Betfair Trading Journal: Free Excel & Google Sheets Template (2026)

Updated June 2026. Template file last rebuilt June 2026 — re-download if you have an older version.

There is a version of this article that begins with a grand statement about how journalling separates professional traders from amateurs. You have read that article before. So here is the plain version: if you cannot tell which of your strategies is actually making money, you are guessing. A trading journal turns a guessing game into a decision-making process.

This guide gives you a free, Betfair-specific Google Sheets template — two tabs, pre-built formulas, drop-down validation — and explains exactly how to use it, whether you are trading manually with Geeks Toy, running automated bots in BF Bot Manager, or somewhere in between.

Related: BFBM staking plans · BFBM safety rules · Betfair trading strategies · Free calculators · Betfair trading tax UK

Get the Free Template

→ Download the BotBlog Betfair Trading Journal (.xlsx — Excel & Google Sheets)

Works in Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets (File → Import → Upload the .xlsx). The file contains three tabs: Trade Log, Dashboard, and Instructions. All formulas are pre-built — you just enter trades.

What the Template Contains

The template has two tabs: Trade Log (one row per trade) and Dashboard (auto-calculated KPIs). Everything in the Dashboard pulls from the Trade Log via formulas — you only ever type in the Trade Log.

Tab 1: Trade Log columns

Tab 2: Dashboard (auto-calculated)

• Total trades, winning trades, losing trades
• Win rate % (by trade count)
• Total gross P&L and net P&L
• Total commission paid
• Average winning trade £ / average losing trade £
• Best trade and worst trade
• Profit factor (total wins ÷ total losses — aim for above 1.3)
• Process held % — the single most predictive metric
• Net P&L by strategy (SUMIF across your strategy names)
• Net P&L by sport
• Cumulative P&L by week (equity curve data)

The Formulas Behind the Template

If you want to build your own version or customise the template, here are the key formulas assuming your Trade Log data starts at row 2 and columns are laid out as above:

Commission (£) — only charged on profitable trades. In the template, column L stores commission as a decimal (0.05 = 5%), so:

=IF(K2>0, K2 * L2, 0)

If you prefer to store the rate as a whole number (e.g. 5 instead of 0.05), use =IF(K2>0, K2 * L2 / 100, 0) instead. The downloaded template uses the decimal version.

Net P&L (£):

=K2 - M2

Dashboard — win rate:

=COUNTIF(N:N,">0") / COUNTA(N2:N)

Dashboard — net P&L by strategy (replace "LTD" with your strategy name):

=SUMIF(F:F,"LTD",N:N)

Dashboard — process held %:

=COUNTIF(Q:Q,"Y") / COUNTA(Q2:Q)

Dashboard — profit factor:

=SUMIF(N:N,">0",N:N) / ABS(SUMIF(N:N,"<0",N:N))

How to Import Trades From Your Trading Software

Manual entry after every trade works, but automated software makes it faster:

BF Bot Manager

BFBM records every bet in its Bets History tab. To export:

1. Go to Tools & Settings → Bets History.
2. Filter to your date range and strategy name.
3. Right-click and choose Export to CSV.
4. In the CSV, the relevant columns are: Date/Time, Market, Selection, Side, Matched Price (entry), and P&L.
5. Paste these into your Trade Log, then fill in Strategy, Exit type, Grade, and Notes manually — the qualitative columns that only you can provide.

For fully automated strategies, you may run 50–100 bets per day. In that case, import weekly rather than after every session, and use the strategy-level P&L in the Dashboard to assess performance rather than reviewing every individual trade.

Bet Angel

Bet Angel logs every trade in its P&L window. Go to Bet Angel → Profit & Loss → Export (or right-click the P&L grid) to save as CSV. The structure includes matched time, market, selection, entry/exit odds, and net P&L. Map these to the Trade Log columns. See the Bet Angel review for full feature context.

Geeks Toy and manual trading

Geeks Toy does not have a native export in the same format. For manual trading sessions, fill in the Trade Log during or immediately after each session — five to ten minutes while the market is still fresh. Keep your trading software open alongside the journal. This is the best habit to build if you trade manually: log each trade as you close it, not at the end of the day.

The Five Numbers That Actually Matter

Most trading journals drown traders in data. The Dashboard surfaces a lot of numbers — here are the five to focus on first:

1. Net P&L by strategy

Not by sport, not overall — by strategy. This is the question that matters: which rules are making money? It is common for overall P&L to be mildly positive while one strategy is very profitable and another is losing steadily. Without strategy-level tracking you will never see this split.

2. Process held %

The percentage of trades where you followed your own rules. If this is below 80%, your results do not tell you whether your strategy has edge — they tell you whether you, personally, can execute it. Poor process held % means working on discipline, not tinkering with strategy rules.

3. Profit factor

Total gross wins divided by total gross losses (absolute). Anything below 1.0 means you are losing overall. A profitable scalping strategy typically runs 1.3–1.8; a LTD strategy with longer hold times may run higher but with fewer trades. Track this per strategy, not just overall.

4. Average win vs average loss

If your average win is £3.20 and your average loss is £8.40, you need a very high win rate just to break even. Many traders discover through their journal that their loss size is far larger than they had felt it to be — because losses are remembered differently to wins.

