Planning the challenge before you start
An evaluation account is defined by its rule set, not by its size. The rule types worth writing down are the profit target, the daily loss limit, the maximum loss limit, whether that maximum is static or trails your equity high, whether the daily figure is measured on balance or on equity including open positions, the time the daily figure resets on the firm's server clock, any minimum trading day or consistency requirement, restrictions on symbols, sessions and news, and every rule that changes between the evaluation phase and the funded phase. Read the current terms on the firm's own page before you fund anything, then write them out in your own words. Every risk input you later choose in the EA should trace back to one of those lines. If a setting has no rule behind it, you are guessing rather than planning.
Where EA Hub actually helps
JPTC EA Hub for MT4 and MT5 covers the mechanical side: getting files into the right folders, choosing risk inputs that match the limits you wrote down, loading a setfile, and watching the account while it runs. It does not decide your rules for you, and no software passes an evaluation on your behalf. Anyone claiming otherwise is selling marketing. Hub is 797 euro one-time, Pro is 1,497 and the bundle is 2,499, all including VAT, with a 14-day refund provided the software has not traded. JPTC also offers a hosted algo and prop-firm challenge preparation for traders who would rather not assemble the setup themselves. You run everything on your own account at your own broker. JPTC holds no funds and has no withdrawal access.
Why setfiles are released slowly
JPTC publishes a customer-facing setfile only after it has been tested on conditions close to where it will run and then watched forward on a demo account before release. The reason is practical. A setfile encodes assumptions about spread, session hours and volatility, so a file tuned on one feed can behave differently on another. Handing out unchecked files leaves traders running conflicting settings on the same symbol and then blaming the EA when results diverge. If a file has not been published, it has not finished that process. Ask what any file was tested on, which broker and which period, and treat anything pulled from a forum post or a screenshot as unverified.
Why firms vet automated strategies
Many prop firms ask what software you are running before or during an evaluation, and some ask again at payout. They are not grading your strategy. Their risk desk is screening for behaviour it cannot carry: latency arbitrage, tick scalping that depends on feed lag, copy trading across many accounts, hedging between accounts, and news straddling where it is prohibited. What they usually want is a plain description of the logic, the platform, confirmation the licence is yours, and confirmation you are not mirroring the same account elsewhere. Read the firm's current terms and answer plainly. A vague answer invites a longer review than an unusual strategy does.
Add-ons change the rules you trade
Evaluation accounts are often sold with options attached: a different profit split, a raised or removed daily limit, weekend or news trading permission, a faster payout cycle, a different number of evaluation phases. Each option rewrites the rule set your EA has to respect, and some cannot be undone after purchase. Decide the configuration first, then set the EA to it. Do not buy an add-on and assume yesterday's settings still fit. Record the final rule set after checkout from your own account dashboard rather than the sales page, because the sales page describes options and the dashboard describes yours.
Moving a setfile between brokers
The same EA on two brokers is not the same system. Spread, commission model, swap, execution speed, minimum stop distance, server time zone, symbol suffix, contract size and tick value all shift behaviour, and gold reacts hardest because the same nominal lot can carry a different value per point from one broker to the next. Check whether the account is netting or hedging as well, since that changes how the EA's positions are held. When you move a file, confirm the symbol name and suffix first, then the server clock against your session filters, then the value per point for one lot, then typical spread during the hours you actually trade rather than the advertised figure. Run the file on a demo account at the new broker across the same sessions before it touches an evaluation. If trade count or entry times diverge noticeably, the file needs work, not the account.
Execution quality beats headline spread
A tight advertised spread means little if it widens at the open, during news, or exactly where your stop sits. What decides an EA's outcome is fill quality: slippage on entries and exits, requote or rejection frequency, how far the broker forces stops from price, and whether the feed stalls during volatility. Log the gap between requested and filled price over a stretch of trades on the account that actually trades, because a demo server simulates fills and will flatter the numbers. A strategy with wide stops tolerates weak execution. Anything working on short distances does not, and gold on a poor feed will look broken when the logic is fine.
Keeping a record that survives review
Assume you will be asked to explain your trading after a payout request. Keep the statement exported from the platform, the EA version and the exact settings file used in each period, a dated note of every settings change and the reason for it, and any correspondence where the firm approved something. Store them per account rather than in one pile. Screenshots are weak evidence because nothing can be reconciled against them. If your account of a period depends on remembering what you changed, you do not have a record. Keeping it costs minutes per week and turns a review into a document request.
