Prop Firm Trade Copier SL/TP Settings: Copy Price Levels or Keep Distances?
Prop Firm Trade Copier SL/TP Settings: Copy Price Levels or Keep Distances?
A copied trade can open at a different price from its original. When that happens, copying exactly the same Stop Loss and Take Profit prices does not preserve the same distances from entry.
For traders managing prop firm accounts, this creates a practical configuration question: should the Receiver use the original exit prices, or should its exits move with its own opening price?
Local Trade Copier EA MT4/5© provides both approaches, together with independent Receiver exit controls. This guide explains the difference using illustrative examples, then shows what to check before using the configuration with evaluation or funded accounts.
This website's Prop Firm Copier EA MT4/5© name describes the prop-firm-focused use of Local Trade Copier EA MT4/5©. Before using it, verify that the intended copying arrangement is permitted by each provider. For the broader account framework, see managing prop firm accounts with different risk rules.
1. Choose what you want the Receiver to preserve
An exit policy should reflect how the strategy was designed.
If the original SL represents a particular market price, shifting it simply because a copy filled elsewhere changes that reference. If the strategy instead uses a defined distance from entry, retaining the source price can change the distance taken by the Receiver.
Neither policy is universally better. Write down the intended outcome before configuring it:
Preserve the Transmitter's original SL/TP prices.
Preserve the original SL/TP distances from the Receiver's actual entry.
Apply independently defined Receiver exits.
Keep your first test simple. Do not combine changed distances, multipliers, manual overrides and trailing logic before checking the basic result.
Example Receiver inputs for testing original TP/SL distances. The numerical tables are illustrative; verify accepted levels and closure behavior in your own demo setup.
2. Compare original prices with original distances
For ordinary same-direction copying, the relevant control is Keep Original TP/SL Distances:
false: copies the original Transmitter TP/SL price levels.
true: adjusts copied levels for the difference in opening prices, preserving their original distances from the Receiver entry.
For the following examples, assume Copy Stop Loss=true, Copy Take Profit=true, both TP/SL multipliers at 1, point adjustments at 0, Reverse Copying=false, and no independent exit manager. All prices are hypothetical. The symbol is five-digit EURUSD, with one point equal to 0.00001.
The Transmitter buys at 1.10000, with SL 1.09800 and TP 1.10400. The Receiver buys at 1.10020.
Check
Original prices: false
Original distances: true
Receiver entry
1.10020
1.10020
Receiver SL
1.09800
1.09820
Distance from entry to SL
220 points
200 points
Receiver TP
1.10400
1.10420
Distance from entry to TP
380 points
400 points
Keeping the original prices gives this Receiver a wider SL distance and a shorter TP distance than the source trade. Preserving distances moves both exit prices upward by 0.00020.
The Transmitter sells at 1.10000, with SL 1.10200 and TP 1.09600. The Receiver sells at 1.09980.
Check
Original prices: false
Original distances: true
Receiver entry
1.09980
1.09980
Receiver SL
1.10200
1.10180
Distance from entry to SL
220 points
200 points
Receiver TP
1.09600
1.09580
Distance from entry to TP
380 points
400 points
For this Sell, preserving distances shifts both exit prices downward. These tables illustrate the arithmetic, not a prediction of fills or a recommendation for EURUSD trading.
Do not apply the same point-to-price conversion to every instrument. Check its digits and tick size. These examples also assume comparable price scales; a name mapping alone does not establish equivalent contract specifications.
3. Matching distances does not guarantee matching money at risk
A price distance is only one part of exposure. Lot size, contract specifications, account currency and trading costs also matter. Actual loss can differ from a planned SL calculation because execution may occur at a different price.
When using fixed lots or a multiplier, changing the SL distance changes the planned price exposure without automatically specifying a new monetary risk budget.
LTC's Risk per Trade sizing modes require an SL. Its documentation also explains that a later source SL change can change initial risk, and removing the source SL closes the Receiver copy in these modes. Test that behavior separately from a fixed-lot experiment.
Do not treat an initial risk percentage as a permanent cap on every later outcome. Verify the actual Receiver volume and accepted SL after entry and after subsequent changes.
Trade-level exits also serve a different purpose from daily account protection. Use the existing maximum daily drawdown guide for the account-level calculation and protection controls.
4. Adjust copied exits or define Receiver exits deliberately
LTC includes TP/SL distance multipliers and point adjustments. For example, multiplying a 200-point SL distance by 1.5 produces 300 points. That changes the exit policy; it is not simply a cosmetic adjustment.
If you use Add/Subtract Points in SL Level, the documented prerequisites are Copy Stop Loss=true and Stop Loss Multiplier=1. The corresponding TP adjustment has equivalent TP prerequisites.
Independent Receiver exits use different controls. Stop Loss in Points is used with Copy Stop Loss=false; Take Profit in Points is used with Copy Take Profit=false. Choose the appropriate Use TP/SL Levels in mode and review the money-based alternatives if those are part of your plan.
