Prop Firm Software Demo Checklist: What to Make the Vendor Show
Do not spend a demo watching slides. Give every shortlisted vendor the same operating scenarios and make them demonstrate the workflows live. This creates comparable evidence and exposes where “supported” still means manual work.
1–5: Product and checkout
- Create a new two-phase challenge product.
- Change profit target and drawdown rules without development.
- Apply a coupon/affiliate attribution.
- Complete a test checkout.
- Show the resulting customer/order record in admin.
6–10: Trading account provisioning
- Provision the trading account automatically from purchase.
- Show credentials delivery.
- Reset or retry an account.
- Move an account from phase one to phase two.
- Show what happens when provisioning fails.
11–15: Risk and breaches
- Trigger daily-loss logic using a realistic equity scenario.
- Trigger maximum-loss logic.
- Show the exact rule version bound to the account.
- Open the audit evidence for a breach.
- Demonstrate recovery behavior if trading data is delayed.
16–19: KYC and payouts
- Move a customer into KYC review.
- Show failed/manual-review KYC state.
- Create a payout request and show approval controls.
- Show how risk/KYC state can block or flag payout.
20–23: Operations and support
- Search one customer and reconstruct their complete lifecycle.
- Show administrator roles and permissions.
- Show audit logs for administrator actions.
- Show an incident/error view rather than a happy-path dashboard.
24–26: Integration architecture
- Open API/webhook documentation where available.
- Show a real webhook/event delivery and retry behavior.
- Explain which trading, KYC, PSP and market-data contracts sit outside the platform.
27–30: Migration and exit
- Show the import/migration data model.
- Explain parallel-run and rollback procedure.
- Export customer/account data in a usable format.
- Show the contract clauses governing termination, retention and migration assistance.
Score evidence, not presentation quality
| Score | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 2 | Demonstrated live with relevant configuration |
| 1 | Supported but not demonstrated / manual dependency remains |
| 0 | Unavailable, unclear or requires unpriced custom work |
A perfect 60 is not the objective. Weight the tests that matter to your model and record unresolved items in the commercial proposal.
Ask for written evidence after the demo
Collect the pricing proposal, integration scope, SLA, data terms, support coverage, migration scope and any statements that materially affected your decision. Website claims can change; your contract is what governs the relationship.
Use this checklist alongside our risk-engine tests, pricing-model framework and switching-cost guide.
FAQ
How many prop firm software vendors should I demo?
Usually enough to compare genuinely different architectures and commercial models. Three strong candidates are more useful than ten superficial demos.
What is the most important demo test?
Run the complete lifecycle relevant to your business—from purchase and provisioning through rule enforcement and payout—because isolated feature screens hide integration gaps.