# Account risk limits

> Copilink can close an account when it reaches a daily loss, a daily profit, or an evaluation target. Limits belong to the account, whether or not it's in a profile, and work only while Copilink is open.

Last verified: 2026-09-14
Canonical page: https://copilink.com/standalone/user-guide/account-risk-limits
Product: Copilink Standalone
Markdown of: https://copilink.com/standalone/user-guide/account-risk-limits


## Quick facts

- Product: Copilink Standalone
- Direct Tradovate and Rithmic desktop workflow
- Windows x64, macOS Intel, and macOS Apple silicon
- Local copying with per-follower sizing, account safeguards, analytics, and journaling

## What it does

Set daily loss and profit limits, evaluation goals and consistency, understand Limit hit and Locked, what happens to leaders and followers, trading-day resets, and Tradovate broker limits.

## Why traders choose Copilink Standalone

- Choose a direct Tradovate and Rithmic desktop workflow on Windows or macOS, or stay entirely inside NinjaTrader 8 with the dedicated add-on.
- Manage exact or ratio-based follower sizing, per-account safeguards, and prop-firm-style risk rules from one focused workflow.
- Keep copying local on the trader's machine while cloud sync powers web analytics and journaling.

## Before you start

- The account appears on the Risk management page (it has connected at least once).
- For fast limits, live prices for the contracts you trade.

## Set up an account

1. **Open the account.** On Risk management, select the account and press Open account inspector, or double-click it.
2. **Check the account type and balance.** On the Risk rules tab, choose Evaluation, Funded, or Live, and check the Initial account balance against your broker or firm. The type decides which rules are offered.
3. **Turn protection on and set limits.** Choose Risk protection on, then turn on the rules you want and enter their amounts as positive numbers.
4. **Save.** Press Save risk settings. Your edits stay a draft until you save, and Copilink warns you if you close with unsaved changes.
   Success: The account shows Protected.

If Copilink finds accounts with a similar name or ID, such as other accounts from the same firm, an Apply to similar accounts button appears. It lets you choose which of them get this account's type, switches, limits, goals, drawdown, and consistency settings. Press Save risk settings afterwards.

> **Using limits on the leader.** If you set limits on the leader, pick the account furthest from its limits as your leader. When a leader limit is reached, Copilink closes the leader and every enabled follower, even followers that are nowhere near their own limits.

## Rules by account type

_Copilink risk rules_
| Rule | Evaluation | Funded | Live | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Daily loss limit | Yes | Yes | Yes | Closes the account when today's P&L falls to minus this amount. |
| Daily profit goal | Yes | Yes | Yes | Closes the account when today's P&L reaches this amount. |
| Evaluation goal | Yes | No | No | Closes the account when equity reaches initial balance + goal + goal fill buffer. |
| Consistency | Limit | Tracked only | No | Evaluation: caps one day's profit at goal × percent. Funded: shows your best day's share of total profit. |
| Intraday drawdown | Tracked only | Tracked only | No | Shows how far you are below today's highest balance. |

Tracked-only figures never close an account, even at $0 left.

## How limits are calculated

- Daily loss and profit use the account's realized plus open P&L for the current trading day. They don't use Dashboard figures.
- Rithmic accounts use Rithmic's net daily P&L, which includes commissions and fees. For other accounts, fees count only when the broker includes them in its figures.
- Evaluation goal: initial balance + goal + goal fill buffer. With a $50,000 balance, a $2,500 goal, and a $40 buffer, Copilink closes out at $52,540 equity. The buffer (default $40, or $0 to turn it off) leaves room for the closing fill; it doesn't guarantee the final result.
- Evaluation consistency: goal × percent, without the buffer. A 30% limit on a $2,500 goal caps a day at $750.
- Copilink only acts on P&L it trusts: current, and for the whole account. If P&L is out of date, covers only one contract, or is missing, Copilink doesn't check the limits and never guesses a breach. Copying continues.

