Excel & Manual Trade Journal Import

If you keep a manual trade journal in Excel or Google Sheets, you can import it directly into AlgoChef. This guide shows you how to format your data for a smooth import.

Minimum Required Columns

Your spreadsheet needs at minimum four columns:

Column	Example
Entry Date	2024-01-15 09:30
Entry Price	4750.25
Exit Date	2024-01-15 14:45
Exit Price	4762.50

A Profit/Loss ($) column is strongly recommended. AlgoChef uses it directly; without it, each trade's P&L is worked out as (exit − entry) × size × the instrument's point value (reversed for shorts).

Recommended Format

For the richest analysis, include these columns:

Column	Example	What It Unlocks
Entry Date	2024-01-15 09:30	Required
Entry Price	4750.25	Required
Exit Date	2024-01-15 14:45	Required
Exit Price	4762.50	Required
Profit/Loss ($)	1250.00	Exact P&L as your platform recorded it
Side	Long	Long/short breakdown (required if you set position type to "Both")
Quantity	2	Contracts or shares — if left out, defaults to 100 shares for stocks, 1 contract for futures
Commission	4.50	Net profit after costs
MAE ($) / MFE ($)	-350.00 / 820.00	MAE/MFE excursion analysis

Exporting from Excel as CSV

Open your spreadsheet in Excel
Click File → Save As
Choose CSV (Comma delimited) (*.csv) as the file type
Save the file

Exporting from Google Sheets as CSV

Open your spreadsheet in Google Sheets
Click File → Download → Comma-separated values (.csv)
Save the file

Tip

Exporting TradeStation's Strategy Performance Report as Excel or CSV? Don't map it by hand — pick the TS-excel system template in the wizard. It already knows that layout, including the paired entry/exit rows. See the TradeStation guide.

Importing Into AlgoChef

In the app sidebar, open Add Strategies, then click Import Strategy Data
Upload your CSV or .xlsx file
Use the column mapping table to give each column its field label (see the CSV Format Reference for the full list)
Fill in the strategy settings — name, instrument, timeframe, position type, timezone, date format — and your Initial Capital
Review the preview and click Save to Database

Tips for Clean Imports

Tip

Consistent date format — Use the same date format throughout your spreadsheet. You confirm one date format per import, so mixed formats in a single file cause import errors.

No blank rows — Remove any blank rows between trades before exporting
No summary rows — Remove totals, averages, or summary rows at the bottom — AlgoChef only expects one row per trade
No merged cells — Merged cells do not export cleanly to CSV
Header row required — Keep your column headers in row 1
Losses as negatives — Losing trades should have negative P&L values (e.g., -450.00)

Troubleshooting

Import wizard not detecting my columns? Make sure your header row is in row 1 with no blank rows above it. Your column names can be anything — you assign each column its field label in the mapping table.

Dates not recognized? Avoid Excel's formatted date display — export dates in a standard format like YYYY-MM-DD or MM/DD/YYYY, and check that the date format you picked in the wizard matches (day/month order especially). See the CSV Format Reference for all supported date formats.

Metrics seem wrong after import? Double-check your Initial Capital setting — this affects all percentage-based calculations including CAGR and drawdown percentages.

Next Steps

CSV Format Reference — Full field specifications
Understanding Your Dashboard — What to do after import
Run Monte Carlo Simulation — Stress-test your imported strategy

Tip

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