Tally Live P&L and R-multiple overlay for NinjaTrader 8
by FlowForged Analytics
Live numbers for the trade you are in. Tally labels every working stop and target with its dollars, points or R, draws a break-even line that follows your partial exits, and grades the bracket’s reward against its risk.
Tally on ES, a 2-lot long. Each target shows what it pays in dollars and R (+$488 / +1.5R at 7530.00, +$400 / +1.231R at 7528.25), the stop at 7517.00 shows -$325, and the dashed line marks break-even at 7520.25. The panel at the top adds it up: R:R 2.73, +$888 / -$325, GOOD. Tap to enlarge.
Quick info
Platform
NinjaTrader 8 on Windows
Concept
Live profit, loss, break-even and reward-to-risk for the working orders on an open position
Designed for
Traders who manage stops and targets on the chart, by hand or with ATM strategies
Best used when
You are in a trade and want every exit priced in dollars, points or R without doing the math
Account
Follows the account selected in the chart’s Chart Trader
Updates
On every order, fill and position change
Data
Reads orders, fills and positions from your NinjaTrader account. No Order Flow+ and no Tick Replay
Access
Part of the FlowForged Suite, free during the private beta
What Tally does
Tally stays silent until your account holds a position on the chart’s instrument. Then it reads that account’s working orders and labels every stop and target with what it would make or lose if it filled.
Each label can show dollars, points, ticks and R, in any mix. 1R is the dollar risk of all your working stops right now, so when you tighten a stop, the R on every target changes straight away.
A dashed break-even line marks the price where closing the rest of the position nets zero. It includes profit already booked by partial exits and, if you enter one, your round-turn commission. A panel at the top of the chart totals every target against every stop and gives the bracket a verdict: POOR, OK, GOOD or EXCELLENT, or RISK-FREE once every stop sits at or past break-even.
If you want a record of each trade, Tally can also save a screenshot of the chart when a trade opens and when it closes.
Purpose
Once a bracket is working, the questions change. What does each target pay? What am I still risking? Where is break-even now that I have taken a partial? Without Tally you work those numbers out in your head, mid-trade, and again every time you move an order.
Without TallyWorking out each target’s dollars and R in your headRedoing the math every time you move a stopGuessing where break-even sits after a partial exit
With TallyDollars, points, ticks or R printed on every stop and target1R and the R:R verdict recalculated on every order changeA break-even line that includes booked partials and, optionally, commission
Why choose it
It reads your real orders. The labels come from the working orders on your account, not from lines you draw.
It knows a stop from a target. ATM orders are sorted by the names NinjaTrader gives them (Stop1, Target1), and pending entry orders are never labelled.
Live 1R. R is measured against the dollars at risk right now, so the numbers move when you trail a stop.
Break-even that follows the trade. Booked partials and an optional commission are built into the line.
One chart, one account. Each chart follows its own Chart Trader account, so two charts on two accounts never mix.
A screenshot record. Optional captures on entry and exit, filed in a folder per trading day.
Read-only. Tally never places, moves or cancels an order.
How it works
Every order, fill or position update on the selected account rebuilds the numbers.
Find the position. Tally waits until the account selected in Chart Trader holds a position on the chart’s instrument.
Sort the orders. Working stop and limit orders become stops or targets. ATM orders are sorted by name, manual orders by type and side. Entry orders and adds to the position are skipped.
Price each exit. The distance from your average entry to the order’s price, in points and ticks, and in dollars for that order’s quantity.
Set 1R. The total dollar loss of all working stops. Each target’s R is its dollars divided by 1R.
Grade the bracket. Total target dollars divided by total stop dollars gives the R:R and its verdict.
Draw break-even. Your average entry, moved by profit or loss booked from partial exits and by the commission you set.
The same ES position with the stop at 7515.25. Risk is $500, so the targets read +0.975R and +0.8R and the panel shows R:R 1.78, OK. With the stop at 7517.00, as in the chart at the top of the page, risk is $325: the same targets read +1.5R and +1.231R, and the verdict is R:R 2.73, GOOD.
