Free trading plan template: fill it in once, on a calm day
Download the free trading plan template, answer its questions once on a calm day, and use its calculator tab before every trade. It tells you how many shares to buy, and warns you when a trade breaks the caps you wrote.
Get the file
Download the trading plan template (.xlsx). It opens in Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers. No sign-up, no macros.
It has three tabs: How to use, Plan and Calculator. Blue cells are yours. Grey cells are either examples or fill in by themselves.
It's one of our free trading templates. For the thinking behind each rule, read how to write a trading plan.
Why you write it on a calm day
In the middle of a trade, your brain is the worst place to make a decision. Price moves, your chest gets tight, and "just this once" sounds smart.
A plan moves every decision to a quiet moment. You decide your size, your exit and your limits before money is on the line. Then, mid-trade, there's nothing new to decide. You just follow what you wrote.
That's why the How to use tab says: change your plan on a calm day, never in the middle of a trade.
The Plan tab: your rules, question by question
Three columns: the question, your answer (blue) and an example answer (grey) for ideas. The questions come in six parts:
| Part | What you write |
|---|---|
| Why and what | Why you trade, which markets, and when |
| Entry rules | Three rules that must all be true before you enter |
| Size caps | Four numbers the calculator uses (below) |
| Exits | Where your stop goes, when you take profit, when you get out on time |
| Things I never do | Three lines you don't cross |
| Review routine | When you review, what you check, what you do after 3 losses in a row |
At the bottom is a line for your name and the date. Sign it. A plan you signed feels like a promise to yourself, and that's the point.
The four size caps are: max risk per trade (% of account), max size of one position (% of account), max open trades at once, and a daily loss limit (stop after this many losses).
The Calculator tab: size a trade before you place it
Before each trade, type six things: Ticker, Account size $, Risk % (type 1 for 1%), Entry price, Stop price, and Long or short.
The sheet works out:
- Risk per share: the gap between your entry and your stop.
- Max $ at risk: account × risk % ÷ 100.
- Shares to buy: max $ at risk ÷ risk per share, rounded down to a whole share.
- Position cost $, Real $ at risk (shares × risk per share) and Position % of account.
- Check: "OK", or a warning. It flags a stop on the wrong side of the entry, a trade that costs more than your account, risk % above your plan, and a position bigger than your plan's max.
A summary box to the right counts trades sized, trades that pass, trades with a warning, the total at risk if every stop is hit, and the biggest single risk.
Four trades through the calculator (hypothetical)
Your plan says: max 1% risk per trade, max 20% of the account in one position.
| Account | Risk % | Entry | Stop | Shares | Cost | If the stop is hit | Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | 1 | $50 | $48 | 50 | $2,500 | −$100 | Bigger than your plan's max position |
| $10,000 | 1 | $25 | $23.50 | 66 | $1,650 | −$99 | OK |
| $2,000 | 1 | $10 | $9.95 | 400 | $4,000 | −$20 | Costs more than your account - use fewer shares |
| $10,000 | 2 | $30 | $29 | 200 | $6,000 | −$200 | Risk % is above your plan |
Read it row by row:
- The risk is fine, but $2,500 is 25% of the account. Your cap is 20%. Use a wider stop and fewer shares, or skip it.
- $100 ÷ $1.50 = 66.67 shares. The sheet rounds down to 66, so the real risk is $99, never a dollar over.
- A 5-cent stop asks for 400 shares, which costs twice the account. Tight stops do that.
- You typed 2% when your plan says 1%. The sheet catches the slip before you place the trade. It shows one warning at a time. Fix the risk and the next one shows up: $6,000 is 60% of the account, over your 20% cap.
One honest limit, also on the How to use tab: a stop can slip. If the price gaps past it, you lose more than the "if the stop is hit" number.
What the template checks, and what's still on you
The calculator checks two of your four caps for you: risk per trade and position size. It shows your max open trades in the summary box, but it can't count your open trades at the broker. The daily loss limit is yours to keep too. The daily loss limit calculator turns it into a dollar line, and daily loss limits explained covers why it matters.
It also sizes shares. For selling options, size by the cash each contract ties up instead. The options position size calculator does that. The plain position size calculator does the share math on a web page if you're away from the file.
Then log every trade in the options trading journal, with a Yes or No on whether you followed this plan. Read both once a week. Change the plan only on a calm day, and only after the journal shows you why. Run through the pre-trade checklist before you place anything, and see how much to risk per trade if you're unsure what to type in Risk %.
Questions
Is this trading plan template free?
Yes. It's a plain .xlsx file with no email, no sign-up and no macros. Download it, change it, keep it.
Can I use it for options?
The Plan tab works for any market, and several of its example answers are about options. The Calculator tab sizes share trades by stop distance. For option sellers, use an options position size calculator for the contract count.
Why does the sheet round shares down?
Rounding up would put you over your max risk. Rounding down keeps the real risk at or under the number you chose.
How often should I change my plan?
Read it every week. Change it rarely, on a calm day, and only when your journal shows a clear reason.
Follow along