If you trade Topstep accounts, your journal should mirror Topstep rules from day one. Start by creating a dedicated account entry in your journal and selecting evaluation phase. This keeps target and drawdown context visible during every session review.
Step one is account creation. Add account name, starting balance, and phase as evaluation. Step two is rules. Enter daily loss cap, trailing drawdown logic, and profit target. Step three is workflow. Choose whether you log through CSV, manual entry, or screenshot import.
Topstep size tiers such as 50K, 100K, and 150K can have different risk constraints. Use presets if available, then verify against your current firm rules page. Rules can change, so do not assume last quarter settings still apply.
During evaluation, watch progress bars each day. They should answer three questions quickly. How far are you from target. How much drawdown buffer is left. How much daily loss room remains before violation risk increases.
When you pass and move to funded, mark the account phase transition immediately. This preserves your eval history while separating funded performance in reporting. It also makes payout analysis cleaner.
Track evaluation progress and funded phase separately
For funded tracking, focus on take-home metrics, not just gross P&L. On an 80-20 split, $5,000 gross is $4,000 before platform costs. Journals that only display gross can make risk decisions feel safer than they actually are.
If you run multiple Topstep accounts, tag copied trades as one setup ID. That allows strategy review without double-counting idea quality. You still keep account-specific compliance context while analyzing strategy performance across all accounts.
Next reads: Apex multi-account guide, Tradovate import walkthrough, and best prop firm journal.