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Trades Categories

Trades categories allow you to label transactions for separate analysis, without affecting the main Trades sheet calculations (e.g., P&L, ROI, taxes). This is useful for isolating specific strategies or timeframes, such as short-term trading versus long-term holding.

Why Use Categories?​

  • Isolation: Analyze subsets of trades independently. For example, separate day-trading profits from long-term investments.
  • Matching Control: By default, sell transactions match buys based on the full transaction history (e.g., FIFO). Categories ensure sells match only within the same category.
  • No Impact on Main Calculations: Categories don't alter overall P&L or taxes in the Trades sheet.

Example:
You buy GOOG shares multiple times at low prices. Later, you enter a short-term trade (buy and sell within a week). Without a category, the sell might match an old buy under FIFO. By assigning a "trading" category to the short-term buy/sell, they match as one isolated trade.

Setting Up Categories​

  1. Add Categories in Configuration: Go to the Configuration sheet, under "Trades Categories," add one line per category (e.g., "Trading", "HODL").
  2. Assign in Transactions: In the Transactions sheet, select a category from the dropdown in the "Category" column. (If the column is hidden, look for the "+" toggle in the header.)
  3. Generate Trades: Run "Generate Trades." This creates the main Trades sheet and additional sheets for each category, named cat__<categoryName> (e.g., cat__Trading).

Note: Category sheets include trade details but exclude tax-related columns ("Tax rate", "Tax value", "Reentry if closed"), as taxes are calculated globally in the main Trades sheet.

Managing Categories​

  • Editing: Change category names in Configuration, update the Transactions rows with the new category then re-run "Generate Trades" to update sheets.
  • Deleting: If you no longer need a category, delete its sheet (e.g., cat__Trading). Sheets regenerate automatically on the next "Generate Trades" run.
  • Multiple Categories: A transaction can have one category; use different categories for different strategies.

Tip: Regularly review category sheets for strategy-specific insights.

Troubleshooting​

  • Dropdown Not Appearing: Ensure categories are added in Configuration and the column is visible. Also, make sure the Data Validation extends to all transaction rows. Check the range in Data > Data Validation and confirm the "Value contains one from range" validation for the "Category" column.
  • Sheets Not Generating: Run "Generate Trades" after assigning categories.
  • Matching Issues: Verify category assignments for accurate isolation.