5. Exit type breakdown

How often do you exit at Target, Stop-loss, Time, or Manual? If "Manual" is your most common exit type, your strategy probably does not have clear exit rules — you are improvising. That makes results unrepeatable. Systematic traders who improve over time usually see a shift from Manual towards Target and Stop over their first three to six months of journalling.

The Weekly Review (15 Minutes)

Once a week — Monday morning works well — open the Dashboard and run through this sequence:

1. Net P&L vs last week. Up or down? Expected or surprising?
2. Process held %. Did you follow your rules? If no, what triggered the deviation?
3. Strategy breakdown. Any strategy three weeks negative in a row deserves either investigation or a temporary pause. One bad week is noise; three is a signal.
4. Worst trade of the week. Read your own notes. Was it bad luck, a rule breach, or a market type you should stop trading?
5. One change maximum. If something needs adjusting — a stop-loss level, a market filter, a time window — make one change and test it for at least 20 trades before making another. Multiple simultaneous changes make it impossible to know what worked.

This 15-minute review, done consistently every week, is worth more than hours of backtesting. Backtesting tells you whether a strategy could have worked historically; the journal tells you whether it is working for you, now, with your actual execution.

What to Track Differently for Automated Bots

If you run a bot in BF Bot Manager, your Trade Log will quickly have hundreds of rows. The individual trade review that manual traders do becomes impractical. Adapt the review as follows:

• Review at strategy level, not trade level. Use the SUMIF-based P&L-by-strategy row in the Dashboard for your weekly review.
• Add a "Strategy version" column. When you change a rule — adjust a stop-loss, change a market filter — note the version number so you can track whether the change improved performance.
• Track simulation vs live separately. BFBM's simulation mode runs bets that never hit the market. Keep simulation results in a separate tab until you are confident enough to go live. See the simulation mode guide for the recommended testing protocol.
• Monitor commission as a % of gross. Automated strategies that run many small markets may have a high commission-to-gross ratio. If commission is eating more than 30–40% of gross profit, the edge may be thinner than the headline P&L suggests.

Monthly Review: Questions to Ask Every Four Weeks

The weekly review covers trend direction. The monthly review is where you make bigger decisions. Set 30 minutes aside at the end of each month and work through these:

1. Which strategy made the most money this month? If one strategy is clearly dominant, consider whether to allocate more time or capital to it.
2. Which strategy lost money for two or more months in a row? Two consecutive bad months is a signal — not necessarily to stop, but to investigate whether market conditions have changed or your execution has degraded.
3. What is your profit factor? Below 1.0 means you are net losing. Between 1.0 and 1.2 means marginal edge that is vulnerable to commission changes. Above 1.3 is where consistency builds.
4. What percentage of trades were graded A or B? If this is below 70%, your execution discipline is the bottleneck — not your strategy rules.
5. Has your commission rate changed? Betfair adjusts market base rates periodically. Check your actual commission paid vs. the rate you have set in the template, and update the default in column L if needed.

Using the Journal for Football Trading

The template works for football as well as horse racing. Adapt the Strategy column drop-down to include football-specific strategies (Lay the Favourite, Back the Over, Under 2.5, LTD for Match Odds). For football, the Event column should include the league and match: "PL — Arsenal vs Man City". The Market Type column already includes Match Odds, Goals O/U, Correct Score, and BTTS.

Football traders often want to track one additional data point: the score at entry. Add a custom "Score at entry" column (column T) after Notes to capture this — it is invaluable for analysing whether a particular scoreline context is driving your edge or your losses.

Common Journal Mistakes to Avoid

Logging wins promptly and losses later (or never)

This is the most common habit that destroys the value of a journal. Every trade gets logged at the same time — wins and losses alike. If you find yourself skipping entry on red days, the journal is not telling you the truth.

Grading trades by outcome, not by process

A trade that followed all your rules and lost is an A. A trade that broke your rules and profited is a D. Grading by outcome rewards luck and punishes correct execution. Grade the process; let the results sort themselves out over sample size.

Reviewing too frequently with too small a sample

Looking at two days of data and drawing strategy conclusions is the journal equivalent of a 5-race sample. Give each strategy change at least 20–30 trades before deciding whether it is working. The weekly review covers trend direction; conclusions should be drawn monthly minimum.

Too many columns from day one

Adding 25 columns on day one means you will stop filling it in after two weeks. Start with the core columns in the template. Add new columns only when you have a specific question that the current data cannot answer.

Summary

• Download the free BotBlog Betfair Trading Journal template (.xlsx) — works in Excel and Google Sheets.
• Two tabs: Trade Log (one row per trade) and Dashboard (auto-calculated KPIs).
• The five numbers that matter: net P&L by strategy, process held %, profit factor, average win vs loss, exit type breakdown.
• For BFBM and Bet Angel users: import from CSV export weekly, then review at strategy level rather than trade level.
• Grade by process, not outcome. A disciplined loss is better data than a lucky win.
• Run a 15-minute weekly review. Make one change at a time. Track it for 20+ trades before deciding if it worked.

Questions about the template or how to set up tracking for a specific strategy? Ask Bob or get in touch.