When to stop instead of adjusting
Mid-evaluation tinkering is one of the most common ways a good setup gets buried. Adjust only when something is factually wrong: the wrong symbol, a session filter set against the wrong server time, a risk input that does not match the account limit. Stop the EA entirely when conditions sit outside what the setfile assumes, such as spreads staying wide, a major calendar event, or a run of losses that puts the daily limit within reach of one more trade. Before you switch it off, check whether the firm requires a minimum number of trading days, because an idle day can cost you one. Increasing size to recover a drawdown is the decision that closes the account, and it always feels justified.
Common questions
Do I need FXIFY to approve my EA before I use it?
Approval requirements for expert advisors differ between prop firms and change over time, so read the current terms of the firm you are trading with before you start. Many allow commercial expert advisors while prohibiting specific behaviour such as latency arbitrage, tick scalping on feed lag, copy trading across multiple accounts, and hedging between accounts. Ask support in writing, describe the logic in plain language, and keep the reply. A written answer from the firm outweighs any forum opinion.
What documents should I have ready if a prop firm reviews my account?
A prop firm account review is easiest to answer with four things: the statement exported from the trading platform, the EA version and the exact setfile used in each period, a dated log of settings changes, and any written approval from the firm. Export the statement at the end of each phase rather than only at payout, since platform history can be trimmed or lost when a login is closed. Keep everything separated per account. The change log is the piece that cannot be reconstructed afterwards, so write it as you go.
Will a different spread break a setfile that worked on another broker?
A change in spread can break a setfile that worked at another broker, and how much depends on how tight the strategy's stops and targets are. Spread, commission and slippage move entry and exit points, and stop distances that were comfortable on one feed can sit inside the noise on another. Run the file on a demo account at the new broker across the same sessions and compare trade count and entry times, then judge fill quality only on an account that trades for real, because demo servers simulate fills and will not show slippage or rejections honestly.
Should I run one symbol or several during a challenge?
Running one symbol first is the safer start on an evaluation account, and further symbols are worth adding only once you know how the first behaves on that broker's feed. Several symbols can be exposed at the same moment, which is exactly what a daily loss limit punishes. If you do run more than one, check whether positions can open together and size for the combined case rather than each trade in isolation. Correlated instruments often move together and add up like one larger position, though the correlation is partial and it shifts.
What should I do after a losing week on an evaluation account?
A losing week on an evaluation account is a reason to read your log, not to change settings. Separate three causes: conditions moved outside what the setfile assumes, the setup is wrong (symbol, session filter, server time, risk input), or nothing is wrong and this is ordinary variance. Fix setup errors, sit out conditions that do not fit, and leave the rest alone. Raising size to recover is how the daily limit gets hit.
Do I need the Pro version to pass a challenge?
The version of the software does not decide whether an evaluation is passed, and no software passes one for you. Hub covers MT4 and MT5 at 797 euro one-time, Pro is 1,497 and the bundle is 2,499, all including VAT, with a 14-day refund provided the software has not traded. Compare what each tier includes on the product page against the number of accounts and symbols you actually run. The rules of the evaluation stay the same whichever you buy.
Can I run the same EA on my own broker account and my prop account?
Mirroring the same trades on a personal account and a prop account is restricted at many firms and can be treated as a breach even when both accounts belong to you, so check the firm's terms before you set anything up. Where it is permitted, the JPTC trade copier supports MT4, MT5, cTrader, DXtrade, TradingView and more, so the platform is rarely the constraint. The firm's rule is the constraint. Get its answer in writing and keep it with your account records.
How do I set risk so I do not hit the daily drawdown?
Risk sizing starts from the daily loss limit shown on your own account dashboard rather than from a review site or a summary page. Confirm two things about that limit first: whether it is measured on equity including open positions or on closed balance, and what time it resets on the firm's server clock, because both decide whether a floating loss counts against you tonight or tomorrow. Then decide the worst single day you are willing to accept and size so the combined worst case across every position that can be open at once stays inside it, counting correlated instruments together and leaving headroom for slippage and spread widening. If you need the whole limit to reach the target, the plan is too tight.