How we version, document and deliver a build

2 October 2026 · Soft Trade Enterprises · All guides

Why this is worth writing down

Six months after delivery, a client says the EA used to behave differently. Nobody can say which build they are running, nobody kept the specification, and the conversation becomes an argument about memory. Every practice below exists to prevent that specific conversation.

Every build carries its version inside it

The version is in the file, not just the filename — filenames get renamed, copied and emailed:

#property version   "1.04"
#property description "ClientEA - built to specification 2026-09-14"

int OnInit()
{
   Print("ClientEA v1.04 | magic ", MagicNumber, " | ", _Symbol);
   return INIT_SUCCEEDED;
}

It prints on every start, so the Experts log always answers "which build is this" without anyone guessing. The number moves up on every delivered change, including a one-line fix. A version that stands still across two different files is worse than no version at all.

What a handover contains

Item	Always	If the quotation says so
Compiled build (.ex5)	Yes
Source (.mq5)		Yes
Input reference — every setting and what it does	Yes
Installation steps	Yes
Changelog for this version	Yes
Known limitations	Yes
VPS deployment		Yes

"Known limitations" is the one clients are most surprised to be given. If a news filter cannot be tested properly in the Strategy Tester, or an indicator value cannot be reproduced exactly from TradingView, that belongs in writing at delivery — not discovered in week three.

The payment schedule

60 / 30 / 10, confirmed in the quotation before anything starts:

• 60% to begin, once the scope is approved
• 30% on the beta build, which you test on a demo account
• 10% on final delivery

The 10% matters more than its size. It keeps a reason to finish properly rather than treating the last mile as optional.

Revision versus new work

The line is simple and we hold it in both directions.

Revision — covered free for 7 days: the build does not match the agreed specification, a bug, a crash, a wrong calculation, a setting that does not take effect.

New work — quoted separately: a rule that was not in the specification, a new filter, a different platform, a change of mind about behaviour.

This is why the written scope exists. It is not there to refuse things; it is there so both sides are reading the same document when a question comes up.

Support after delivery

15 days of technical support on WhatsApp, email or call — installation help, settings questions, broker-related issues, anything behaving unexpectedly. After that, support is available as a small job; you are never left without a route back.

Your rights to the code

• Where source is delivered, you may use and modify it for your own trading
• You may hire anyone else to work on it — we do not lock clients in
• Resale or redistribution needs a separate written agreement
• We do not resell your strategy, and we do not reuse your logic for another client

What we keep

Your specification and the delivered build, so that a year later we can tell you exactly what was agreed and hand you the file again if you lose it. We do not keep broker credentials, investor passwords or API keys, because we never ask for them in the first place.

What we will not do

Decompile or reverse-engineer software you do not own the source to. Reproduce a protected commercial product. Evaluate, recommend or comment on whether a strategy is a good one. Manage an account, handle funds or trade on anyone's behalf. We build software to a specification, and the trading decisions stay entirely with you.