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The 2024 Stock Trading Template is a manual Excel workbook from HowtoExcel.net for logging stock transactions and reviewing portfolio activity. It records trades, cash movements, and dividends, then feeds reports and charts; it is not a brokerage platform, live-price terminal, or tax-preparation tool. The publisher offers a trial limited to 25 transactions. The paid product page displayed $10 when checked, but price and terms can change. Because the trial is a macro-enabled Excel file and the seller says Apple compatibility has not been tested, try it in your intended Excel setup before buying.
What the template does
The workbook is designed for investors who want to enter their own activity and review it in Excel. Its documented features include a transaction journal, portfolio balance tracking, gains and losses, monthly portfolio reporting, dividend and cash-flow entries, strategy categories, and summary charts.
Entries are manual. The available product information does not establish automatic brokerage imports, live market prices, or automatic account synchronization. Treat the workbook as a personal recordkeeping and analysis aid, not as a substitute for brokerage statements or a trading service.
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- Settings: Set the reporting end date and short-term trading-day cutoff. The reporting view covers the trailing 12 months from the configured end date; it is not automatically a calendar-year report. The default short-term cutoff is 60 days.
- Home / Trading Journal controls: The documented entry and refresh controls are in the Trading Journal section on the Home tab.
- Activity: Logs entered activity.
- Transactions: Tracks opened and closed positions for trading analysis.
- Summary: Shows portfolio balance, gains and losses, and performance reporting. Use the refresh control in the Trading Journal section to update reports and charts.
These are the functional areas identified in the publisher’s walkthrough; the available description does not establish a complete map of every tab or formula in the downloadable workbook.
#1 Best Overall
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Set it up before entering trades
- Download the trial first. The publisher’s trial is limited to 25 transactions, but it lets you check whether the workbook works in your environment and suits your recordkeeping needs.
- Open it in Microsoft Excel. The trial is an
.xlsmmacro-enabled workbook. Obtain it from the publisher’s page, keep a backup, and do not bypass a security warning unless you trust the file and understand your Excel environment. - Choose the reporting end date. For a current trailing-12-month view, use the date you want as the period end. If you are reconstructing a full calendar-year 2024 comparison from the template’s intended starting period, the publisher’s instructions suggest setting the end date to December 31, 2023. Check the workbook’s displayed period after changing the date; the “2024” product name does not by itself mean every report is fixed to calendar year 2024.
- Review the short-term cutoff. The default is 60 days. Change it if another window better suits your own analysis. It is a configurable reporting setting, not a universal tax or regulatory definition of short-term trading.
- Establish a dated starting point. Use Starting Balance to enter holdings already in the account when you begin tracking. Use Enter Contribution for starting cash, as the publisher instructs.
- Enter later activity with the correct dates and categories. Add purchases, sales, contributions, withdrawals, and dividends as separate events. If you are backfilling history, enter the actual transaction dates rather than treating old trades as new ones.
- Refresh reports and charts. After entering or correcting activity, use the refresh control on Home in the Trading Journal section.
- Reconcile against your brokerage statements. As a practical safeguard, compare the workbook’s cash and share balances with account records at a chosen date. Resolve mismatches before relying on a report.
Which transaction type should you use?
| Workbook action | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Open New Position | Buying a stock you do not already hold in the tracked portfolio. |
| Add to Existing Position | Buying additional shares of a holding already recorded. |
| Sell Shares | Recording a sale. Check the share quantity and date against the brokerage record. |
| Enter Contribution | Cash added to the portfolio, including starting cash. |
| Enter Withdrawal | Cash removed from the portfolio. |
| Enter Dividends | Dividend payments, recorded separately from contributions. |
| Starting Balance | Existing positions when you begin using the workbook. |
Keeping these entries distinct matters: a contribution increases portfolio cash but is not investment profit; a withdrawal is not a trading loss; and recording the same dividend as both a dividend and a contribution can overstate activity. A sale should be recorded as a sale rather than as a withdrawal, since it changes the holding as well as cash.
How strategy categories work
The publisher lists three default strategies: Buy and Hold, Contrarian, and Speculative. You can leave trades in Buy and Hold or use the Update Strategies control to change the available classifications. These labels help organize your records; they do not show that a strategy is profitable. Comparisons are useful only if you classify trades consistently. Position sizes, holding periods, market conditions, dividends, and transaction costs can all affect the results, and the available description does not establish risk-adjusted or benchmark-relative performance calculations.
Rank #2
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- ✔【Durable & Non-slip】Features delicate edges which can prevent wear, deformation and degumming in prolonged use, and the natural rubber base prevents sliding on most surfaces
How entries reach the reports
The documented flow is: enter an event through the form, see it in Activity, have opened and closed positions reflected in Transactions, and review the resulting reporting in Summary. Refresh reports and charts after changes.
