QT Risk Manager — User Guide

Version 0.2.0 · Indicator for the Quantower trading platform

QT Risk Manager sizes every trade from your stop loss so that a stop-out costs exactly the amount you decided to risk, and sends it at market with a real stop loss at your broker. Daily loss/profit limits and account locks are handled by QT Risk Guard, the risk plugin included with your license (see Daily limits).

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Contents

1. Installation
2. Quick start
3. The on-chart panel
4. Placing the stop loss
5. Position sizing and "Out of Risk"
6. Sending orders
7. Daily limits: QT Risk Guard
8. Settings reference
9. License
10. Important notes and limitations
11. Troubleshooting
12. Version history

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1. Installation

Requirements: Windows and Quantower 1.146 or later (the indicator is built for .NET 10, which Quantower uses from version 1.146). On older versions the indicator appears in the list but does not start: update Quantower first. You can see your version in the folder name <Quantower folder>\TradingPlatform\v1.xxx.xx.

Quantower 1.146 runs on the .NET 10 Desktop Runtime installed in Windows. If Quantower asks for it, or does not start after the update, install it from Microsoft: download .NET 10 → .NET Desktop Runtime 10.0.x → Windows x64 Installer. (This is ".NET", not the older ".NET Framework 4.x", which does not help.)

1. Log in to your account at qtriskmanager.com and download the latest version from Downloads.
2. Close Quantower.
3. Copy RiskManagerPlugin.dll into: <Quantower folder>\Settings\Scripts\Indicators\RiskManagerIndicator\
4. Start Quantower, open a chart, and add QT Risk Manager from the indicators list.
5. Open the indicator settings and enter your License Key (you find it in your account under Licenses). You only need to do this once per computer: on other charts the indicator uses the saved key.

When updating to a new version, remove the indicator from the chart and add it again, so that new settings are loaded correctly.

2. Quick start

1. Choose how much to risk per trade: Risk Mode, then Fixed Risk Amount ($) or Risk Percentage (%).
2. On the chart, hold Shift and click where you want your stop loss.
3. The panel shows the direction (BUY if the stop is below the price, SELL if above), the size and the money at risk.
4. Click the BUY / SELL button, then click it again within 3 seconds to confirm.

The order is sent at market with the stop loss (and the take profit, if enabled) attached.

For daily loss/profit limits, open the QT Risk Guard panel (see section 7).

3. The on-chart panel

Below the panel there are two buttons:

• BUY / SELL — sends the order. It shows the size and the risk (for example BUY 3 / Risk $285 / $300). It shows --- when no stop is placed.
• CLEAR — removes the stop loss line.

The panel can be moved to any corner of the chart with Panel Position, Panel Offset X and Panel Offset Y.

4. Placing the stop loss

• Shift + click on the chart places the stop loss line at that price (rounded to the tick size). Shift + click again to move it.
• The direction is decided automatically:
  • stop below the current price → BUY
  • stop above the current price → SELL
• The label on the line shows the price, the distance in points and the money at risk.
• If the price crosses your stop line, the direction flips automatically.
• After an order is sent, the stop line is removed from the chart (the stop now lives at your broker as a real order).

5. Position sizing and "Out of Risk"

The size is calculated as:

size = risk amount ÷ (stop distance in ticks × value of one tick)

• Risk amount is your Fixed Risk Amount, or Risk Percentage × account balance.
• The size is always rounded down to the symbol's lot step: you never risk more than your setting. The money shown as "Risk" is the real amount after rounding, so it is usually a little lower than your setting.
• The size is capped by the symbol's maximum lot and by Max Contracts per Order (if set).

Out of Risk

If the stop is so far away that even the minimum size (1 contract) would risk more than your setting, the indicator turns amber:

• the button shows BUY 1 - OUT OF RISK and, for example, $450 > $300 (+50%)
• the stop line label shows $450 OUT OF RISK +50%
• the panel shows Size: 1 (min)

The order is refused while Out of Risk. Move the stop closer to the price (or increase your risk setting) until the button turns green/red again.

6. Sending orders

All orders are market orders. The stop loss (and the take profit) is attached as a distance in ticks from the fill price: if the fill has slippage, the stop keeps the same distance, so the money at risk stays the same, but the stop price can differ slightly from the line you drew.

Confirm Orders (click twice) — ON by default

Protects you from sending an order with an accidental click.

