Let me be honest — keeping track of all my trades used to be a mess. Not because I didn’t try, but because it’s actually really hard when you’re trading across multiple accounts, holding some positions for hours and others for weeks, and trying to figure out what’s actually working.
The Spreadsheet Struggle
Endless rows, forgotten entries, and inconsistent tracking
At first, I used Google Sheets. It felt like the right idea. But after a while, I had rows of tickers, entry prices, dates, half-filled exit columns, and random notes like “check later” or “moved to Zerodha.” Sound familiar?
The Real Struggle: Holding Time
I had no easy way to know how long I was actually holding my trades, and more importantly, whether the longer holds were giving better returns than quick exits. Sometimes I’d check my P&L and feel like I was doing well, only to realize most of the gains were from quick scalps and the longer trades were dragging me down.
“The worst part was realizing I had no clear picture of what strategies were actually working for me. Was I better at day trades or swing trades? I genuinely didn’t know.”
And let’s not even talk about switching between accounts. Some trades on Upstox, some on Zerodha, and some on a side crypto wallet. I couldn’t easily see my performance across all of them.
The Turning Point
That’s when I knew I had to build something that actually made sense. Something that:
- Automatically calculated holding times
- Showed returns grouped by duration buckets (like <1 day, 1–3 days, 1 week+, etc.)
- Aggregated trades across platforms
- Gave me basic stuff like win rate, average profit, and risk per trade — without writing formulas for every row
The Insight That Changed Everything
After implementing the new system, I discovered that 78% of my profits came from trades held between 1-3 days. My overnight positions? Actually losing money on average.
Honestly, just seeing that most of my profitable trades were in the 1–2 day range completely changed how I manage risk now. I stopped holding trades just because I “felt like it” and started holding only when I had data to back it up.
From Spreadsheet Chaos to Trading Clarity
If you’re still trying to make sense of your trades manually, I get it. I’ve been there. But at some point, you have to admit: the spreadsheet life just doesn’t scale.
PS: That’s why I built TradeLedger — to make this whole thing easier. No installs, no complex setups. Just a clean way to track, analyze, and actually learn from your trades.
Give it a shot if you’re tired of guessing what’s working.