Multiple Journals

Managing multiple trading journals

Multiple Journals

TraderVault supports multiple trading journals, allowing you to separate different types of trading activity.

Why Use Multiple Journals?

Separate by Account Type

  • Live Trading - Real money trades
  • Paper Trading - Practice/simulation trades

Separate by Broker

  • Schwab Account - Long-term positions
  • Alpaca Account - Day trading

Separate by Strategy

  • Momentum Journal - High-frequency momentum trades
  • Swing Journal - Multi-day holds
  • Options Journal - Options trades only

Separate by Time Period

  • 2024 Journal - Archive previous years
  • 2025 Journal - Current year

Creating a New Journal

  1. Click the journal selector dropdown in the sidebar (shows current journal name)
  2. Click + Create New Journal
  3. Fill in the details:
Field Description
Name Journal name (e.g., "Paper Trading")
Description Optional notes about this journal's purpose
Type Live, Paper, or Backtest
Starting Balance Initial account balance for tracking
Icon Choose an icon for visual identification
Color Pick a color theme
  1. Click Create Journal

Switching Journals

From Sidebar

  1. Click the journal selector dropdown
  2. Click the journal you want to switch to
  3. All views update to show that journal's data

Keyboard Shortcut

Press J to open the journal switcher (if enabled).

Default Journal

Your default journal is where new trades go when you don't specify a journal.

Setting a Default

  1. Open the journal selector dropdown
  2. Find your preferred journal
  3. Click the star icon to set as default
  4. The star fills in to confirm

How It Works

  • Manual trade entry: Goes to default journal
  • Broker sync: You choose which journal during import
  • CSV import: Specify journal or uses default

Journal Settings

Editing a Journal

  1. Go to Settings > Journals (or click gear icon in journal dropdown)
  2. Click the journal you want to edit
  3. Update name, description, icon, color, or starting balance
  4. Click Save

Deleting a Journal

  1. Go to Settings > Journals
  2. Click the journal you want to delete
  3. Click Delete Journal
  4. Confirm the deletion

Warning: Deleting a journal moves all its trades to your default journal. This cannot be undone.

Journal Statistics

Each journal has independent statistics:

  • Total P&L
  • Win rate
  • Number of trades
  • Open positions
  • Performance chart

Switch journals to see how each strategy or account performs separately.

Comparing Journals

The Analytics page can show: - Side-by-side journal comparison - Combined statistics across all journals - Performance by journal type

Use Cases

Use Case 1: Testing New Strategies

  1. Create a "Strategy Test" journal
  2. Paper trade your new strategy
  3. Review performance after 20-30 trades
  4. If profitable, graduate to live journal

Use Case 2: Separating Brokers

  1. Create "Schwab" journal for long-term investing
  2. Create "Alpaca" journal for active trading
  3. Connect each broker to respective journal
  4. Track performance independently

Use Case 3: Tracking by Timeframe

  1. Create "Day Trades" journal
  2. Create "Swing Trades" journal
  3. Log trades to appropriate journal
  4. Compare which style suits you better

Importing to Specific Journal

Manual Trade Entry

  1. Open the journal you want to add to (or it uses default)
  2. Click + New Trade
  3. Trade is saved to current journal

Broker Position Import

  1. Go to Broker Connections
  2. Select positions to import
  3. Choose target journal from dropdown
  4. Click Import

CSV Import

  1. Go to Settings > Import
  2. Upload your CSV file
  3. In the import options, select target journal
  4. Complete import

Tips for Organizing Journals

  1. Keep it simple - 2-3 journals is usually enough
  2. Name clearly - Use descriptive names you'll remember
  3. Consistent logging - Always log to the right journal
  4. Review regularly - Compare journal performance monthly
  5. Archive old journals - Don't delete, rename to "2023 Archive"