Key capabilities
Per-order labels in dollars, points, ticks and R, in any combination
Stop and target recognition from ATM order names, with an order-type fallback for manual orders
Live 1R from the current dollar risk of all working stops
Dynamic break-even line that includes booked partials and an optional round-turn commission
R:R panel in Verdict, Bar or Compact style, with POOR, OK, GOOD, EXCELLENT, RISK-FREE, NO STOP and NO TARGET states
Optional account row with the day’s realized P&L and trailing drawdown, when your connection reports them
Auto-screenshots on entry, or on entry and exit, plus a one-click snapshot
Six color themes: Forge, Classic, Stealth, Obsidian, Nordic and Carbon
Labels placed beside Chart Trader’s order markers, or by the price axis
Follows the Chart Trader account on each chart
How to set up Tally in NinjaTrader 8
Open Chart Trader on the chart you trade and select your account. Tally follows that selection.
Add FF Tally from the Indicators window. It stays blank until that account holds a position on the chart’s instrument.
Pick the label units on the toolbar pill: pt+R (default) or $+R. Ticks and other mixes are under 10 Display Units.
Optional: enter your Commission per round-turn ($) under 30 Break-Even so break-even includes fees.
Optional: turn on auto-capture with the second camera on the pill, and choose the folder from the gear.
New to NinjaTrader add-ons? The install guide covers importing, Tick Replay and common fixes.
Tally FAQ
Does Tally need Order Flow+ or Tick Replay?
No. It reads working orders, fills and positions from any connected NinjaTrader account, live or simulated.
Does Tally place or change orders?
No. Tally is read-only. It never places, moves or cancels an order.
How is the break-even line worked out?
It starts at your average entry and moves when partial exits book profit or loss, spread over the contracts still open. With a round-turn commission set, it also moves by the commission.
Does it work with manual orders as well as ATM brackets?
Yes. ATM orders are sorted by the names NinjaTrader gives them, such as Stop1 and Target1. Manual orders have no name, so Tally decides by order type and side.
Which account does it show?
The one selected in that chart’s Chart Trader. Two charts with different accounts selected each show their own position.
Futures trading involves substantial risk and is not for every investor. Chart examples show past market activity and are not indicative of future results. Tally is an analytical tool, not trading advice.
Everything Tally draws describes the open position: what each working order would do if it filled, and where the trade nets zero.
TGT +9.75 pts / +1.5R
Targets
What the target adds if it fills, in the units you chose. With $+R the same label reads TGT +$488 / +1.5R. R appears on targets only.
STOP -3.25 pts
Stops
What you lose, or keep, if the stop fills. Stops are the 1R reference, so they carry no R value.
- - - BE 7520.25
Break-even
The dashed line is the price where closing everything left nets zero. After a partial exit the label adds the booked amount, as in BE 7517.25 (+$150 locked).
R:R 2.73 · +$888 / -$325GOOD
The panel
All targets against all stops: the R:R, the dollar totals and a verdict badge. The badge and the panel border take the verdict’s color.
The numbers are what each order would make or lose if it filled. They change when your orders or position change, not with every tick. Chip colors here are the default Forge theme.
Stops and targets
Tally looks at the orders on the selected account for the chart’s instrument that are Working or Accepted. Stop orders are priced at their stop price and limit orders at their limit price. Market and MIT orders are skipped.
ATM brackets carry names in NinjaTrader’s Orders tab, and Tally trusts them. Manual orders have no name, so Tally decides by order type and side. Orders with any other name are treated like unnamed ones.
How each order is counted
Name starts with “Stop”Stop
Stop1, Stop2 and so on. A named stop trailed into profit stays a stop, and its label shows the profit it would keep.
Name starts with “Target” or “Profit”Target
Target1, Target2 and so on.
Name starts with “Entry”Skipped
A pending entry never gets a label, even when its price looks like a target.
Unnamed order on the position’s sideSkipped
A buy order on a long, or a sell order on a short, adds to the position. It is not an exit.
Unnamed stop orderStop
Stop-market and stop-limit orders that close the position.
Unnamed limit orderTarget
A limit beyond your entry is a target. A limit behind your entry is counted as a stop, so no target appears behind price.
Orders of the same kind at the same price share one label, with their dollars added together.
1R and the verdict
1R is the total dollar loss of all working stops at this moment. Each target’s R is its dollars divided by 1R, so tightening a stop shrinks 1R and raises the R on every target. When no stop carries a loss, R is left off the labels.
The panel adds up every target in profit (reward) and every stop at a loss (risk). R:R is reward divided by risk.
