Read the dashboard
Moved from the old guide.
The Dashboard is the first screen you see after you log in. It sets your balance and equity, your accounts, your daily results and your charts on one page.
Balance & Equity#
The Balance & Equity card is the first thing you see on your dashboard. It gives you an instant snapshot of your portfolio value, how it has changed today, this month, and this year, plus an interactive equity chart.
Balance#
Balance is the total value of your account based on closed trades only. It does not include any trades that are still open.
Balance tells you what your account is actually worth if you were to close everything right now and walk away. It is the most stable number because it only changes when a trade closes.
How it is calculated
Your broker calculates this directly. It is your starting deposit plus all realized profits and losses, minus any withdrawals, plus any deposits.
Ranges
- Growing steadily over time means your strategy is working
- Flat or declining means something needs to change
- Sharp drops mean large losses or blown risk rules
Things to watch for
Balance can look healthy even when you have massive floating losses. A trader with $10,000 balance but -$3,000 in open trades is really at $7,000. Always check equity alongside balance.
How to improve it
Focus on consistency rather than big wins. A balance that grows 2% per month reliably is better than one that swings 20% up and down.
Equity#
Equity is your real-time account value. It is your balance plus (or minus) any unrealized profit or loss from open trades.
Equity is the true picture of what your account is worth right now. Prop firms use equity, not balance, to calculate drawdown. If equity drops below a threshold, you can fail a challenge even if your balance looks fine.
How it is calculated
Equity = Balance + Floating P&L
If your balance is $10,000 and you have open trades with +$500 floating profit, your equity is $10,500. If those trades are at -$300, your equity is $9,700.
Ranges
- Equity above balance means your open trades are profitable
- Equity equal to balance means no open positions
- Equity below balance means open trades are in the red
Things to watch for
Equity changes every tick while you have open trades. Do not panic over small fluctuations. What matters is the trend. If equity consistently dips far below balance before trades close, your entries might need work.
How to improve it
Use proper stop losses so equity never drops too far from balance. If you notice equity regularly falling 5%+ below balance before recovering, tighten your risk per trade.
Floating P&L#
Floating P&L is the unrealized profit or loss across all your currently open trades combined.
It shows your exposure right now. A large negative floating P&L means you are holding losing positions. This is the gap between your balance and equity.
How it is calculated
Floating P&L = Equity - Balance
This is the sum of all open trade profits and losses at their current market prices.
Ranges
- Small positive or negative (within 1-2% of balance) is normal
- Floating loss over 3% of balance needs attention
- Floating loss over 5% is dangerous territory
Things to watch for
Some traders hold losing trades hoping they will come back. The floating P&L badge makes this visible. If you see a consistently large negative float, you might be averaging down or refusing to cut losses.
How to improve it
Set stop losses on every trade. If your floating P&L regularly exceeds 2-3% of your balance, you are either trading too large or not using stops.
Today P&L#
Today P&L is the total profit or loss from all trades that closed since your daily reset time (default midnight UTC).
It gives you a quick read on how your trading day went. Combined with your daily drawdown limit, it tells you whether you are still safe to trade today.
How it is calculated
Today P&L = Sum of all closed trade P&L since daily reset
Only counts trades that closed today. Open trades are not included.
Ranges
- Positive means you had a profitable day so far
- Small loss within your daily limit is fine
- Loss approaching daily drawdown limit means stop trading
Things to watch for
A green day does not mean you traded well. You could have had 9 bad trades and 1 lucky winner. Check your journal alongside this number. Also, your reset time matters. If you trade across midnight UTC, make sure your reset time is configured to match your actual trading window.
How to improve it
Set a daily loss limit and stick to it. When your Today P&L hits that limit, stop trading. No exceptions. The best traders protect their good days by knowing when to quit.
MTD P&L#
MTD (Month-to-Date) P&L is your total realized profit or loss since the first day of the current calendar month.
