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What you need to track, and what is only noise
Published by The Retail Trader · AUG 02, 2026 · Features
Your broker's app shows you the current value. That is an incomplete picture — it does not show what you thought, when you thought it, and whether it worked.
Four things are enough for every position — entry date, entry price, size, and the reason in one line. After that, the exit date and the reason for the exit.
The purpose of this is not to show performance; the app already does that. The purpose is to build a record of your decisions.
Most people make a tracker more complex than necessary:
• Daily profit and loss — that is noise, and it is already visible.
• The value of every indicator — it is of no use later.
• Lots of ratios that are never reviewed.
• Automatic live prices — the tracker does its job without them too.
A year from now this sheet will tell you what no course can — which kinds of decisions work for you and which do not. There is no substitute for that data, and it only exists if it is written down.
This article is for education only — it is not a buy or sell recommendation, makes no claim of a guaranteed return, and is not advisory. Rules, rates and mechanics are changed from time to time by the exchanges, SEBI and RBI, so verify every number yourself with your broker or the official source.