Verdict
When
Color setting
POOR
R:R below 1.0
Poor R:R color
OK
1.0 to 2.0
Acceptable R:R color
GOOD
2.0 to 3.0
Good R:R color
EXCELLENT
3.0 and above
Good R:R color
RISK-FREE
Every stop at or past BE
Risk-free color
NO STOP
No stop at a loss
No-target color
NO TARGET
No target in profit
No-target color
Each band includes its lower bound: 2.0 is GOOD, 3.0 is EXCELLENT. RISK-FREE is checked first and needs at least one working stop. In the RISK-FREE, NO STOP and NO TARGET states the panel shows the position size instead of dollars, for example 2 L.
Panel styles
Verdictdefault
The badge on the right, with R:R 2.73 · +$888 / -$325 beside it in the text color.
Baroption
The ratio as a title (R:R 2.73×) over a bar split between reward and risk, with +$888 reward and -$325 risk under its ends.
Compactoption
One line, R:R 2.73 · +$888 / -$325, in the verdict color.
Break-even
Break-even is the price where closing the rest of the position nets zero. It starts at your average entry price and moves for two reasons.
Partial exits. Profit or loss booked on closed contracts is spread over the contracts still open: break-even moves by booked dollars ÷ (open contracts × point value). Booked profit moves it toward your stop; a booked loss moves it toward your targets.
Commission. With a round-turn commission set, break-even moves away from entry by commission ÷ point value, above entry on a long and below on a short. The result is rounded to the nearest tick.
Example: long 2 ES at 7520.25. One contract exits at 7523.25 and books +$150. One contract is left, so break-even moves 150 ÷ (1 × 50) = 3 points, and the label reads BE 7517.25 (+$150 locked).
When every working stop sits at or past break-even, the label changes to RISK-FREE, followed by the price and the locked amount, and the panel shows the RISK-FREE verdict. The booked amount clears when the position goes flat or reverses.
Booked profit is counted from the fills Tally sees while it is running. Partials taken before Tally was added, or before a reload, are not included.
30 Break-Even
Show break-even lineOn
The dashed line and its label. Same as BE on the toolbar.
Commission per round-turn ($)0
Your round-turn commission per contract, 0 to 1000. 0 ignores commission.
Break-even line width (px)2
1 to 6 pixels.
Break-even line styleDash
Solid, Dash, Dot or DashDot.
Screenshots
Tally can save a PNG of the chart when a trade opens from flat, and when it goes back to flat. Each capture is taken 250 ms after the position changes, so the new labels are in the image.
Files are saved as HHmmss_<instrument>_entry.png, _exit.png or _manual.png, in one folder per trading day named yyyy-MM-dd.
Day folders roll at 6 PM Eastern, so an evening trade is filed under the next session’s date.
The snapshot button on the toolbar saves one straight away, whatever the auto-capture mode, even with Tally switched off.
Auto-capture pauses while Tally is switched off with its power button.
A capture copies the chart’s area of your screen. The chart needs to be visible and not covered by another window when it fires.
60 Screenshots
Screenshot modeOff
Off, EntryOnly or EntryAndExit. Same as the second camera on the toolbar.
Where captures are saved. The folder is created if it does not exist.
Browse for folder...action
Tick it to open a folder picker. The path you choose is written into Screenshot folder.
Accounts
Tally subscribes to every connected account when it loads and shows the one selected in this chart’s Chart Trader. Change the selection and the labels, break-even and panel switch to that account’s position.
One chart, one account. Two charts on the same instrument with different accounts selected each show their own position.
Per-account break-even. Booked partial profit is tracked for each account in the background, so switching away and back restores it.
Chart Trader can open later. If Chart Trader is not open when Tally loads, Tally checks for it every two seconds and starts following its account as soon as you open it.
Accounts that connect later. Tally subscribes to each account as it connects, so an account you connect after loading is picked up without a reload.
Any contract month. A position in any contract month of the chart’s instrument is picked up.
With DD on, a row under the panel shows the account’s realized P&L (Day) and trailing drawdown (DD). Each value appears only when your connection reports it as non-zero, and the row is hidden when neither is. Like the panel, it shows only while a position is open.
Display settings
0. Toolbar
Show toolbarOn
Shows the toolbar pill. Turn it off for a clean chart.
01 Behavior
ThemeForge
Loads a full color set: Forge, Classic, Stealth, Obsidian, Nordic or Carbon. Choosing a theme replaces the colors in group 40 and the backgrounds in group 50. Also on the gear panel.
Label sideLeft
Left places the stop and target labels just past Chart Trader’s order markers, following NinjaTrader’s Order display bar length setting. Right places them by the price axis. Also on the gear panel.
