Daily loss limit, daily profit target and signals per day
How "Max daily loss", "Daily profit target" and "Max traded signals per day" work: what they count, money or percent, the broker's day, the four switches that decide what happens at the line, a listener's own limits, and examples.
Where they are
Settings → "Safety limits" → "Per day", in the Desk and in the app. All three are off until you set them, and each profile has its own. A listener can have its own as well (see "A listener's own daily limits" below).
The broker's day
Every daily limit counts the broker's trading day: it starts again at midnight on your broker's server clock, the clock MetaTrader's Market Watch shows. That is often 2 to 3 hours ahead of UTC. With a broker server at UTC+3 and you at UTC+1, the day restarts at 23:00 your time.
The day's figures are rebuilt from the app's own records when it starts, so restarting the app later in the day keeps them.
"Max daily loss"
Once today's result is this far in the red, no new trades open until the next broker day.
What it counts. The result of every trade the app closed today on this profile, from every listener: losses, wins, partial closes and netting exits. It is net, so a win earlier in the day buys back room. Trades and orders you opened yourself in MetaTrader, or another expert opened, are never counted.
When it is checked. Before each new signal. With "Count open trades" on, also each time MetaTrader reports the open trades, about every 2 seconds (see the switches below).
Example. Limit 200. After −150, −100 and +80 the day stands at −170 and trading continues. One more −40 makes −210, and no new trades open for the day. A signal stopped by it says: "Today's loss (210.00) reached Max daily loss (200.00), so no new trades open until tomorrow."
With the four switches off, it stops new trades only: trades already open keep running with their stop-loss and take-profit, and their floating result counts once they close. Example: limit 300, closed −200, an open gold trade floating at −250. New signals still trade. If that trade closes at −250, the day is at −450 and trading stops.
"Daily loss limit is in"
- "account money": the number is the line itself, in the account's currency. Example: 200.
- "percent of the account's value at the start of the day": the line is that percent of the account's equity at the broker's midnight, floating results included. It is worked out again every day, so it follows the account up and down.
Example in percent: 2% on a day that opened at 10,000 stops trading at −200; if tomorrow opens at 12,000 the line is −240. If a trade floats at −400 on a 10,000 balance at midnight, the day's value is 9,600 and the line at 2% is −192.
The day's opening value is kept on your computer and with your account, so a restart later that day, or the app brought back on another computer, keeps the same line. If the app is not running at midnight, the value is taken the first time it reads the account that broker day. Until MetaTrader has connected on a new day, a percent line has no starting value and stops nothing.
A percent can be at most 100. Changing the unit keeps the number as it is (200 as money becomes 200%, which is refused), so type the value again after switching. The unit also applies to every listener's own "Max daily loss".
The four switches under "Max daily loss"
New trades stop at the limit whatever these switches say. Each switch adds one thing of its own:
- "Count open trades": reads the limit on today's closed result plus what the app's open trades are floating at, each time MetaTrader reports them. Off (the default), only the trades closed today count.
- "At the limit: delete pending orders": the app deletes its pending entry orders (limit and stop orders still waiting to open), so none of them opens a trade later that day. The take-profits a netting position keeps at the broker are left.
- "At the limit: close trades in loss": the app closes each of its open trades that is in loss, at market. While the day stays at or past the limit, a trade that turns into a loss later is closed then.
- "At the limit: close trades in profit": the app closes each of its open trades that is in profit (or at nought), at market, keeping what they made. While the day stays at or past the limit, a trade that turns into a profit later is closed then.
All three "At the limit" switches on leave the account flat and quiet until the broker's midnight: nothing open, nothing waiting. All four are off by default.
Example: losers out, winners kept. Limit 300 USD with "Count open trades", "At the limit: delete pending orders" and "At the limit: close trades in loss" on. Closed today −180; open: XAUUSD −145, EURUSD −15, USDJPY +40, and a GBPUSD pending order. The day reaches −300: the app closes XAUUSD and EURUSD, deletes the GBPUSD order and leaves USDJPY running. If USDJPY later turns into a loss while the day is still at or past the line, it is closed then.
Example: everything flat. The same limit with all four switches on: at −300 the app closes every trade it has open and deletes its pending orders. The day ends near −300 and the account stays flat until the broker's midnight.
Example: "Count open trades" alone. Limit 300, closed −180, a gold trade floating at −130. On: the day stands at −310, and no new trades open. Off: the day stands at −180 and new signals still trade.
What happens at the line
- Trades close at market price, so the day can end a little past the line. Type the limit a little inside what you can accept.
- Closing and deleting need MetaTrader 5 running and connected to the app. If the broker refuses a close, for example while the market is shut, the app tries again every 30 seconds.
- Each closed trade's signal story says what was done and why, for example "this trade was closed at −145.00, as the line is set", and the bell says what the app closed and what keeps running.
- Floating results move with every price, so with "Count open trades" on a day can touch the line on one spike.
The line holds for the rest of the day
Once the day reaches the line, no new trade opens for the rest of the broker day. With "Count open trades" on, the limit holds from the result it was reached at, even if the open trades come back: touch −300 with a trade at −150, see that trade recover to −20, and new trades still stay stopped until the broker's midnight.
"Force placement" is not offered for a signal a daily loss or profit line stopped: it holds until the next day.
"Daily profit target"
The same idea upward: once today's result is this far in profit, no new trades open until the next broker day. It counts the trades closed today (wins minus losses), net, so a loss later in the day takes the target back out of reach.
