What to Record in a Trade Entry: The Fields That Matter
Each trade entry records the basics: ticker and symbol, buy and sell dates, buy and sell prices, and the return. To that, add the most important field, why you bought, and the market context at the time. Logging the rationale alongside the result numbers, not just the numbers, is what makes a later review meaningful.
The Must-Have Fields
The basics are the ticker, buy and sell dates, buy and sell prices, quantity, and return. These numbers are what let metrics like win rate and payoff ratio be calculated. To them, always add your buy reason in a line or two, whether earnings, news, a chart, or dividend. Leave the reason out and a later look gives only why did I buy this, with no basis to review. The reason is the heart of the entry.
Easily Missed but Important Fields
What people most often skip is the market context and a post-sale emotion note. Recording where the index sat that day and whether any related filing or news appeared lets you interpret the result in context. Adding one line right after selling on whether it went to plan or emotion took over lets you later check if you keep repeating a mistake. These notes, more than the numbers, decide the quality of a review.
What I See Stocks Fills In Automatically
Once you log the ticker and dates, I See Stocks automatically attaches the DART and SEC filings and news from that time, so you need not search out and write the market context yourself. Metrics like return, win rate, and payoff ratio are also calculated from your entered trades. That frees you to focus on why you bought and on the review rather than mechanical numbers. The auto-filled information is only a factual summary and replaces no judgment.
FAQ
- What is the one field a trade entry must have?
- The buy reason. Your broker already keeps the ticker and profit numbers, but only you know why you bought. Without the reason, there is no basis to review later, and the entry loses more than half its value. Keep it short if needed, but always record your judgment at the moment of purchase.
- Should I record stop-loss trades too?
- Yes, and stop-loss trades are especially worth recording. Losing trades are what produce win rate and payoff ratio, and whether you repeat the same mistake shows up in your stop-loss records. Logging only winners distorts the journal, so capture every trade regardless of outcome.
Related terms
Author's own past trade · Informational only, not investment advice or a recommendation · Self-reported, unverified