Almost every trader starts with a spreadsheet. It is free and flexible, and for a first month it is genuinely fine. The problems show up later, and they are the same problems every time.
The spreadsheet trap
Manual entry means you eventually skip trades — usually the losses, exactly the ones you need. You forget, you get busy, and within weeks the record has gaps. An incomplete journal produces distorted metrics, which is worse than no metrics at all.
What a dedicated journal adds
Auto-sync captures every trade with no effort, so the sample is always complete. It draws each trade, computes your metrics live, and breaks results down by setup, session and symbol — analysis you would spend hours building by hand and updating forever.
The honesty factor
A spreadsheet reflects what you chose to enter; an auto-syncing journal reflects what actually happened. Removing yourself from the data-entry step removes the bias, and bias is the whole reason you journal in the first place.
When to switch
The moment journaling starts to slip — or the moment you want real analysis instead of a list. NEXALIONE auto-syncs, analyses and coaches, and it is free to start, so there is little reason to keep fighting a spreadsheet.