Guides · Before you pay
Challenge terminology, without the slogans
Nominal balance, phases, targets and reward shares — what the words refer to, and what they do not.
A prop challenge is a paid set of rules attached to a simulated, or sometimes conditionally rewarded, account. The large number in the title is the nominal balance those rules are written against. It is not a sum the firm has placed in your bank, and it is not an amount you can withdraw because it appears in the name.
The words that get swapped, and should not
- People say
- Account size
- The record should say
- Nominal balance
- Why it matters
- The figure scales targets and loss limits. It is not capital you own.
- People say
- Funded
- The record should say
- Reward stage, if the text says so
- Why it matters
- Passing an evaluation is not evidence the firm has allocated live capital to you.
- People say
- Payout
- The record should say
- Reward request, then a review
- Why it matters
- Eligibility to ask is not a processing time and not a credit to your bank.
- People say
- Profit split
- The record should say
- Reward share
- Why it matters
- A percentage of simulated or conditional profit, only if the agreement says that is what it is.
- People say
- Drawdown
- The record should say
- The named mechanism
- Why it matters
- Static, trailing intraday, and trailing end-of-day are different products.
- People say
- No rule against it
- The record should say
- Not found
- Why it matters
- Silence is not permission. The finder files it as unknown.
What a phase actually counts
An evaluation phase asks for a profit target without breaching a loss limit, usually with a minimum number of days and sometimes a consistency cap. A one-step, two-step or three-step programme is a count of those phases. It is not a quality score. Three steps means two extra targets and two extra chances to breach, which can be cheaper up front and more expensive in failed attempts.
An instant simulated account skips the profit target and still is not customer-owned capital. Read the environment line on the record before you read the fee. PropChallenger labels simulated, live-linked, and conditional-reward arrangements separately, and it will not upgrade a simulated account because the marketing says “funded”.
A worked nominal balance
Title
100,000
Nominal balance on a demonstration two-step.
8% target
8,000
Closed profit the phase asks for. Not a forecast.
5% daily
5,000
If the daily limit is 5% of the start, and it is static.
You can withdraw
None of it
Until a reward clause says otherwise, and even then only under that clause.
On the Northline demonstration Two-Step 100k the targets are 8% then 5%. That is 8,000 then 5,000 of closed profit against a 100,000 nominal balance. The initial fee on that record is USD 499. Nothing in those four numbers is a return, a pass rate, or a wage.
Reward share, said once and then left alone
A reward share is a contractual percentage of whatever the agreement defines as profit. “80%” does not mean 80% of the nominal balance, and it does not mean the firm has cash equal to 80% of your simulated gain. Eligibility to request a reward is not a promise it will be processed, and a processed request in someone else’s screenshot is not evidence this firm can pay you.