The journal foresees the following date fields : Date Log Entry , Date Init Opening

• Date Log Entry : is the transaction date (or input date into the journal = log date) which can be different from the initial open date when the transaction is an adjustment to the option contract (eg rolling out in time or adjusting the strikes).

• Date Init Opening : is the actual date that the option contract was opened or the new (rolled /adjusted) position was established.

• Date Closed : is the position closing date (or log date) – it can be different from the closing date when the transaction is an adjustment to the option contract (eg rolling out in time or adjusting the strikes), then it’s more a rolling date.

The entry format of the dates depends on the “settings” you use in Google sheets. You can change the setting is File > Settings > General > Locale (select Country/Region)

Why is this important ?

Because it has an impact on the format you need to use to enter the date in the fields and it has an impact on the decimal separator.

The format you need to use to enter a date (when not selecting with the calendar selector) :

• If you want to use the US date formatting : mm/dd/yyyy -> change Locale to United States
• Or change depending on your region : eg. Europe date formatting : dd/mm/yyyy -> change Locale to France
• If you want to manually enter (not the click calendar) enter 17 november 2023 :
  • and the setting of the spreadsheet is set to US (mm/dd/yyyy) : you need to type “11/17/23” or you will get an error
  • and the setting of the spreadsheet is set to EU (dd/mm/yyyy) : you need to type “17/11/23”
• If the spreadsheet is set to EU and you would enter the data as an US format, the spreadsheet will analyse your input day = 11 and month = 17, which will lead to an invalid date (see picture below) and whenever the date is used in a calculation eg FTE, this will result in #VALUE! errors.

How the spreadsheet shows the dates is NOT linked to the settings of the spreadsheet but it depends on the formatting of the fields themselves.

I use the EU formatting (dd/mm/yyyy) for the dates when I create the spreadsheets. But it is very easy to adapt it to US, if you want the dates displayed in US format mm/dd/yyyy. You simply select all the fields of the column and next you select Format > number > Custom date and time and you change the format to the US format (see picture below)

In Google Sheets, the choice between a decimal point and a comma as a decimal separator depends on your spreadsheet’s locale or regional settings. To set your preferred decimal separator, follow these steps: under the “Locale” section, choose your preferred locale or language that corresponds to the decimal separator you want. For example, if you prefer a dot as the decimal separator, choose a locale that uses a dot.

The separator displayed in the numeric fields will change together with the settings and is not linked to the format of the field.