For example, add cash with Enter Contribution, record shares already owned with Starting Balance, log a new purchase with Open New Position, use Add to Existing Position for later purchases, and record a sale with Sell Shares. Enter dividends as dividends, not as contributions. Then refresh and compare the resulting cash and holdings with the brokerage account. The publisher’s walkthrough does not specify every underlying calculation, so do not assume a particular cost-basis method or tax treatment.
Rank #3
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Compatibility, trial, and purchase cautions
The product page says the workbook is compatible with Microsoft Excel and that Apple compatibility has not been tested. That statement does not guarantee compatibility with every Mac version of Excel, Apple Numbers, Excel for the web, Google Sheets, or mobile spreadsheet apps. If you use a Mac, distinguish between running Microsoft Excel on Mac and opening the workbook in Numbers; test the trial in the exact setup you plan to use.
The trial file is macro-enabled. Macro behavior and security warnings can vary by Excel edition and operating-system settings. Download from the publisher and follow your organization’s security rules rather than enabling macros reflexively. A macro-restricted workplace may make this workbook impractical even if its features otherwise fit.
Rank #4
- Efficient Weekly Planner, Simple weekly layout designed for organized schedule management.
- Durable Twin-Wire Binding, Durable twin-wire design allows smooth page turning.
- Includes Paper Stand, Comes with a lightweight foldable paper stand for easy desk display.
- Compact Desk Size 305 × 112 mm (12.0" × 4.4"), fits easily on small desks or workspaces.
- 3 Color Options Available in Red, Blue, and Gray.
The product page displayed a $10 price when checked and describes instant digital delivery; those commercial details can change. It also states that sales are final, with no returns, exchanges, or cancellations. The trial-first recommendation is especially important if compatibility is uncertain.
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What is not established
The available product description does not confirm support for automatic broker imports, live quotes, options, short selling, futures, forex, cryptocurrency, multi-currency portfolios, tax-lot selection, wash-sale calculations, or tax-form generation. It also does not establish cloud collaboration, mobile-first use, benchmark analytics, or professional performance attribution. If any of those are essential, verify them directly before purchase or consider a tool designed for that need. Do not rely on this workbook as tax software.
Best Value
- 1. STOCK TRADING REFERENCE DESIGN: Designed for stock market enthusiasts, this desk mat features candlestick patterns, reversal indicators, financial formulas and other trading references. It provides a convenient visual reference for beginners, day traders, investors and anyone interested in learning technical analysis while working at their desk.
- 2. NON-SLIP & STABLE BASE: The rubberized non-slip backing helps keep the desk mat securely in place during everyday use, reducing unwanted movement while you work, study or trade. The smooth surface provides comfortable space for your keyboard and mouse without easily shifting across the desk.
- 3. CLEAR & EASY-TO-READ PRINTING: The trading charts, candlestick patterns, formulas and reference information are printed with clear, defined details for easy viewing. The educational design makes the mouse pad both a practical desk accessory and a convenient visual reference for stock market learning.
- 4. LARGE DESK COVERAGE: Measuring 31.5 x 11.8 x 0.08 inches (800 x 300 x 2 mm), this extended desk mat provides room for a full-size keyboard, mouse and other desktop essentials. The slim 0.08-inch thickness maintains a low-profile feel while providing a comfortable surface for everyday desk use.
- 5. WATER-RESISTANT & EASY TO CLEAN: The smooth surface helps resist everyday spills and splashes, making the desk mat easy to maintain. Simply wipe away liquid or dirt with a soft, damp cloth to keep the surface clean and ready for your next trading session, study session or workday.
Is it a good fit?
Consider it if you are comfortable with desktop Excel, want a low-cost manual ledger for stock transactions, and value keeping activity, dividends, cash movements, and strategy labels together. The trial offers a way to test the workflow before paying.
Look elsewhere if you need broker synchronization, current market valuations, frequent high-volume entry, complex instruments, tax reporting, cloud access for multiple users, or guaranteed Apple/Numbers compatibility. A self-built spreadsheet offers more control but requires you to design and maintain formulas and checks. Brokerage history may be convenient for one account’s actual transactions but may not provide strategy journaling or a consolidated view. Dedicated portfolio trackers and trading journals may better suit automation or detailed trade review, though their features, privacy arrangements, and costs vary.
Before choosing any tracker, compare the assets it supports, how data gets in, how it handles cost basis and cash flows, what performance measures it reports, where your data is stored, and whether you can export or restore your records. For the HowtoExcel workbook specifically, keep a separate copy of source statements and reconcile regularly rather than treating the spreadsheet as the authoritative account record.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
