Resources
Templates and worksheets
Four working checklists for the four moments that cost people money: before buying, while reading the rules, while comparing costs, and before asking for a first payout. Written out in full so you can read or copy them without downloading anything.
Pre-purchase checklist
Ten questions to answer before you pay. If you cannot answer one from the firm's own published pages, that is the finding.
- 01Is my country recorded as available, restricted, or simply unmentioned by this firm?
- 02What is the maximum loss, is it static or trailing, and is it measured intraday or at end of day?
- 03Where does a trailing floor stop rising — at the starting balance, or never?
- 04What is the daily loss limit, and does it reset on balance or equity?
- 05What are the profit targets for each stage, stated separately rather than added together?
- 06Is there a published time limit, and does a monthly fee create a practical one instead?
- 07What is the activation fee, and when is it charged?
- 08What does a reset cost, and is it cheaper than a new account?
- 09What is the base profit split — not the ceiling — and what conditions gate the first payout?
- 10Is there a consistency rule, and is it tested during the evaluation or at payout?
Rules audit worksheet
Work through a firm's own pages and write down what each rule actually says. The gaps you find are the point of the exercise.
- 01Copy the exact wording of the maximum loss rule, not your summary of it.
- 02Note which document it came from: the plan page, the FAQ, or the funded-account agreement.
- 03Check whether the funded stage restates the rule differently from the evaluation.
- 04Write down what happens on a breach: trade voided, profit voided, or account closed.
- 05Record the news-trading window in minutes, either side, and whether a stop fill counts as execution.
- 06Record overnight and weekend holding separately — many firms treat them differently.
- 07Note anything the firm does not state. An unstated rule is a risk, not an absence of one.
- 08Date the audit. Terms change, and an undated note is worthless six months later.
True cost worksheet
The advertised price is one of five numbers. Fill in all five before you compare two plans.
- 01Evaluation fee, and whether it is charged once or monthly.
- 02If monthly: the number of months you realistically expect to take, multiplied out.
- 03Activation fee charged when a passed evaluation is funded.
- 04Reset fee × the number of attempts you would actually pay for.
- 05Trading costs: spread and commission on the instruments you trade, at your usual frequency.
- 06Total, then divide by the account size to get a cost-per-dollar-funded figure you can compare across firms.
Payout readiness list
Work through this before you request a first payout, not after it is refused.
- 01Have you met the minimum trading days, and is that different from minimum profitable days?
- 02Does a consistency rule apply at payout, and does your best day breach it?
- 03Is your identity and residence verification complete, and does it match your account country?
- 04Which payout methods does the firm publish, and does one of them reach your country?
- 05What is the stated processing window, and does it count working days or calendar days?
- 06Is the split you expect the base rate, or a promotional rate with an expiry?
- 07Have you kept the support replies for anything the published terms left ambiguous?
Use them against the record
Every question above has a surface on this site that answers it, or shows you that the firm does not.
- Question 1Is my country available?Availability, restrictions, and the difference between unknown and allowed.Open →
- Questions 2–4Which drawdown model?Static, trailing intraday and trailing end-of-day as three separate lists.Open →
- Cost worksheetAdd the five numbersThe calculator that does the arithmetic for you.Open →
Questions
- Why are these not downloads?
- A checklist you can read on the page and copy is more useful than a file, and downloads are unreliable inside embedded viewers. Nothing here needs to be a file.
- Can I use these for any firm?
- Yes. They are written against the rule concepts rather than a particular firm's wording, which is exactly why they surface the gaps.
- What if a firm will not answer one of these?
- That is a finding. A firm that will not state its payout condition in writing before you pay is telling you something.