## Risk statuses

_Risk statuses on the Risk management page_
| Status | What it means | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Protected | Every limit you turned on can be checked right now. | Nothing. |
| Needs attention | Protection is on but can't work: an amount is missing or zero, no limit is turned on, the account is disconnected, its P&L is out of date, several contracts are open without an account total from the broker, or risk data can't be saved. Copying continues, but this account's limits aren't checked. | Open the inspector; it names the reason. |
| Limit hit | A limit was reached and the account was closed out. Nothing is copied into it while the limit is still reached. | Check the account is flat at your broker. It clears by itself when the limit is no longer reached, for example on the next trading day. |
| Locked | A limit was reached with its lock turned on. Nothing is copied into the account for the rest of the trading day. | Wait for the next trading day, or unlock it in Recovery. |
| Risk off | Risk protection is switched off for this account. Tracked figures can still show. | Turn it on if you want Copilink to enforce limits. |

The cards at the top of Risk management count accounts in each state, and the filters show connected, disconnected, leader, follower, Limit hit, or Needs attention accounts. Filters only change what you see.

## When a limit is reached

- A follower, or an account that isn't a leader: Copilink switches it off in every profile, then closes its position. The leader and other followers carry on.
- The leader: Copilink switches the profile off, then closes the leader and every enabled follower. Copying stays off until you enable the profile again.
- If a close fails, Activity marks it critical, and Copilink tries again about every 30 seconds while the limit is still reached.
- Neither a new day nor Unlock turns a follower or profile back on. You decide when to re-enable them.

> **A close-out is a request.** Limit hit or Locked means Copilink sent a close request. Check at your broker that every account it closed is actually flat.

## Locking after a limit

Daily loss limit and Daily profit goal each have Lock account for the rest of this trading session. With it on, reaching the limit also locks the account: no new copies go in, and if a position reappears, Copilink closes it again. The lock survives a restart and clears at the next trading day. To unlock sooner, use Unlock this account… on the inspector's Recovery tab.

Without a lock, Limit hit clears as soon as the limit is no longer reached, for example when you raise it or a new trading day starts.

## Trading day and resets

Daily limits reset when a new trading session starts. By default the session closes at 4:00 PM Chicago time, the hour after the close is always a maintenance break, and the next session starts at 5:00 PM. You set the Trading-day time zone and Session close in Settings → Risk Management. Copilink follows daylight saving time for the time zone you choose.

A funded account can have its own trading day under Trading day for this account (advanced) in the inspector. Set both the time zone and the close, or choose Use the app default.

A new day takes effect once the account sends an update, so a disconnected account keeps the previous day's state until it reconnects. Changing the trading day doesn't change your broker's session or its P&L.

This trading day is separate from the dates on Dashboard and Trade log. See [How Copilink records trades](https://copilink.com/standalone/user-guide/trade-log-and-web-journal#how-history-works).

## The Recovery tab

- Unlock this account…: removes a Copilink lock after you confirm twice. It doesn't switch copying back on or remove a broker restriction.
- Close positions safely…: the normal way to close an account from here. Copying pauses and the close runs through the profile, so leader and followers stay consistent.
- Send direct close request…: sends a close straight to the broker for this account only. Use it when the normal close didn't finish.
- Correct the highest balance: fixes the intraday drawdown peak if it looks wrong, for example after Copilink was closed while you traded.

For funded consistency, the Risk rules tab also has Enter your starting figures, for an account you traded before using Copilink, and Start a new tracking period…, for after a payout or reset. Earlier days are kept.

## Tradovate broker limits

For Tradovate accounts, the Broker limits tab edits Tradovate's own daily and weekly loss and profit limits. Tradovate stores and enforces them, so they keep working when Copilink is closed. They have their own Save Tradovate broker limits button and can also be managed at trader.tradovate.com. Unlocking an account in Copilink doesn't remove a Tradovate restriction.

> **Your broker's rules are the ones that count.** Copilink's limits work only while Copilink is open and connected. Your broker's and prop firm's rules are separate, can calculate P&L and reset times differently, and decide what happens to your account.

## Check it worked

- The account shows Protected with the rules you meant to turn on.
- Reaching a limit closes the account and Activity reports it.

## If something goes wrong

- Needs attention: open the inspector and fix the reason it names.
- Limit hit stays after you expect a reset: the account needs a fresh update in the new trading day. Check that it's connected.
- Locked: check the account is flat, then wait for the next trading day or unlock it in Recovery. Re-enable the follower or profile separately.
- Settings won't save: stop adding risk, check free disk space, and read Activity.

## Sources

- https://copilink.com/standalone/user-guide/account-risk-limits
- https://copilink.com/standalone
- https://copilink.com/standalone/user-guide/safety-and-limitations