[How-to] [How-to] Your first 30 days running an EA: a checklist

Whether you bought or built an EA, the 30 days before real money matter most. Most accidents come from setup mistakes, not the strategy.

Before attaching (day 1)

• ☐ Is it for MT4 or MT5, and does it match your broker's symbol name (XAUUSD / GOLD…)?
• ☐ Check the broker server's time zone (EA trading hours are often in server time)
• ☐ Lot settings: fixed or auto (balance-based)? Is there a max lot?
• ☐ Confirm in the Strategy Tester that every entry gets a stop loss (SL)
• ☐ Running several EAs on one account? Each needs a different magic number

Week 1: demo with the same settings

• ☐ Keep it on 24/7 on a VPS and check the MT5 Experts tab for errors daily
• ☐ Record differences in fill prices and spreads vs the backtest
• ☐ What happens over the weekend (does it close before Friday's close?)

Weeks 2–4: small live account

• ☐ Run the same EA on demo and live side by side and compare
• ☐ How it reacts on news days (US CPI, jobs report)
• ☐ Your stop rule: e.g. 10% drawdown, 7 losses in a row, or one big loss never seen in the backtest

30-second daily check

• Has the margin level (%) suddenly dropped?
• Is there any position without a stop?
• Are the VPS and MT5 on and connected (connection indicator, bottom right)?

Connect it to Verified → My strategy (live link) on EADesk and the share of entries without a stop and your real drawdown are recorded automatically, making the daily check much easier.