Reference · Market Mechanics
Balance vs Equity: Open Profit, Credit and Costs
Reconcile posted balance with equity using open profit and loss, credits and costs, plus a worked account ledger and practical discrepancy checks.
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Published by FxTrusts, a supplier of brokerage and prop firm technology. Prepared with AI-assisted research and drafting; reviewed against the cited public sources. Examples are illustrative. Product links describe our services.
Quick answer
Balance records posted account amounts. Equity reflects the account’s current value after the relevant open profit or loss and other included components. The exact treatment of credits, charges and blocked amounts is platform-specific, so reconcile the fields instead of assuming equity is always just balance plus open profit.
Follow what is posted and what is still open
A deposit or booked withdrawal changes a cash ledger. A realized trade result is usually posted under the platform’s accounting rules. By contrast, an open position can gain or lose value as prices move, affecting equity without the same movement appearing in balance. This distinction explains why two figures can diverge on an active account. They should not be forced to agree by inserting an unexplained adjustment.
Identify every included component
The MetaTrader documentation lists account-value components that can include credit, commission, floating P/L and blocked amounts. Other platforms may present or book these differently. Before reconstructing equity, identify which values are already included in balance and which are separate. Subtracting a commission twice is as wrong as omitting it. A reliable worksheet names each field, its sign and whether it is posted or provisional.
Use the same valuation time and price basis
Comparing a balance exported at midnight with equity captured several minutes later can create a false discrepancy. Open positions may have moved, a charge may have posted or a conversion rate may have changed. Use a consistent account snapshot and record the valuation convention. Where the platform provides separate transaction and market-data timestamps, retain both so that another reviewer can reconstruct the result.
Distinguish account equity from client-fund ownership
A platform equity number is an operational account value. It does not by itself establish the legal ownership, safeguarding treatment, withdrawability or final settlement status of money. Bonuses, credits, simulated evaluation balances and real client cash can have different meanings. Keep those models explicitly labelled in interfaces and reports. A prop evaluation account should not be presented as a bank balance merely because the terminal uses familiar balance and equity labels.
A synthetic account-value reconciliation
This example assumes the posted balance excludes the separately listed credit, floating result and accrued charge. The arithmetic is a declared model, not a universal platform formula. If the charge had already been posted into balance, subtracting it again would understate equity by 10 USD.
| Component | Amount | Treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Posted balance | 5,000 USD | Starting amount |
| Eligible account credit | 200 USD | Add under the example model |
| Floating P/L | −350 USD | Include as a loss |
| Separate accrued charge | −10 USD | Subtract once |
| Calculated equity | 4,840 USD | 5,000 + 200 − 350 − 10 |
Implementation checklist
- Label real cash, credit and simulated balances distinctly.
- Check whether each cost is already included in posted balance.
- Use a consistent valuation timestamp and currency.
- Keep a trace from each reconciliation component to its source record.
Sources
These documents support the reference. Check the original publication for current requirements and the limits of its scope.
- MetaTrader 5 executing trades and account valueswww.metatrader5.com
- MQL5 account propertieswww.mql5.com
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