Do not disable copying of a source SL without establishing and testing the intended replacement. Keep fixed-lot exit tests separate from risk-based sizing tests so their dependencies are clear.
The complete Settings Guide lists the available combinations, including prerequisites for break-even and trailing controls.
5. Decide who can change the Receiver's exits
Without a clear management policy, the copier, a trade panel, another EA and the trader can attempt to manage the same position.
Allow TP/SL Manual Change enables a manual Receiver override. Once you manually modify the Receiver TP or SL, the documented behavior stops subsequent source-based updates to those levels. Do not expect source synchronization to continue unchanged after that intervention.
Write down whether the source account or the Receiver's own exit plan should take responsibility. Then test an actual source modification and an actual Receiver modification, recording which level remains.
If your policy requires an SL on source trades before copying, review Do Not Copy Trades/Orders Without SL. Test a source trade initially missing an SL and record how the configuration responds; do not assume that a visible source entry proves the Receiver should immediately have a copy.
6. Check closures as well as SL/TP prices
A Receiver can close before its own TP or SL is reached if another configured exit condition acts first.
For example, Synchronized Trade Closure=true makes the Receiver follow the corresponding source closure. A distance-preserving Receiver TP can be farther away than the source TP, yet the source reaching its TP can still cause the Receiver copy to close through synchronization.
Therefore, preserving a TP distance does not promise that the Receiver will remain open until that TP is reached. Review synchronization, basket exits, scheduled closures and account protection together.
Closure Better Price adds another condition to a synchronized exit. The required price may never occur, leaving the Receiver open. Likewise, a closure delay changes when the copier attempts to close. Neither should be enabled merely to make different accounts appear more similar.
Check Reopen Closed Copied Trades too if the Receiver can close while its original remains open. If you intend the closed copy to remain closed, test with reopening disabled.
7. Verify broker acceptance and protection location
For MT5, right-click the Receiver symbol in Market Watch → Specification. Check price digits, tick size, permitted order types and Stops level. An exit acceptable on one broker can be invalid on another. Review Experts and Journal messages when a level is rejected.
Inspect the accepted SL/TP on the position itself. A requested level or a line in your plan is not proof that the broker accepted it.
Broker-side SL/TP instructions reside on the broker's server. Virtual/Hidden TP/SL Levels instead depend on the EA operating and being able to send the necessary trading commands. Terminal downtime or connection loss matters for that distinction.
Keep the actual protection method clear, especially if the account requires broker-visible stops. Neither virtual exits nor broker-side stops guarantee a particular final loss under all execution conditions.
8. Test one Receiver before expanding the setup
Use the downloadable Free Demo on non-critical demo accounts. Start with a small broker-valid fixed volume and a symbol whose specifications you understand. All participating terminals must run on the same Windows computer or Windows VPS.
Record the baseline. Note account identities, exact symbols, volumes, copy switches, multipliers, point adjustments, synchronization and reopening settings.
Test copied prices. With distance preservation disabled, compare the accepted Receiver SL/TP with the source levels.
Test preserved distances. On a separate test trade, enable distance preservation and calculate expected exits from the actual Receiver entry. If entries happen to match, repeat when there is an observable difference; identical fills do not demonstrate the distinction.
Test a Sell as well as a Buy. Verify the direction of the price adjustment.
Test modification ownership. Change a source level, then separately test your intended Receiver manual-override policy.
Test the complete exit. Close the source while the Receiver is away from its TP/SL, then compare the result with the synchronization policy.
Test other exit mechanisms separately. Include pending orders, partial closures, virtual exits or account protection only where your workflow uses them.
Repeat with the intended sizing method. Verify actual volume and SL before repeating the procedure for every additional Receiver.
Keep a simple record:
Test
Expected result
Observed result
Original price levels
Calculate before test
Not yet tested
Original distances
Calculate from Receiver fill
Not yet tested
Source SL/TP modification
Define synchronization policy
Not yet tested
Receiver manual modification
Define override policy
Not yet tested
Source closure before Receiver TP
Define closure policy
Not yet tested
If a result differs, save the relevant tickets, settings and logs before changing anything. Use the Troubleshooting Guide or contact the developer for assistance.
Configure exits for each funded account
Local Trade Copier EA MT4/5© lets each Receiver apply its own exit configuration while following the selected source trading activity. That flexibility is useful when accounts have different execution prices or management requirements.
Begin with the Free Demo Guide, then review purchase options. MT4-to-MT5 or MT5-to-MT4 copying requires both product versions.
References
⭐ Prop Firm Copier Guides & Articles
Explore practical guides for prop firm trade copying, including multi-account management, receiver-side risk controls, VPS performance, local vs cloud copying and managing funded accounts with different requirements.
Test the fully functional Free Demo on MT4 or MT5 demo accounts for up to 4 hours at a time. Use the dedicated Free Demo page for download links, installation instructions and trial-reset information.
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