10 Display Units
Show USDOff
Dollars on each label.
Show pointsOn
Points from your average entry, rounded to whole ticks.
Show ticksOff
The same distance in ticks.
Show R-multiplesOn
Each target’s dollars as a multiple of live 1R. Not shown on stops.
20 Risk/Reward
R:R panel styleVerdict
Verdict, Bar or Compact. See 1R and the verdict.
Show R:R panelOn
The panel at the top right of the price panel. Same as R:R on the toolbar.
Use R:R quality colorsOn
Colors the badge, title and panel border by verdict. Off uses the text color.
Show account statsOff
Adds the Day and DD row under the panel. Same as DD on the toolbar.
R:R panel x-offset (px)180
Distance of the panel from the right side of the chart, 0 to 1000. While the Master Switch pill sits top right, the panel keeps at least 270 px clear.
Colors and layout
40 Colors
Profit color / Loss colorper theme
Target labels in profit, and stop labels. A target at a loss uses the loss color. The Bar style uses both for its reward and risk segments.
Poor R:R color (< 1.0)per theme
The POOR verdict.
Acceptable R:R color (1–2)per theme
The OK verdict.
Good R:R color (≥ 2.0)per theme
The GOOD and EXCELLENT verdicts.
Risk-free colorper theme
The RISK-FREE badge and break-even label.
No-target colorper theme
The NO STOP and NO TARGET states.
Break-even line colorper theme
The break-even line and its label.
Text colorper theme
Panel detail text and the account row.
50 Backgrounds
Order label background / Order label bg opacity (%)per theme / 70
The fill behind the stop and target labels and the R:R panel, and its opacity from 0 to 100.
The fill behind the break-even label, and its opacity from 0 to 100. 0 leaves the label without a box.
Label x-offset (px)4
Right placement: the gap between the labels and the price axis, 0 to 50.
Left label offset (%) [fallback]25
Left placement, used only when Chart Trader’s Order display bar length cannot be read. 0 to 95.
Left label x-shift (px)-60
Left placement: nudges the stop and target labels toward the order markers (negative) or away from them, -500 to 500. The break-even label is not shifted.
Font size14
8 to 28. The panel uses sizes just above and below it.
Font familySegoe UI
Used for every label.
Themes
Forgedefault
Gold profit, ember loss, steel-cyan break-even. Verdicts run ember, gold, mint.
Classicoption
Lime-green profit, orange-red loss, dodger-blue break-even, gold for OK.
Stealthoption
Muted whites and grays, with a transparent panel background.
Obsidianoption
Near-white text and profit on black, muted red loss, one cyan accent.
Nordicoption
The Nord palette: frost green, frost red and frost cyan.
Carbonoption
Graphite tones with green, red and cyan for state.
Toolbar
Units, the panel, the account row, the break-even line and screenshots all change live from one pill, with no dialogs and no reload.
TALLYpt+RR:RDDBE
As it sits on the chart, default settings. On toggles in teal, off in grey.
Power turns every Tally overlay on or off, and follows the suite-wide Master Switch. When it is off it turns red, the toggles dim and auto-capture pauses. Orders and fills are still tracked, so the labels are current when you turn it back on.
pt+R switches the label units between pt+R (points and R) and $+R (dollars and R). A different mix set in the properties shows as Cust; one click returns to pt+R.
R:R shows or hides the R:R panel.
DD shows or hides the account row under the panel. It is off by default.
BE shows or hides the break-even line and its label.
The first camera saves a screenshot now, with a shutter sound.
The second camera cycles auto-capture: off (camera only), E (entry) and E+X (entry and exit). It lights up while auto-capture is on.
The gear opens a panel with the theme, the label side, an auto-capture checkbox and the screenshot folder with a Browse button.
Ctrl+Alt+T hides or shows every FlowForged toolbar on the chart.
Requirements
Platform
NinjaTrader 8 on Windows. No Order Flow+ subscription required.
Account
Any connected NinjaTrader account, live or simulated. Tally reads working orders, fills and positions through NinjaTrader’s account data. The account row needs a connection that reports realized P&L or trailing drawdown.
Chart
Any chart type and timeframe; labels and lines are placed by price, not by bar. Chart Trader open, with your account selected.
Instrument
Any instrument NinjaTrader has a tick size and point value for. Dollar figures use that point value.
Orders
Read-only. Tally never places, moves or cancels an order.
Try it in the free private beta
Tally ships as part of the FlowForged Suite. The beta is free.