A trading journal for TopstepX that tells you why the Combine keeps ending the same way.
TopstepX already has a journal. You can write about the day from the calendar and add a note to a trade. That is useful for how you felt. It does not grade the trade, add up what a habit has cost you across three Combines, or tell you that you broke your own trade limit on the day you hit the loss limit. Actal takes the TopstepX Trades export and does that part.
Does TopstepX have a trading journal?
Yes, a simple one. On the Performance Stats page you can journal a trading day from the calendar or add a note to a single trade, next to Topstep's own stats: balance, P&L and progress toward the target. What it does not have is a grade on execution, mistake tags with a cost, your own rules checked per trade, a plan before the open, or a view across several Combines and funded accounts. The Trades tab export has everything a journal needs, including the P&L Topstep computed, so nothing is rebuilt or guessed.
Where TopstepX traders get stuck, and what a week with Actal looks like.
Third Combine. Same story. Up nicely for a week, then one bad morning and the loss limit is gone.
Every Combine is an account in Actal and the grades carry across them. The bad mornings line up on one calendar, the mistake behind them has a dollar cost, and it is your focus before you pay for the next reset.
The TopstepX journal is a text box. I wrote tilted again four times this month. Nothing came of it.
Tilt becomes a tag with a running cost and a count. When it is the most expensive habit you have, it is the one thing you work on this week, with the number on the dashboard every morning.
Topstep enforces its limits. My own rule is three trades and done. Nobody checks that one.
Your rules sit next to Topstep's. Max trades, cooldown after a loss, no trading after a set time, checked on every import. Stopping at your own limit counts as a rule kept.
Combine, Express Funded, a second Combine on the side. Each one on its own stats page.
All accounts side by side, one dashboard, one execution score. A habit that shows up on every account is obvious in a week, not after the third reset.
I plan the session and then trade whatever NQ is doing at 09:45.
A, B and C scenarios before the open, a closeout after. Within a month you know how often you traded against your own plan, and the P&L splits into in-plan and off-plan.
I passed the Combine and lost the funded account in a week. The stats page said I was consistent.
Grades follow the trader, not the account. The funded account starts with the Combine's execution history behind it, so the habit that nearly failed you is already the focus.
Topstep's balance, targets, loss limits and the day journal stay on TopstepX. Actal takes one export from the Trades tab and grades the trades inside it.
How to get the file out of TopstepX.
Written from TopstepX's own documentation and checked against real files where we have them. The same guide shows on the import page and next to any error.
Each row in the Trades export is a closed trade: contract, entry and exit time and price, size, fees and the P&L TopstepX computed. Actal takes the trade as stated, so the number matches your TopstepX balance.
Timestamps carry a UTC offset, for example 05/07/2024 13:33:37 +00:00. Nothing is assumed from your profile timezone, and the trade day column lines up with Topstep's own trading day.
The file has a Fees column next to PnL. If the PnL turns out to be net of fees already, gross is recovered from the prices so fees are not subtracted a second time.
Export each account's Trades tab and import it into its own account in Actal. Set your rules once and share them across Combines, or set them per account.
- 1On the TopstepX trading page, open the Trades tab at the bottom (not Orders).
- 2Click Export at the bottom right of the module and pick the date range.
- 3Download the CSV.
- Each row is a closed round trip with the P&L TopstepX computed, so trades are taken as stated.
- Timestamps carry a UTC offset (05/07/2024 13:33:37 +00:00), so no timezone guess is needed.
- If the file's PnL turns out to be net of fees, gross is recovered from the prices so fees are never counted twice.
- Verified against a real export.
Older Topstep accounts and some current ones run on Tradovate or Rithmic instead of TopstepX. Those use the Tradovate Orders report or the Rithmic Order History file. Both guides are linked from the supported brokers page.
TopstepX also lists orders, but the Trades tab is the one to export. Trades are already paired into round trips with P&L, which is what Actal reads.
Pick the widest date range the export allows. If it is capped, export in chunks. Overlapping ranges never double a trade.
Every trade checked against your rules, then graded.
Daily loss limit, max trades, size and cooldowns are checked the moment the file lands. Then each trade gets a grade on execution with your own setup criteria as the checklist, a mistake tag if there was one, and the chart marked up so the lesson sticks.
Five things that happen with TopstepX files, and the fix.
You exported the Orders tab. Open the Trades tab at the bottom of the trading page, click Export at the bottom right, pick the dates and download again. The file starts with Id, ContractName, EnteredAt.
Check the account's fees in Actal after import. If the file's PnL already includes fees, Actal recovers gross from the prices. If a trade still looks off, send the file to hello@actal.io and it is usually fixed within the week.
The export is for the selected account and date range. Switch accounts in TopstepX, check the dates and export again. Anything already imported is skipped.
The contract name is not recognised yet. The P&L is still right because Topstep stated it. Set the symbol up once in settings and R and points fill in.
Each TopstepX account needs its own export and its own account in Actal. The preview shows which account the trades go to before anything is saved, so check it there and use Discard if it is the wrong one.
Sim, eval, funded and live, side by side.
Each TopstepX account becomes an account in Actal with its own rules where they differ, and one dashboard across all of them. A habit that shows up on every account is easy to see.
TopstepX questions
Import today's TopstepX session. Grade it tonight.
One export, one minute, and the rules tell you how the day actually went. Free while in beta, no card, everything unlocked.