What Are Challenges?

Challenges are prop firm evaluations—the tests you take to prove you can trade profitably and consistently. The Challenges module helps you track these evaluations from purchase through completion (or failure).

The Purpose of This Module

The Challenges module is your pipeline and cost tracker. It answers questions like:

  • How many evaluations am I currently working on?

  • How much have I spent on challenges?

  • Which phase am I in for each challenge?

  • What's my pass/fail rate?

Think of it as your challenge management system. Every evaluation you attempt should be recorded here.

What Challenges Track

Challenges focus on three things: status, time, and cost.

Status

Where each challenge stands in the evaluation process:

  • Not Started (purchased but not begun)

  • Active (currently trading)

  • Completed (passed successfully)

  • Failed (didn't meet requirements)

  • Converted to Funded (became a funded account)

Time

Key dates for each challenge:

  • Purchase/start date

  • End date (when applicable)

  • Phase start and end dates

  • Duration in days

Cost

Financial investment in each challenge:

  • Purchase price

  • Any refunds received

  • Subscription fees (if applicable)

  • Total cost after refunds

What Challenges Don't Track

This is equally important to understand. Challenges do not track:

Profit or Loss Challenges don't record your P&L during the evaluation. You might be up $5,000 in Phase 1, but that's not relevant here—you can't withdraw it.

Trading Performance Win rate, drawdown, risk-reward—these aren't part of the Challenges module. It's not a trade journal.

Account Balance The "account size" is the funded amount you're working toward, not a real balance you can access.

The distinction matters because challenges represent potential, not reality. The money only becomes real when you pass, get funded, and receive payouts. Until then, it's just a cost on your books.

How Challenges Fit Into Your Business

In the overall flow of a prop trading business:

Example
Challenges (Cost Center)     →  Funded Accounts (Revenue Center)
     Spend money to try      →  Earn money through payouts

Challenges are an investment. You pay for the opportunity to prove yourself. If you succeed, that investment converts into a funded account that can generate real revenue.

Your Dashboard shows challenge costs as "Money Out" because that's what they are—an expense. The return on that investment comes from funded account payouts, which appear as "Money In."

Types of Challenges

Different prop firms structure their evaluations differently. The platform supports:

Single Phase (1-Step) One evaluation phase. Pass it, and you're funded.

Two-Step (2-Phase) Two phases to complete. Usually Phase 1 has a higher profit target, Phase 2 is confirmation.

Three-Step (3-Phase) Three phases. Less common, but some firms require additional verification.

Instant Funding No evaluation—you pay for immediate access to a funded account. These often convert directly without tracking phases.

The Challenge Type you select determines how many phases you can track.

Why Track Challenges?

Even if a prop firm has its own dashboard, tracking challenges here provides value:

  1. Unified view — See all your challenges across all prop firms in one place

  2. True cost tracking — Know exactly how much you've invested, including failed attempts

  3. Historical record — Keep data even after you leave a prop firm

  4. Business metrics — Calculate your actual pass rate and cost-per-funded-account

  5. Conversion flow — Seamlessly transition from challenge to funded account

Without this tracking, it's easy to lose sight of how much you're spending on evaluations—especially if you're working with multiple prop firms simultaneously.

Next: Adding a New Challenge →