Precise pass/fail criteria for each of the five mandatory gates, written in plain language you can adapt to your own setup rules.
- Position Size Calculator — A pre-built formula that takes account size, maximum risk percentage, and stop distance and outputs the exact share count. Set your values once in the Config tab.
- Common Failure Log — A running record of every rejected trade and which gate stopped it, designed for weekly pattern review.
- R:R Calculator Column — For each trade row, enter your entry price and target; the sheet calculates the reward-to-risk ratio and flags anything below 1.5:1.
How to Use
Step 1: Copy the Sheet to Your Google Drive
Open the template and click File > Make a Copy. Rename it with your trading year. Enter your account size in cell B2 of the Config tab and your maximum risk-per-trade percentage in cell B3. The position size formula in column F updates automatically from these values — you will not need to change it again unless your account size changes materially.
Step 2: Run the Day-Trading Sheet Before Every Order
At the open, before touching the order ticket, open the Day-Trading tab and work through all seven gates for the specific setup in front of you. Each gate is a yes/no question. Type PASS or FAIL in the corresponding cell. If any cell reads FAIL, the row turns red — close the tab and move on. There is no override.
Step 3: Use the Swing Sheet the Night Before Entry
For overnight or multi-day setups, complete the 12-item swing sheet after the close on the day you identify the trade. Gate 3 requires you to enter the planned stop price in column C; the sheet calculates maximum dollar loss and share count automatically. Gate 6 asks for the nearest earnings date — if earnings fall within your planned hold period, the gate auto-fails.
Step 4: File Completed Sheets With Your Journal
After the trade closes, record the gate answers alongside your trade result. In JournalPlus, these map directly to custom trade fields, which enables filtering closed trades by gate outcome. Over 50 or more trades, patterns emerge: if Gate 5 (Execution Trigger) failures correlate with your largest losers, your entry timing process needs work.
Step 5: Review the Failure Log Every Friday
The Failure Log tab auto-populates from rejected trade rows. Each Friday, check which gate is stopping the most trades. If Gate 4 (R:R) accounts for more than 40% of your rejections, your targets are likely too conservative relative to your stops — a structural issue in the trade plan, not a checklist problem.
Key Benefits
- No partial credit — The binary structure eliminates the rationalization that ruins most self-assessments. A trade either passes all gates or it does not get placed.
- Built-in position sizing — The formula in column F calculates exact share count from account size, risk percentage, and stop distance, removing arithmetic errors that cause oversizing.
- Two timeframes, one system — Day traders and swing traders use different sheets but the same five core gates, making the framework consistent across strategies.
- Failure patterns become data — The Failure Log turns rejected trades into actionable feedback. A gate that stops 30 trades per month is telling you something specific about your setup selection process.
Template vs JournalPlus App
| Feature | This Template | JournalPlus App |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-Import Trades | Manual entry | Automatic from 50+ brokers |
| Gate Tracking | Manual PASS/FAIL per cell | Structured custom fields on every trade |
| Position Size Formula | Pre-built, static account size | Dynamic, updates with live balance |
| Failure Pattern Analysis | Manual weekly review of log tab | Filter trades by gate failure across any date range |
| R:R Calculation | Formula with manually entered targets | Auto-calculated from entry, stop, and target |
| Setup-to-Outcome Linking | Not tracked post-trade | Tags link checklist outcomes to realized P&L |
| Price | Free | $159 one-time |
This template is a fully functional tool for any discretionary trader willing to do manual data entry. When the volume of trades makes spreadsheet maintenance impractical, or when you want to query gate failure patterns across months of data, JournalPlus picks up where the sheet leaves off.
The Five Gates: A Complete Example
A trader with a $30,000 account sees SPY breaking above $528 resistance at 10:15 AM. They open the day-trading checklist tab and run each gate:
Gate 1 — Market Context: SPX futures were green pre-market, VIX is below 18, and the 20-day trend is up. PASS.
Gate 2 — Setup Validity: Price formed a clean 5-min breakout candle with volume above the 20-period average. The pattern matches the defined breakout criteria. PASS.
Gate 3 — Risk Parameters: Stop placed at $526.50, below the breakout base. Maximum loss: 1.5% of $30,000 = $450. Position size: $450 / $1.50 stop distance = 300 shares. PASS.
Gate 4 — R:R Threshold: Target at $531.00, the next visible resistance. Reward: $3.00. Risk: $1.50. Ratio: 2:1, above the 1.5:1 minimum. PASS.
Gate 5 — Execution Trigger: Entry on the close of the first 5-min candle above $528, not before. A defined trigger exists. PASS.
All five gates pass. Order placed for 300 shares at the candle close. Without the checklist, the same trader might have bought the attempted breakout at 9:58 AM — 17 minutes earlier — during a fakeout that would have failed Gate 5 because there was no completed candle close above $528.
For related tools, the position sizing calculator and risk-reward calculator cover the Gate 3 and Gate 4 math in more detail. If you are building a full written system around the checklist, the trading plan worksheet is the logical companion document. For prop firm traders who face firm-level risk rules on top of personal rules, the prop firm trading journal includes firm drawdown limits as additional gate criteria.
Download
Download the free Pre-Trade Checklist Template and run your first gate review before your next trade. No account required — click the link, copy the sheet, and the position size formula is ready to use.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a pre-trade checklist and why do traders use one?
A pre-trade checklist is a fixed set of binary criteria a trader evaluates before placing any order. Each criterion must pass before capital is committed — a single failure means no trade. Traders use checklists to eliminate impulsive entries and enforce consistency with their written trading plan, which is the behavior Brett Steenbarger’s research links to more consistent equity curves over 6–12 month periods.
How many items should a pre-trade checklist have?
Day-trading checklists should have 7 items or fewer so the review takes under 60 seconds — long enough to enforce discipline, short enough to complete before fast-moving setups disappear. Swing-trading checklists can have up to 12 items since the review happens the evening before entry, not in real time. More items beyond these ranges tend to cause traders to rush or skip steps.
What are the five gates every trade should pass?
The five gates are: (1) Market Context — is the broader tape aligned with the setup direction? (2) Setup Validity — does price action match your defined pattern criteria? (3) Risk Parameters — is the stop level placed, position size calculated, and max dollar loss within your limit? (4) R:R Threshold — does the trade offer at least 1.5:1 reward-to-risk with a measurable target? (5) Execution Trigger — is there a clear, specific entry signal, or is this a hope-based entry?
Can I use a pre-trade checklist for options trading?
Yes, with minor adjustments. For options, Gate 3 (Risk Parameters) should reference the premium paid as the max loss rather than a stop-loss price, and Gate 4 (R:R) should account for time decay when estimating the target value. The day-trading sheet in this template includes an options row variant with fields for expiration, delta, and max premium risk.
How is this checklist different from a generic trading checklist?
Most trading checklists use scoring systems — if you score 7 out of 10, you take the trade. This template uses a binary hard-stop model: any single gate failure cancels the trade regardless of how well the other gates score. That non-negotiable structure is what makes aviation and surgical checklists effective, and it removes the rationalizing that lets traders talk themselves into marginal setups.
