SimpleDCA is a NinjaTrader 8 chart indicator that adds automated trade management directly to the Chart Trader panel. It gives discretionary traders two one-click tools for handling an open position: a DCA (Dollar Cost Average) mode and a Bracket button.

When DCA is toggled on, the indicator automatically maintains a profit target a configurable number of ticks from the position's average price. As the market moves against the trade, it submits additional market orders at preset tick intervals from the original entry, scaling into the position up to a maximum number of levels. Each new fill adjusts the average price, and the profit target is automatically re-synced to match — so the exit always reflects the true blended cost basis.

The Bracket button is simpler: one click attaches a fixed profit target and stop loss to the current position at user-defined tick distances.

Under the hood, the indicator is built around a careful threading model. NinjaTrader delivers order fills, position updates, and bar updates on separate threads that can run simultaneously, which makes it easy to accidentally submit duplicate exit orders during the brief window between a profit target filling and the position officially going flat. SimpleDCA solves this with a position version counter that increments on every confirmed position change — new orders are only submitted when the version advances, which guarantees the adapter thread has acknowledged the new state before the instrument thread acts on it. A soft reconciliation check on each tick catches any missed events by polling the account's real position and forcing a reset if internal state drifts.

The result is a lightweight, race-safe tool that lets a trader toggle DCA behavior or attach a bracket mid-trade without worrying about orphaned orders or double fills.