1. First click on BUY/SELL: nothing is sent yet. The order is armed for 3 seconds:
   • the button shows CONFIRM BUY 3? 3 with a bar that shrinks to zero
   • the centre of the chart shows Click again to confirm BUY 3 (risk $285.00) 3
   • the number counts down 3 → 2 → 1
2. Second click within 3 seconds on the same button: the order is sent.
3. The order is disarmed (you must start again from the first click) when:
   • the countdown ends
   • you move the stop (Shift + click) or press CLEAR
   • the price crosses your stop and the direction flips

If there is a problem (Out of Risk, no price, stop on the wrong side), the first click only shows the error message and nothing is armed.

Note: size and risk are recalculated at the second click. If the price moved in between, the size can differ slightly from the one shown at the first click.

With Confirm Orders unticked, a single click sends the order immediately.

Ctrl + Click Orders — OFF by default

A shortcut: Ctrl + left click anywhere on the chart is the same as clicking the BUY/SELL button.

• The point you click does not matter: the order is always at market, in the direction shown by the button. It is not a limit order at the clicked price.
• It follows the same confirmation rules: with Confirm Orders on you need two Ctrl + clicks within 3 seconds.
• Without a stop on the chart, it only shows Place SL line first (Shift+Click).
• While enabled, the indicator takes over Ctrl + click on the chart, so any Quantower function on that combination will not run.

It is off by default because Ctrl is easy to press for other reasons (zoom, selection) and could send an order by mistake.

Click priority

Always-on protections

• Double-click protection: after an order is sent, any other click within 1 second is ignored.
• Locked account: when QT Risk Guard (or Quantower) has locked the account, orders are refused with ACCOUNT LOCKED.
• Out of Risk: orders are refused (see above).
• Broker rejection: if the broker rejects the order, the reason is shown on the chart.

7. Daily limits: QT Risk Guard

From version 0.2.0 the indicator no longer manages daily limits. They are handled by QT Risk Guard (user guide), a Quantower plugin (a panel, like DOM or Order Entry) included with your QT Risk Manager license. It is stronger than the old indicator limits:

• it uses Quantower's own account lock: once a limit is reached, orders are refused from every panel (chart, DOM, Order Entry, this indicator), not only from the indicator's buttons;
• it runs from Quantower's start, also when its panel is closed, and the lock survives a restart;
• during a session a limit can only be made stricter: raising or removing it applies from the next session, so it cannot be lifted to keep trading after a loss.

What it covers: daily loss limit and profit target (closed + open P&L), max trades per day (with copy-trading leaders), max position size, trailing drawdown, trading hours and scheduled flatten, timed locks, templates and a multi-account dashboard.

In this indicator you only see the result: the panel shows Trading: LOCKED (QT Risk Guard) and the order button shows ACCOUNT LOCKED while the account is locked.

8. Settings reference

9. License

• Enter your key in License Key (upper/lower case and spaces around it do not matter). It is checked online and the result is kept for 24 hours.
• You enter the key only once per computer. Quantower saves indicator settings with each chart, so a new chart starts with an empty License Key: once a key has been validated, the indicator remembers it on this computer and uses it whenever the License Key field is empty. The field stays empty; the grey read-only row License in use below it shows the key in use, masked, and its status (e.g. …FW7Q · ✓ valid). Entering a different key replaces the remembered one as soon as it is validated.
• If the license server cannot be reached, the last valid check is accepted for up to 48 hours.
• Each license can be activated on a limited number of computers. A computer is identified by its Windows installation, so changing network (VPN, Wi-Fi) does not use a new activation. The first computer that uses the key takes a slot automatically.
• Moving to a new computer: in your account, open Licenses and click Release this PC on the old computer, then enter the key on the new one. You can do it 2 times every 30 days; if you need more, open a support ticket from your account.

Beta licenses

• Request the beta from the form on qtriskmanager.com or, if you already have an account, from Licenses in your account. Requests are reviewed by hand; the status is shown in your account.
• Beta testers receive a free beta license. The panel shows License: BETA, with the end date when one is set.
• A beta license works on 1 computer.
• When the beta program ends, the panel shows License: Beta ended - subscribe to continue and orders are disabled.
• When your request is approved you receive an email with your beta key. If you did not have an account yet, one is created for you: click Set your password in the email (the link is valid 7 days) and you are in, with the license already there. If the link expired, use Forgot your password on the login page with the same email.
• To continue after the beta, click Upgrade to paid on your beta license in your account: you keep the same key, so nothing changes in Quantower.
• The end of the beta is picked up at the next license check (at the latest within 24 hours, or 48 hours if the computer is offline).

License messages

10. Important notes and limitations

• One account per chart. The indicator uses the account selected on the chart. If none is selected, it uses the first account of the symbol's connection. Always check the Account line in the panel.
• Market orders only. Slippage can change the entry price; the stop keeps the same distance in ticks.
• The indicator does not replace your broker's own risk controls.

11. Troubleshooting

12. Version history