Monthly performance is how most traders and prop firms evaluate progress. It smooths out the noise of individual days and shows whether you are building consistent returns.
How it is calculated
MTD P&L = Sum of all closed trade P&L from the 1st of this month to now
Ranges
- Positive and growing means you are on track this month
- Negative but early in the month means there is time to recover
- Deeply negative late in the month may require a reset
Things to watch for
Do not let a bad start to the month push you into revenge trading. Some of the best months start slow. Conversely, do not get overconfident after a great first week. Consistency across the full month matters more than any single stretch.
How to improve it
Review your MTD at the halfway point of each month. If you are down significantly, reduce position size for the rest of the month rather than trying to make it all back.
YTD P&L#
YTD (Year-to-Date) P&L is your total realized profit or loss since January 1st of the current year.
This is the big picture. It shows whether your trading is profitable over meaningful time frames. Anyone can have a good week. YTD tells you if your approach actually works.
How it is calculated
YTD P&L = Sum of all closed trade P&L from January 1st to now
Ranges
- Positive means your year is profitable overall
- Near zero means you are breaking even
- Negative means your strategy needs serious review
Things to watch for
YTD can be misleading early in the year. If it is February and you are down, do not panic. But if it is October and you are still negative, that is a strong signal something is wrong with your approach.
How to improve it
Focus on the process, not the number. If your per-trade metrics (win rate, R:R, profit factor) are healthy, the YTD will take care of itself over time.
Equity Chart#
The equity chart shows your balance (solid cyan line) and equity (dashed purple line) over time. You can switch between 5 time periods: 1 Day, 1 Week, 1 Month, 3 Months, and Year-to-Date.
The gap between the two lines represents your floating P&L. When equity is above balance, your open trades are profitable. When it dips below, they are in the red.
Look for a smooth, upward-trending line. Big spikes and drops mean inconsistent risk management. The best equity curves look like a gentle slope, not a roller coaster.
My Accounts#
The My Accounts card shows all your connected trading accounts in a grid. Each card gives you a quick snapshot of that account without needing to click into it.
Account Card Overview#
Each account card shows the broker name, platform badge (MT5 or MT4), account number, balance, MTD P&L, drawdown percentage, and connection status. If the account is a prop firm account, you will also see a progress bar showing how close you are to your profit target or drawdown limit.
Portfolio Share#
The thin horizontal bar at the bottom of each card shows what percentage of your total portfolio this account represents. If you have two accounts and one holds 70% of your total balance, its bar will be 70% filled. This helps you see at a glance whether your capital is concentrated in one account or spread evenly.
Drawdown Indicator#
The drawdown indicator shows how far each account has dropped from its peak balance. It is displayed as a percentage with a color-coded bar.
Drawdown is the most important risk metric for prop firm traders. If your drawdown exceeds the firm's limit, you fail the challenge. Even for personal accounts, drawdown tells you how much pain you are absorbing.
How it is calculated
Drawdown % = (Peak Balance - Current Balance) / Peak Balance x 100
The peak is your highest recorded balance (high water mark). If your peak was $50,000 and you are now at $48,500, your drawdown is 3%.
Ranges
- Below 2%: safe, shown in green
- 2% to 4%: caution zone, shown in yellow
- Above 4%: danger zone, shown in red
Things to watch for
These color thresholds are general guidelines. Your actual limits depend on your account settings and prop firm rules. A 4% drawdown on a personal account might be fine, but on an FTMO challenge with a 5% daily limit, it is critical.
How to improve it
Reduce position size after consecutive losses. If you are at 3% drawdown, cutting your risk in half gives you twice as many trades to recover before hitting your limit.
Connection Status#
Each card shows a colored dot indicating the EA connection status:
- Green (Live): the EA is connected and syncing.
- Orange (Watch): the EA has not sent data recently. This usually means MT5/MT4 is closed or the EA is stopped.
- Red (Offline): no data received for an extended period. Check your EA setup.
