A scaling plan is a schedule written into the account agreement under which the nominal size of a simulated funded account is increased once stated conditions are met. The usual trigger is sustained gains recorded across a set number of consecutive payment cycles, with no rule breach during that period. The count is normally continuous: a cycle that ends below the required gain, or a breach at any point, resets the sequence rather than pausing it. Some schedules also require that the account was active in each cycle, so periods of no trading may not count toward the total.
What increases is the nominal balance attached to the account, and in some agreements the trader's share of simulated profits alongside it. Loss limits generally scale in the same proportion, so the daily and overall drawdown thresholds stay constant in relative terms. The practical effect is that position sizes at the same relative risk become larger in nominal terms, while the distance to a breach, measured as a fraction of the balance, is unchanged. Where consistency conditions apply — rules capping how much of total gain may come from a single day or trade — they typically continue to apply after each increase, measured against the new figures. Some plans cap the total number of increases, or stop scaling at a maximum nominal size.
Scaling is normally described in the agreement as discretionary rather than as an entitlement. The firm evaluates whether the conditions were met and applies the increase; it also reserves the right to revise the schedule, apply it to new accounts only, or withdraw it. Terms tracked over time show these schedules changing more often than the core evaluation rules do. A separate point of confusion is merging: holding several accounts and combining their nominal sizes into one is a different mechanism from scaling, and most firms restrict it, either by limiting total nominal exposure per trader across accounts or by prohibiting the combination outright. Copying the same positions across multiple accounts is likewise addressed separately in most rule sets. Comparing scaling plans therefore means reading the trigger conditions, what resets them, whether the profit share moves with the size, and whether the increase is stated as automatic or as a decision the firm makes.