Weekend Maintenance Windows in Prop Firms
Prop firms shut everything down over the weekend — data feeds, trade servers, risk engines, and platform gateways. If you don’t flatten and clean your account before Friday’s close, the firm will do it for you. And they won’t be gentle about it.
Why Weekend Maintenance Exists
Maintenance windows let firms:
- reset risk systems
- upgrade servers
- archive logs
- repair data issues from the week
- prevent disconnect chaos during Sunday open
This is closely tied to weekend data drop policies — both exist to stop traders from getting blown out by platform outages.
Typical Friday Rules Across Prop Firms
Most firms require:
- all positions flat before the Friday close
- all working orders canceled
- no open trades during maintenance
- no pending limit orders carried into Sunday
If you leave an order open and it accidentally fills on the Sunday open, the firm will flatten your account and possibly call it a violation.
The Hidden Risk: Sunday Price Gaps
The real reason firms enforce weekend rules is simple: gaps kill accounts. Sunday opens can gap 20–60 ticks instantly in products like:
- NQ
- CL
- NG
- GC
A gap through your stop puts your trailing drawdown straight into violation territory.
What “Maintenance Window” Actually Means
A maintenance window usually includes:
- risk servers offline
- charts frozen
- data feeds paused
- no fills allowed
- no bracket logic active
If you’re holding anything through that downtime, you’re gambling with your account.
Forced Flatten Procedures
If you ignore the rules, the firm will:
- force-flatten all positions before close
- cancel working orders
- mark your account for review
Depending on the firm, this can be a warning or a hard violation.
Friday Checklist Every Prop Trader Should Follow
- flatten no later than 30 minutes before market close
- cancel bracket orders
- check for stray limit orders
- verify you’re not in the wrong symbol due to rollover
- close your platform cleanly before maintenance starts
This checklist avoids 99% of weekend violations.
Sunday Open Rules
Most firms don’t allow Sunday-open trading until the maintenance window fully ends. Early orders will either:
- reject
- fail to process
- create false errors that risk engine flags
Final Takeaway
Weekend maintenance isn’t optional. If you don’t flatten before Friday’s close, the firm will do it for you — and they won’t care if it wrecks your account. Clean your books, cancel your orders, and treat the weekend like a danger zone.