Daily P&L Calendar#
The Daily P&L Calendar shows your trading performance as a monthly calendar heatmap. Each day is colored based on whether you made or lost money. Greener days are more profitable, redder days had larger losses.
Calendar Grid#
Each cell represents one day. The background color intensity shows the size of the P&L. A deep green means a strong winning day. A deep red means a significant loss. Light colors mean small moves. Gray cells are days with no trading activity.
Today's date is highlighted with a border. You can navigate between months using the arrow buttons. This view is perfect for spotting patterns, like losing every Friday or winning most Mondays.
Trading Days & Win Rate#
Trading Days shows how many days you traded in the selected month, along with the percentage of those days that were net profitable.
Knowing your daily win rate helps you understand consistency. A trader who wins 15 out of 20 trading days is more consistent than one who wins 5 big days and loses 15 small ones, even if the total P&L is similar.
How it is calculated
Daily Win Rate = Profitable Trading Days / Total Trading Days x 100
A trading day is any day where at least one trade closed. A profitable day is one where the sum of all closed P&L is positive.
Ranges
- Above 60% daily win rate: very consistent
- 50% to 60%: average, could be improved
- Below 50%: more losing days than winning days
Things to watch for
A high daily win rate with small wins and occasional large losses can still be unprofitable. Always pair this with the month total to see the full picture.
How to improve it
If your daily win rate is low, review which days are causing losses. The Day of Week analysis in the Time Analysis tab can help you identify problem days.
Month Total#
The month total shows the sum of all closed P&L for the selected month. It is displayed in green if positive and red if negative. This is the bottom line for how your month went, combining all winning and losing days into a single number.
Monitoring#
The Monitoring card has two tabs: Drawdown and Events. It gives you a real-time view of your risk exposure and any alerts that have fired.
Drawdown Tab#
The Drawdown tab shows your portfolio-level maximum drawdown at the top, with per-account drawdown bars below. Each bar fills from left to right based on how much of your drawdown limit has been used.
The status badge in the top right changes based on risk level:
- Safe: all accounts well within limits
- ALERT (pulsing): at least one account is at 80%+ of its drawdown limit
Events Tab#
The Events tab shows a feed of your most recent triggered alerts. Each event includes an icon (based on alert type), the alert name, the affected account, and the time it was triggered.
Alert types are color coded: red for drawdown and daily loss alerts, green for profit targets, yellow for margin warnings, and blue for connection issues. Click "Manage" to go to the full Smart Alerts page.
Performance Charts#
The bottom section of the dashboard shows performance breakdowns by pair, session, day of week, and month. These charts appear once you have enough trading data.
Performance by Pair#
A horizontal bar chart showing your top 10 most-traded pairs ranked by win rate. Green bars mean a win rate of 50% or above. Red bars mean below 50%. This instantly shows which instruments you trade well and which are costing you money.
If a pair is consistently red, consider removing it from your trading plan. If you are profitable on only 2-3 pairs, focus on those and cut the rest.
Performance by Session#
A bar chart showing your win rate across three major trading sessions: Asian, London, and New York. Each bar is green if your win rate is 50% or above, red if below.
Most traders perform better in one session than others. If your London session win rate is 65% but your Asian session is 35%, you should seriously consider only trading London. The Time Analysis tab gives you a deeper breakdown.
Monthly P&L#
A bar chart showing your P&L as a percentage return for each month of the last year. Green bars are profitable months, red bars are losing months. The height of each bar shows the magnitude of the return.
Look for consistency. A trader with 10 small green bars and 2 small red bars is better off than one with 6 huge green bars and 6 huge red bars. Consistent small gains compound much faster than volatile swings.
P&L by Day#
Shows your win rate for each day of the week (Monday through Sunday). Days with a win rate above 50% are green, below 50% are red. This helps you identify your best and worst trading days.
If Friday is consistently red, maybe you are rushing trades before the weekend. If Monday is your best day, you might be fresher after the weekend rest. Use this data to adjust your trading schedule.