Two views, two questions
The Analytics tab asks “did these trades make money”. The Tradebook tab asks “how does this account trade”.
Both start from the same place: your filled orders, matched into closed trades. Analytics shows the performance numbers. Tradebook (available for broker accounts) adds a behaviour tearsheet, the charges, a P&L view with a calendar, and an import for history the app never saw.
How orders become trades
Each sell is matched against the earliest still-open buy in the same stock — first in, first out, the same convention Indian tax and delivery accounting use. A single sell of 200 that consumes a buy of 150 and a buy of 50 becomes two trades. Only filled quantity counts, so a part-filled order is handled correctly.
Hypothetical: buy 150 at ₹400 on Monday, buy 50 at ₹420 on Wednesday, sell 200 at ₹430 on Friday. FIFO gives 150 × (430 − 400) = ₹4,500 held 4 days, and 50 × (430 − 420) = ₹500 held 2 days. An average-cost method would merge them into one trade and lose the holding periods.
Charges, and the limitation to know
Each closed trade is charged both legs: brokerage, STT, exchange transaction charge, SEBI fee, stamp duty and GST, using a published discount-broker equity rate card (Zerodha's). A same-day round trip is charged at intraday rates; anything held overnight at delivery rates; a trade with no entry date is charged as delivery, the more expensive case, so costs are never understated. Brokerage is capped per executed order, not per matched slice. The app prints the rate table it used.
The limitation: equity only. This is a cash and ETF app, so there are no F&O rates; and because one rate card is used, your broker's actual brokerage may differ. Treat net figures as close estimates.
What the numbers mean
| Metric | Definition |
|---|---|
| Win rate | Winning closed trades ÷ all closed trades. |
| Profit factor | Total gains ÷ total losses. Above 1 means gains exceeded losses. |
| Expectancy | Average return per trade — win rate and payoff combined into one number. |
| Payoff / R:R achieved | Average win ÷ average loss. |
| Max drawdown | Largest fall in cumulative realised P&L from a peak. |
Analytics also breaks performance down by setup (the tag on the trade) and by source (alert, basket, manual and so on), with hold-time analysis and streaks. A 70% win rate with a profit factor of 0.8 is a losing system: the wins are too small for the losses. Read the two together.
The behaviour tearsheet
The Tradebook tab's insights are mostly about behaviour, which needs no P&L at all:
- Net realised after charges, gross minus costs, with the equity curve.
- Holding period buckets from intraday to three months and more, with win rate per bucket.
- Disposition effect — whether losers are held longer than winners, stated as a multiple.
- Concentration — symbols traded, typical ticket size, turnover, how much came from the top few names.
- Rhythm — orders by hour and weekday; a daily P&L calendar and booked P&L by month.
- Costs — total charges, winners that costs turned into losers, expectancy net of costs.
- Tax view — same-day (speculative), up to 365 days, over 365 days, and undated.
The P&L view lists each stock net of charges with a contribution-style calendar of the year, and a row opens the chart with your real entries and exits drawn on it.
Importing history from Zerodha Console
The app only has orders from the time it was used. For earlier history, download the tradebook from Zerodha Console (Reports → Tradebook, segment Equity, XLSX or CSV) and upload it. Console limits one export to a financial year, so upload a year at a time; files merge and duplicates are skipped. The importer reports which columns it recognised. For other brokers there is a CSV template you can fill in. Imported rows are stored on your account.
Where to find it
- In Portfolio Execution, open Analytics, or Tradebook for a broker account.
- In Tradebook, use the import step to upload a Console tradebook.
- For the daily mark-to-market view, see MTM calendar and funds.
Common questions
How is profit factor calculated?
Total gains from winning trades divided by total losses from losing trades. Above 1 means the account made more on winners than it lost on losers.
Does FNOTrader include brokerage and STT in P&L?
The Tradebook figures are net of brokerage, STT, exchange charges, SEBI fee, stamp duty and GST, estimated from an equity rate card. F&O charges are not covered.
Can I import my Zerodha tradebook?
Yes. Download it from Zerodha Console under Reports, Tradebook, segment Equity, as XLSX or CSV, and upload it in the Tradebook tab, one financial year at a time.
What is the disposition effect?
The habit of selling winners quickly and holding losers in the hope they recover. The tearsheet measures it by comparing how long you hold each.
Why FIFO for matching trades?
It is the convention Indian delivery accounting and tax use, and it keeps each lot's holding period intact.
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