How a journal complements the Topstep dashboard

The dashboard and the journal have different jobs

The Topstep dashboard is for official account and performance information, while a trading journal gives you a separate place to review decisions and configured rules. QuantLab is not affiliated with Topstep. Topstep's own dashboard and current rulebook remain the authority for account status.

A separate journal should not copy a balance and pretend to replace the firm. Its job is to preserve the executions you review, keep account settings visible, and help you ask the same questions after each session. That separation matters when a calculation or imported trade disagrees with the source.

What QuantLab adds to the record

QuantLab lets you create a prop firm account with a profit target, maximum drawdown, drawdown already used, and a consistency limit. It calculates maximum drawdown and evaluates the configured consistency rule. Those settings are review inputs, not a declaration that Topstep applies the same rule to every account.

Topstep accounts can connect through ProjectX with a username and API key. QuantLab validates the credentials, stores them encrypted, and imports the accounts you select. You can run a manual sync. The connection can also refresh when its last sync is more than 30 minutes old.

After importing, compare the executions with the Topstep account record. Check dates, symbols, direction, size, entry, exit, fees, and net result. If anything differs, reconcile the source before using the journal's analysis.

What a journal can track that a dashboard may not explain

The supplied product inventory establishes that QuantLab supports behavior detectors and replay of your own fills with alternate risk limits. That lets you review whether oversizing or another repeated behavior changed the shape of the result. Replay is a historical test, not a promise about the next trade.

You can also attach the account to a repeatable session review. Record the setup and notes that matter to your plan. Compare the actual size with the intended size. Check the remaining room under the drawdown setting you entered. Then review whether one profitable day dominates the result under your consistency setting.

The dashboard can tell you official account facts. The journal can help you reconstruct why a sequence developed. Neither one can infer your unrecorded plan.

Keep the authority clear

Use Topstep for current rules, official balances, and evaluation status. Use QuantLab for your imported trade history and the settings you choose to analyze. If a rule changes, update the journal only after checking the current rulebook.

Do not carry limits from one account type into another. Give each imported account its own record and settings. If you reset or start a new evaluation, preserve the old account separately so its results do not distort the new review.

QuantLab Journal is free during beta. Anyone can create an account after email verification. You can also import a CSV if the ProjectX connection is not suitable for the account you need to review.

A simple review after each session

First, confirm that the imported fills match the dashboard. Next, compare the day's result with the account settings you entered. Then inspect the decisions behind the largest loss or gain. Finish with one specific change that can be checked in the next session.

Keep this review factual. A journal does not guarantee that you pass an evaluation. It gives you a consistent record for examining size, timing, and repeated behavior. For a broader setup, read the prop firm trading journal guide.