Trade Recorder — User Guide | GrowMoneyCentral

User Guide

Trade Recorder
How to use it

A browser-based backtesting journal for manual replay testing. Record wins, losses, and breakevens in real time as you step through historical charts — with live stats, equity tracking, and CSV export. No account required.

No login needed Session-based storage Export before closing

Overview

What it does

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Manual replay backtesting

Step through historical charts bar by bar on any platform and record what you would have done — without hindsight bias distorting your results.

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Live performance stats

Win rate, profit factor, expectancy, max streaks, and equity curve update the instant you record each trade.

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Trade journal log

Every trade is logged with direction, outcome, P&L, R:R ratio, and any notes you add. Scroll back and audit your decisions anytime during the session.

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CSV export & import

Save your entire session as a CSV and reload it later to continue — or open it in Excel for deeper analysis. All session settings are preserved.

Step by step

Getting started

Fill in the session setup panel

Enter your strategy name, the ticker or pair you’re testing (NQ, IWM, EURUSD, etc.), backtest date range, timeframe, starting account balance, risk % per trade, and your default R:R ratio. These configure all P&L calculations automatically — set them before recording any trades.

Open your charting platform alongside the recorder

Use TradingView, ThinkorSwim, NinjaTrader, or any platform that supports bar replay. Set your chart to the backtest start date. The recorder runs in a browser tab alongside your chart — switch between them after each bar you evaluate.

Choose Quick or Detailed mode

Use the toggle at the top of the Record Trade panel. Quick mode lets you record a result in one click with an optional note. Detailed mode adds entry price, exit price, stop loss, take profit, and trade date for a richer data set.

Set your direction (optional)

Click ↑ Buy / Long or ↓ Sell / Short to tag the trade direction before recording. Click the same button again to toggle it off. You can also use the ↑ and ↓ arrow keys. Direction is optional — trades are still recorded without it.

Record the outcome for each bar

Click WIN, LOSS, or B/E after each setup you evaluate. Use the Skip button for bars where your rules say to stay out — these are tracked separately and excluded from your win rate. Stats and the equity curve update instantly after every entry.

Export before closing the tab

The recorder stores everything in memory — nothing is saved automatically. Click Export CSV at any point to download your session. Import it back later to continue from where you left off.

Results

Trade outcomes explained

WIN

Trade hit your target

Your setup reached the take profit level. P&L is calculated as your risk amount multiplied by your R:R ratio.

P&L = risk amount × R:R ratio

LOSS

Trade hit your stop

Your setup hit the stop loss. P&L is a full 1R loss — the risk amount you set in session setup.

P&L = −risk amount (1R)

BREAKEVEN

Closed at entry

You moved your stop to entry and the trade closed flat. P&L is zero but the trade is still counted in your total tally.

P&L = $0.00

SKIP

No setup on this bar

Your rules say sit out. Tracked separately as “skipped” and excluded from win rate and P&L — stats only reflect bars where you actually traded.

Not counted in win rate

Recording modes

Quick vs detailed mode

Quick

Fast-flow recording

One click per trade result. Best for high-volume replay sessions where speed matters more than granular data capture.

Optional quick note / setup tag
Direction tag (buy or sell)
Uses your default R:R for all calculations
No price fields required

Detailed

Full data capture

Add price-level data for each trade. R:R auto-calculates from entry, stop, and target. Best when you want a rich data set to analyze later in Excel.

Entry price & exit price
Stop loss & take profit
R:R override (or auto-calculated)
Trade date & extended notes

Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts

Record Win

Adds R:R × risk to balance

Record Loss

Deducts 1R from balance

Record Breakeven

No P&L change

Skip this bar

Excluded from win rate

↑

Toggle Buy / Long

Press again to clear

↓

Toggle Sell / Short

Press again to clear

Shortcuts are disabled while your cursor is inside any input, select, or textarea. Click outside a field first to re-activate them.

Metrics

Performance stats

Win Rate

Percentage of trades that resulted in a win. Breakevens and skips are excluded.

Wins ÷ (Wins + Losses) × 100

Profit Factor

Gross wins divided by gross losses. Above 1.0 means the strategy is net profitable over the sample.

Gross wins ÷ Gross losses

Expectancy

Average R earned per trade. Positive = statistical edge. The bigger the number, the stronger the edge.

(WR × R:R) − (1 − WR)

Net P&L

Total dollar gain or loss from starting balance, compounded trade by trade using your risk % setting.

Current balance − Starting balance

Avg R:R

Average reward-to-risk ratio across all trades. Uses actual R:R in Detailed mode, default R:R in Quick.

Sum of all R:R ÷ Trade count

Streaks

Longest win streak, longest loss streak, and your current running streak. Helps identify drawdown clusters.

Consecutive same-result trades

Equity Curve

A visual chart of your account balance after every trade. The dashed baseline marks your starting balance — a curve that stays above it signals a positive-expectancy strategy. Sharp dips reveal drawdown clusters and help identify which conditions to avoid.

Data

Saving & importing sessions

↓

Export CSV

Saves the complete session — all setup fields, every trade row, and a performance summary — as a .csv file. Click Export CSV in the header or journal panel at any point during a session.

↑

Import session

Click ↑ Import Session and select a previously exported CSV. All trades and session fields are restored exactly as they were. If you already have trades loaded, you’ll be asked to confirm before replacing them.

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Important: The recorder stores all data in your browser’s memory for the current session only. Nothing is saved automatically. If you close or refresh the tab before exporting, your data is permanently lost. Export before you close.

Best practices

Pro tips for accurate results

Set your risk % and R:R before recording. Changing these fields mid-session recalculates P&L going forward only — previously recorded trades are not updated. Lock in your parameters first.

Aim for 100+ trades minimum. The Target Trades progress bar tracks your sample size. Fewer than 100 trades isn’t enough to draw reliable conclusions — variance can make a losing strategy look profitable and vice versa.

Use Quick Note to tag setup types. Label each trade with a short descriptor like “trend continuation,” “failed breakout,” or “level reclaim.” These tags help you spot which setups are profitable when you review the journal log.

In Detailed mode, fill in Entry and Stop for auto R:R. Leaving those fields blank falls back to your default R:R. Actual price levels give you a more accurate data set — especially for strategies where R:R varies by setup.

Use Skip honestly. Skips are your rules telling you to stay out. Recording them is just as important as recording trades — it reflects your strategy’s real selectivity and prevents inflating the sample with manufactured setups.

Export regularly during long sessions. Testing 200+ trades across multiple days? Export at the end of each session and import it next time. Treat the CSV as your save file.

Watch the equity curve shape, not just the end balance. A strategy can be net profitable but have brutal drawdown periods that would blow out a real account. Smooth, consistent curves are more tradeable than volatile ones — even at the same final balance.