This free trading plan worksheet gives traders a structured one-page document to define their strategy, risk rules, and daily routine before placing a single trade. Available as a fillable PDF and Google Docs template, it covers the six sections every complete trading plan requires — and pairs directly with a trading journal to turn a static document into a live accountability system.
What’s Included
- Account Goals Section — Fields for monthly return target (%), starting balance, and maximum drawdown tolerance. These numbers are the foundation every other rule derives from.
- Instrument Focus List — A dedicated section for approved symbols and an explicit exclusion list. Defining what you will not trade is as important as defining what you will.
- Setup Criteria Checklist — A structured field for pattern triggers, volume conditions, and time-of-day filters. Forces specific, testable language instead of vague directional bias.
- Risk Management Formula — Pre-printed position sizing formula (account size × risk % ÷ stop distance = shares) with a worked example field so the calculation is completed before each trade.
- Entry and Exit Rules — Fields for confirmation signals, profit targets expressed as R-multiples, and time-of-day restrictions.
- Daily Routine Checklist — Pre-market prep, post-market review, and journaling checkboxes. Builds the habits that make the plan executable, not aspirational.
- Rule Compliance Audit Column — A weekly review column for marking each trade as compliant or non-compliant with the written plan — the link between the worksheet and your trading journal.
How to Use
Step 1: Set Your Account Goals
Fill in your current account balance, monthly return target as a percentage, and your maximum drawdown limit. A trader with a $30,000 account targeting 3% monthly is working toward $900 in net profit before fees. Set the drawdown limit as both a percentage and a dollar amount — 10% drawdown on $30,000 is $3,000, which becomes your hard stop for the month. These figures anchor every risk decision that follows.
Step 2: Define Your Instruments
List the exact symbols you are permitted to trade — SPY, QQQ, and AAPL, for example — and add an explicit “excluded” line. No penny stocks, no earnings plays, no symbols you have not researched. Narrow scope is protective. Traders who trade anything that moves are making a different decision on every trade; traders with a defined instrument list are executing the same edge repeatedly.
Step 3: Write Your Setup Criteria
This is the most important section and the one most traders get wrong. Vague criteria like “trade with the trend” cannot be audited — you cannot look at a losing trade and determine whether you violated the rule. A valid setup entry reads: “open-range breakout on 5-minute chart, taken only after 9:45am ET, with volume at least 2x the 20-period average.” That can be checked against any trade in your trading checklist template.
Step 4: Calculate Your Position Size
The worksheet includes the formula — account size × risk % ÷ (entry − stop) = shares to buy. For a $25,000 account risking 1% ($250) on AAPL with entry at $185 and stop at $182, the calculation is $250 ÷ $3 = 83 shares. For a $30,000 account on SPY at $510.50 with a stop at $509.00 ($1.50 risk) and 1% risk ($300), the calculation is $300 ÷ $1.50 = 200 shares. Write this calculation into the worksheet for every trade before submitting the order. See the position sizing calculator for a dedicated tool.
Step 5: Set and Honor Daily Loss Limits
Enter a maximum daily loss in the risk section. The industry standard used by prop firms including Topstep and FTMO is 2–3% of account equity. On a $30,000 account, 3% equals $900 — once daily losses reach that number, the trading day ends. Write this limit prominently and treat it as a hard rule, not a suggestion. The daily loss limit in the worksheet is designed to be paired with a prop firm trading journal for traders in funded programs.
Step 6: Audit Weekly Against the Worksheet
At the end of each week, review your journal entries against each section of the worksheet. Mark each trade compliant or non-compliant. Track which rules were violated most often. After 30 days of journaling, one trader using this worksheet discovered that 60% of losing trades were entered before 9:45am ET — a time filter explicitly written in section three of their own plan. The rule existed; the audit revealed it was being ignored. Traders who journal against a written plan catch rule violations 3x faster than those reviewing trades without a benchmark.
Key Benefits
- Forces specificity — The worksheet’s structured fields require concrete, testable language for setup criteria. Vague plans cannot be completed.
- Calculates risk before entry — The built-in position sizing formula (account × risk % ÷ stop distance) eliminates mid-trade guesswork.
- Single-page reference — Printer-friendly layout fits on one A4 sheet. Pin it above the monitor for real-time reference during the trading day.
- Creates an audit trail — The rule compliance column turns the worksheet into a weekly review tool, not just a one-time document.
- Compatible with any journal — Works alongside any trading goals worksheet, spreadsheet, or dedicated app without requiring a specific system.
Template vs JournalPlus App
| Feature | This Template | JournalPlus App |
|---|---|---|
| Trade Entry Logging | Manual, separate from worksheet | Automatic from 50+ brokers |
| Rule Compliance Tracking | Manual weekly review | Automatic flagging on every trade |
| Position Sizing | Manual formula per trade | Auto-calculated from plan settings |
| Setup Performance Breakdown | Not available | Win rate and avg R by setup type |
| Daily Loss Limit Alerts | Self-enforced | Dashboard alert before limit hit |
| Plan Revision History | Manual file versioning | Date-stamped with performance comparison |
| Price | Free | $159 one-time |
This worksheet is a genuinely useful starting point — specific, printable, and free. When you are ready to stop manually cross-referencing trades against a PDF and want automatic compliance tracking and setup-level analytics, JournalPlus picks up where the worksheet leaves off.
Download
Download the free Trading Plan Worksheet and start building a rules-based system before your next trading session. No account required — available as a fillable PDF and Google Docs template.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a trading plan worksheet include?
A complete trading plan worksheet covers six sections — account goals (monthly return target, max drawdown), instrument focus (approved symbols), setup criteria (specific pattern triggers), risk rules (position sizing formula, max daily loss), entry and exit rules (time filters, R-multiple targets), and a daily routine checklist. Omitting any one of these creates gaps that lead to improvised decisions under pressure.
How do I calculate position size in a trading plan?
Use the formula — account size × risk % ÷ (entry price − stop price) = shares to buy. On a $25,000 account risking 1% ($250) with AAPL entry at $185 and stop at $182 ($3 risk), the calculation is $250 ÷ $3 = 83 shares. This caps the dollar loss at $250 regardless of what the stock does after entry.
Is a PDF or Google Docs trading plan worksheet better?
PDF works well for a printed, pinned reference — one page above your monitor that does not change during the trading day. Google Docs is better for frequent revisions and sharing with a mentor or accountability partner. The download includes both formats so traders can use each for its intended purpose.
How often should I update my trading plan?
Revise your trading plan at the end of each month after reviewing your journal data. Do not change rules mid-session or during a losing streak — that is reactive, not strategic. Major revisions (new instruments, changed setup criteria) should only happen after at least 20–30 trades of data showing the current rules are not working.
Why do most traders skip writing a trading plan?
Writing a specific, auditable plan is harder than it looks — traders realize quickly that phrases like “trade with the trend” cannot be tested or enforced. The discomfort of being specific is also uncomfortable because it creates accountability. Research by Brad Barber and Terrance Odean (UC Davis) shows 70–80% of day traders lose money, and lack of a defined plan is one of the primary contributing factors identified across retail trading studies.