Example. Target 300. After +150, +120 and −40 (net +230) trading continues; one more +90 (net +320) stops it for the day. A signal stopped by it says: "Today's profit (320.00) reached Daily profit target (300.00), so no new trades open until tomorrow."
"Daily profit target is in": "account money" (300) or "percent of the account's value at the start of the day" (3), worked out the same way as the loss limit. 3% on a day that opened at 10,000 is +300; if tomorrow opens at 12,000 the target is +360.
Its four switches are "Count open trades", "At the target: delete pending orders", "At the target: close trades in loss" and "At the target: close trades in profit". They work exactly like those of "Max daily loss", at the target. With all four on, the app banks the day: at the target it closes everything it has open and deletes its pending orders, and the account stays flat until the broker's midnight.
Example: bank the day. Target 400 USD, all four switches on. Closed +250; open XAUUSD +180 and EURUSD −30, and a GBPUSD pending order. The day reaches +400: the app closes both trades and deletes the order, so the day is banked near +400.
Example: take the winners only. Target 400, "Count open trades" and "At the target: close trades in profit" on. At +400 the app closes XAUUSD (+180), keeps EURUSD (−30) running, and its pending orders stay. If EURUSD turns into a profit later that day, it is closed then.
With the switches off, open trades keep running after the target and can give part of the day's profit back. Trades close at market price, so the day can end a little under or over the target.
A listener's own daily limits
Under a listener's "Settings of its own", one group can have its own "Max daily loss", "Daily profit target" and "Max traded signals per day".
- A listener's own limit counts only that listener's trades and signals.
- It can be at most the profile's (a percent at most 100), and it uses the profile's unit, money or percent.
- Both apply: the listener's own stops only that listener ("Listener Gold VIP lost 250.00 today on its own trades, which reached its own Max daily loss (250.00), so its signals are not traded until tomorrow. The other listeners trade on."), and the profile's stops every listener, because it counts them all.
- Its switches are the profile's unless it sets its own. Either way they act on that listener's own trades and orders only.
Example. Profile "Max daily loss" 500; the gold group's own 250; the forex group with none of its own. The gold group closes −90 and −170 (net −260): it stops for the day, and the forex group trades on. If the forex group then loses 240, the profile reaches −500 and every group stops.
A listener's own limit above the profile's is refused, and so is lowering the profile's below a listener's own.
"Max traded signals per day"
The most signals traded in a day, from every listener. A signal counts once it has placed a trade or a pending order, however many trades it opens, so five signals with 3 take-profits each can open 15 trades. When the count reaches the cap, every new signal that day is skipped: "You reached Max traded signals per day (5), so no new signals are traded until tomorrow." Follow-up instructions on trades already open still work.
- Default "No limit".
- A skipped signal does not count. A pending order that later expires unfilled does count, because it was placed.
- Example: cap 3. Signals at 09:10 (placed), 10:30 (skipped by the spread check), 12:00 (placed), 15:45 (placed). A signal at 17:20 is skipped.
- A listener can have its own, counting only its signals and never above the profile's.
This is your own limit. Your plan also has a daily signal count, separate from it: the signals read for you each day (10 on the 7-day plan, 15 on Basic, 35 on Advanced, 50 on Pro), which starts again at 00:00 UTC. See Your limits explained.
Where you see the day
- In the Desk, each profile's card shows "Daily loss" (today's net loss on closed trades against your limit) and "Daily target" once they are set.
- A signal stopped by a daily line says which line and the figures.
- A notice on the bell tells you when the day reaches a line, what the app closed and what keeps running.
Common setups
- Stop for the day after losing 3%: "Daily loss limit is in" → "percent of the account's value at the start of the day"; "Max daily loss" → 3.
- At the loss line, cut the losers and keep the winners: "Max daily loss" set; "Count open trades", "At the limit: delete pending orders" and "At the limit: close trades in loss" on.
- Bank the day at +2%: "Daily profit target is in" → percent; "Daily profit target" → 2; all four switches under it on.
- One volatile group stops early: on its listener, its own "Max daily loss" at half the profile's, and its own "Max traded signals per day" 3.
"Set up with a few questions" asks "When should the app stop opening trades for the day?" ("After losing a share of the account", "After losing a fixed amount of money" or "Never, keep trading") and sets "Max daily loss" from your answer.
If something goes wrong
- "My signals stopped for the rest of the day." A daily line was reached: "Max daily loss", "Daily profit target", "Max traded signals per day", or a listener's own. Open a skipped signal to see which. They start again at the broker's midnight.
- "The day went past my limit." Trades close at market price, and with "Count open trades" off, open trades can lose past the line before they close. Turn on "Count open trades" and "At the limit: close trades in loss", and type the limit a little inside what you can accept.
- "My percent limit did nothing today." MetaTrader had not connected yet on the new broker day, so there was no opening value. It applies once MetaTrader connects.
- "The app did not close anything at the line." The "At the limit" switches are off, or MetaTrader 5 was not running and connected. With the market shut, the app retries every 30 seconds until the close goes through.
- "The app closed some trades and left others." That is how the switches are set: "close trades in loss" and "close trades in profit" each act on their own side.
- "My manual trade was not closed." Trades you open yourself in MetaTrader are never counted or touched by these limits.
- "The day restarted at a strange hour." It follows the broker's server clock. Check the time in MetaTrader's Market Watch.
- "I changed the unit and the save was refused." The number stays as typed. Type the value again in the new unit (a percent is at most 100).
- "Force placement" is missing on a signal. Daily loss and profit lines hold until the next day; nothing places past them.