A failed prop firm challenge is frustrating, and the first instinct is usually to buy another one straight away. That is often the most expensive choice available: the next attempt starts under the same rules, with the same habits and with less patience.
This guide covers the hours and days after a breach: confirming what actually happened, reviewing your journal, naming the cause and choosing between a reset, a fresh purchase and a pause, with the QATS options and prices as a worked example.
Check whether the challenge actually failed
Not every stop is a breach. Before deciding anything, read the account status and the reason the platform gives. On QATS, Dashboard and Risk center show the exact rule and threshold, and daily and maximum loss are recorded as separate causes.
- Going above the consistency share is not a breach. It means you need more profit on other days before you can pass.
- On TradFi, a firm daily limit, where one applies, pauses entries until the next session rather than breaching the account; the current TradFi evaluations have no separate daily cap.
- An unpaid month closes positions and pauses trading until you renew; the account is closed only after 30 unpaid days.
- A Crypto account closed for inactivity is closed, but it has not breached a rule.
- Touching the Crypto daily loss limit or the maximum-loss floor is a breach. Sending more orders will not reopen the account.
Stop for the day before deciding anything
The hours after a breach are when many traders make poor decisions: a new purchase bought in frustration and traded at the same size, sometimes in the same session. Close the terminal, write three lines about what happened while it is fresh, and decide the next step the following day.
A day’s wait does not usually cost you the option. On QATS, Risk center → Reset policy shows whether a reset is offered, its price and the time remaining, and on a monthly plan with an active subscription the reset window stays open at least until the end of the paid month. Check the time before you step away, so the deadline is your choice.
Review the journal: the last day first, then the last fortnight
A breach is usually the end of a sequence, not a single trade. Start with the session that ended the account and work backwards. The QATS trade journal lists each execution with fill price, quantity, fees, duration and gross and net P&L, and you can filter and export it.
| Question | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Which rule ended the account, and when? | The threshold and event time on Dashboard or Risk center, compared with executions and equity at that moment |
| Was the last trade sized to plan? | Risk in dollars against your planned risk per trade |
| How fast did trades come after the first loss? | A shrinking gap between entries is a tilt signal |
| How much of the daily limit was already used? | The worst point of the day before the final trade |
| Did each trade match a planned setup? | Your setup tag, or the lack of one |
| Did fees or funding matter? | Execution P&L against account P&L on positions held for hours or days |
| Did automation act? | Bot, API or TradingView alert activity at the event time |
Name the cause in one sentence
The review should end with one sentence that begins “the account failed because”. If you cannot write it, you are not ready to pay for another attempt. Common causes fall into five groups, and each points to a different change.
- Sizing: one or two trades too large for the daily limit. Change: a fixed risk per trade sized from the drawdown.
- Tilt: losses followed by faster, larger trades. Change: a stop-after-two-losses rule and a personal daily stop.
- Rule misunderstanding: the trailing floor, the daily loss measurement or the consistency rule worked differently than you expected. Change: reread Rules & objectives and rehearse on the sandbox.
- Strategy or market regime: rules followed, but the setup stopped working. Change: retest it before paying again.
- Technical: a bot, alert or order on the wrong account. Change: check connections and test them on the sandbox.
Reset, restart or pause after a failed prop firm challenge
There are three reasonable next steps, and the cause you named decides between them. A reset gives you a new account under the same rules. A restart means buying a different plan: another size, market or billing option. A pause means no paid attempt until the cause is fixed.
| Option | What you get | Cost | Fits when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reset with a credit (monthly plans) | A new account with the same rules; the renewal date stays as it is | One reset credit | The cause is clear and fixable |
| Paid reset, monthly plan | A new account with the same rules; a new paid month starts | The plan’s monthly price, $69 on the standard option | The cause is clear and no credit is available |
| Paid reset, one-time plan | A new account with the same rules | $75 | The cause is clear and the plan suited you |
| Restart on another plan | A different size, market or billing option | Crypto from $49 a month or $69 once | The plan itself was the wrong fit |
| Pause | Time to rehearse on the free sandbox, with virtual funds and the same server-side risk checks | No fee | You cannot yet name the cause |
How QATS reset credits and paid resets work
Each paid monthly renewal adds one reset credit, and the dashboard shows how many are available. Using a credit opens the new account without a charge and keeps the current renewal date. A paid reset on a monthly plan costs the plan’s monthly price and starts a new paid month. Either way, the subscription and any remaining credits move to the new account.
Credits belong to an open subscription. A breached monthly account is not renewed, so if you do not reset while the reset window is open, the subscription ends and unused credits end with it. One-time plans have a set reset price per size, shown in Reset policy.
The new account has a new account ID, fresh counters and the same recorded rules. API keys, TradingView webhooks and bots do not follow it automatically, so bind them to the new account before trading. A breached Funded account cannot be reopened with an evaluation reset or credit.
Come back with a consistent process
The aim of the next attempt is not to win back the fee quickly. It is to show the same behaviour every day, which is also what the consistency rule measures.
- Write the one change from your review at the top of your plan and read it before every session.
- Trade at half your usual risk per trade for the first few sessions.
- Set a personal daily stop; on QATS it is an extra limit on top of the plan rules, shown in Risk center.
- On a Crypto evaluation, keep each day below about 40% of the target and return to normal size after any outsized day.
- If automation caused the breach, run the corrected setup on the sandbox before connecting it to a paid account.
Frequently asked questions
01What should I do right after failing a prop firm challenge?
Stop trading for the day, read the exact rule and threshold that ended the account and note the time. Review the trades that led there the next day, before you buy or reset anything.
02Can I reset a failed QATS challenge?
A breached Evaluation can be reset while its reset window is open, with a reset credit on a monthly plan or for the plan’s reset price. Risk center → Reset policy shows eligibility, price, time remaining and credits.
03Do unused reset credits expire?
Credits belong to an open monthly subscription. If a breached account is not reset while the reset window is open, the subscription ends and its unused credits are dropped.
04What if I think the breach was calculated incorrectly?
Contact support with the account ID, the time, the instrument and the order IDs. Never send API keys or other access secrets.
Educational content, not investment advice. QATS evaluations and initial funded accounts are simulated; payouts depend on eligibility, verification and the applicable agreement.