Why does your P&L differ from your broker?

Seeing a different number in your journal than in your broker's platform? The difference usually comes down to one of a few known spots, listed below.

Net versus gross

The journal shows your P&L net by default: profit or loss after fees. Reports and Trade View have a toggle to Gross (P&L before fees). If you're comparing against your broker, check you're looking at the same basis.

Fees are an estimate

For a Tradovate import and for the TopStepX order export, the export itself doesn't list fees: the journal estimates commission per contract. If that differs from what your broker actually charges, adjust the fees on the trade itself.

For the TopStepX trade export, we take the P&L and fees directly from TopStepX: that basis is already net, and already correct for that trade.

The instrument's point value

For an import built from fills or orders, the journal calculates the P&L itself using the instrument's point value. If it doesn't recognise a symbol, the import tells you, and the journal falls back to a multiplier of 1, so the P&L will be wrong. Correct such a trade by hand, or ask support to add the instrument.

Time zones

Tradovate writes times without a time zone: the journal reads them as Amsterdam time (Europe/Amsterdam). If your Tradovate platform is set to a different time zone, your trades shift by an hour or more, and sometimes onto the wrong day. TopStepX carries its own time zone with every time, so there's nothing to configure there.

What can never match

A position that's still open in your broker doesn't enter your journal: only closed positions are imported. And a stop you moved into profit during the trade isn't saved as your original stop, so your R-multiple can differ from what you expect. Add such a stop to the trade yourself.