How to Use the Monthly Performance Widget on Your TradeLyser Dashboard
Short-term dashboards highlight today and this week; monthly performance answers whether your edge holds across calendar months. The TradeLyser monthly performance widget shows month-by-month net P&L—usually as a bar chart across recent months—with color for profitable vs losing months, optional year selector, and cumulative context. It is ideal for goal tracking, seasonal review, and long-term confidence without losing the discipline of daily work (Daily performance widget).
Monthly bars compress noise from individual days: one bad Tuesday matters less than whether March was net positive. Pair this widget with P&L widget for current month headline, Performance chart widget for path inside the month, and Generate reports for exportable analysis. Add via Add widgets; organize templates with Create dashboard template.
Empty months usually mean no closed trades in that month—not a broken widget. For load issues, see Dashboard not loading. Questions: support@tradelyser.com.
What the monthly performance widget shows
| Component | Typical meaning |
|---|---|
| Monthly P&L bars | Net realized P&L per calendar month |
| Green / red bars | Profitable vs losing month |
| Bar height | Magnitude of result |
| 12-month window | Rolling or calendar year view |
| Year selector | Historical years (if available) |
| Cumulative line (some variants) | Running total across months |
Library labels may include Monthly P&L, Yearly P&L Heatmap (calendar grid—different visual), or Monthly P&L with comparison—read description in widget picker before adding.
Monthly vs daily vs yearly views
| Widget | Time bucket | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Daily performance | Day | Session discipline |
| Monthly performance | Month | Goals, seasonality |
| Yearly heatmap | Month cells in year grid | Pattern at a glance |
| Performance chart | Continuous daily | Drawdown inside month |
Use monthly widget on review templates switched via Switch dashboard templates.
Add the monthly performance widget
- Dashboard → Edit Layout.
- Pick a large horizontal slot (12 bars need width).
- + Add Widget → Charts → Monthly Performance / Monthly P&L.
- Save Layout.
- Set dashboard date range or year control to include months you care about.
Avoid duplicating monthly P&L as both small KPI and large chart unless they show different comparisons (e.g. current month vs 6-month history).
How months are calculated
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Month boundary | Calendar month in TradeLyser timezone/settings |
| Trade inclusion | Closed trades with dates in that month |
| Net amount | After fees/taxes per configuration |
| Partial month | Current month bar grows until month ends |
| No trades | Month may show zero or be omitted |
Align mentally with tax or fiscal months if you report externally—TradeLyser uses its configured calendar unless reports offer fiscal filters.
Interpret monthly bars
| Observation | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| Mostly green bars | Positive months dominate—check size of reds |
| One very tall green | Outlier month—verify repeatability |
| Red cluster | Losing streak across months—strategy or risk review |
| Improving bar heights | Recent months better—confirm not one lucky month |
| Flat small bars | Low activity or breakeven trading |
Month-over-month consistency often beats a single record month for sustainable trading businesses.
Monthly review workflow
- Open dashboard template with monthly widget (create if needed).
- Select current year or last 12 months.
- Compare current month to prior 3 months average.
- Note best and worst month—read journal tags for those periods.
- Identify top strategy contributors via strategy board or reports.
- Document one process change for next month.
- Export or archive via Generate reports for mentors or taxes.
Goals and seasonality
| Use case | How to use widget |
|---|---|
| Monthly profit target | Horizontal mental line at target ₹ |
| Seasonality (e.g. budget season) | Compare same month year-over-year in reports |
| Reduced summer activity | Shorter bars may reflect fewer trades, not worse edge |
| New strategy launch | Mark start month; expect 2–3 month sample before judging |
Do not set next month’s size from last month’s bar height alone—use risk rules.
Pair with reports and other widgets
| Tool | Role |
|---|---|
| Monthly widget | Fast visual history |
| P&L widget | Current month to date |
| Win rate widget | Hit rate does not equal monthly profit |
| Reports | Tables, export, compare periods |
| Interpret widget metrics | Definitions |
When widget and report disagree, match account, year, and closed trade rules.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Action |
|---|---|
| Missing month | No trades that month |
| Current month looks low | Month in progress—incomplete |
| Wrong year | Change year selector |
| Blank chart | Sync data; widen year |
| Huge outlier | Verify imports; one-off corporate action |
| Slow load | One monthly chart per board |
support@tradelyser.com with year and account.
Best practices
- Review monthly widget on a fixed calendar day (e.g. last Sunday).
- Combine with daily widget only when investigating a bad month.
- Keep 3–5 years perspective in reports, not only on dashboard.
- Remove duplicate monthly tiles—Remove widgets.
- Customize layout in Customize dashboard for review vs trading days.
Frequently asked questions
Why is current month bar small?
Month not finished; fewer trading days so far.
Does widget include unrealized P&L?
Typically realized closed-trade monthly totals.
Can I see more than 12 months?
Use reports or yearly heatmap widget; dashboard may cap visible months.
Monthly widget vs monthly P&L small tile?
Small tile often shows current month + spark comparison; large widget shows history.
Two accounts combined?
Depends on account filter—single account bars are clearer.
Will deleting widget delete history?
No.
Fiscal year April–March?
Use reports if fiscal grouping needed; widget may be calendar month.
Heatmap vs bar chart?
Heatmap emphasizes calendar layout; bars emphasize magnitude comparison.
Mobile view?
Readable on tablet; desktop preferred for annual review.
Support?
How do I compare this January to last January?
Use year selector on the widget if available, or period comparison in Generate reports for YoY tables.
Should beginners start with the monthly widget?
After mastering P&L and win rate, add monthly bars for long-term perspective—usually on a review template, not the live session board.
What if I only traded two months this year?
Expect sparse bars; widen to prior year or focus on trade-level metrics until sample grows.
Can monthly widget drive tax estimates?
Use exported reports and professional tax advice; the widget is indicative, not a tax filing tool. Keep broker statements as the primary audit trail.
Related guides
- Daily performance widget
- Performance chart widget
- P&L widget
- Interpret widget metrics
- Add widgets
- Customize dashboard
- Create dashboard template
- Generate reports
- Dashboard not loading
Example: seasonal comparison
March and April bars green, May red, June green again. Monthly widget suggests regime change in May, not necessarily broken edge. Cross-check May in Daily performance for clustered loss days, then strategy tags in reports. One red month rarely warrants abandoning a validated system; three red months with rising trade count may.
Quick reference: monthly performance widget
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| Slot | Large |
| Review | Last Sunday of month |
| Pair | Reports + journal |
| Goal | Month-over-month consistency |
Year-end and multi-year perspective
The on-dashboard monthly widget usually emphasizes recent months. For three-year equity growth questions, use yearly views in Generate reports and keep the monthly widget for the last twelve months only. This division keeps the dashboard fast while preserving long history in reporting tools.
Capital additions and withdrawals
Deposits and withdrawals affect account balance widgets more than pure trade P&L bars. Monthly trade P&L bars reflect trading results; if your month looks odd after a large deposit, confirm you are reading trade P&L rather than balance-change tiles. Clarify with Interpret widget metrics and support if labels are ambiguous in your library version.
Setting realistic monthly goals
Anchor goals to average monthly P&L over the last six months shown on the widget, not your best month. If the best bar is 3× the median, planning for repeat performance will distort risk. Use the monthly widget to set process goals (max loss days, trade count caps) and reports to set outcome ranges with confidence intervals.
Help: support@tradelyser.com