An MT5 Setup Budget Worksheet You Can Actually Use

Published 30 Sep 2026 · 6 min read · Technology information, not financial advice

An MT5 setup budget is most useful when someone else can read it and understand the assumptions. A single total hides too much. Instead, use a worksheet that connects each cost to a deliverable, a billing period, and a person who will confirm it.

Image placeholderblog-mt5-white-label-cost-breakdown-hero.webp · 1600 × 900

Create five columns before entering prices

Label the columns item, scope, billing basis, quoted amount, and status. The status can be confirmed, optional, excluded, or pending. Add a note explaining who supplied the amount and which offer it belongs to. These simple details help stop an old figure from being reused after the requirements change.

Keep the platform fee visible

Place the recurring setup fee in its own row. The current listings range from $2,000 to $2,500 per month, subject to confirmation. That range concerns these advertised setups, not an official MT5 licensing tariff or a full operating budget. Copy the selected offer’s scope into the worksheet rather than assuming every row includes the same service.

Add one-time and optional work separately

Create rows for agreed setup work, website or branding, migration, and testing. Add CRM integration and API access as optional items at additional cost until a quote is agreed. If your provider quotes a bundle, ask for enough detail to identify what changes when you remove or add a requirement.

Reconcile the worksheet before approval

Review whether an expense appears twice, whether a recurring charge was counted only once, and whether an unresolved item was accidentally included as zero. Keep a separate section for your own business expenses and professional advice. The worksheet should show a technology subtotal with stated assumptions, not pretend to be an all-in cost for launching a brokerage.

The worksheet layout

A good worksheet answers three questions at a glance: what do I pay every month, what do I pay once, and what depends on choices I have not made yet. The layout below uses five columns so each row can be traced to a quote.

The "source quote" column forces every number to have an origin. A number without a source is a guess.

A worked example of the totals

Add the monthly column across twelve months, add the one-off column once, then add the optional column twice: once with every option included and once with none. The two totals form a range. A buyer who sees the range can ask which options are truly needed and which can wait.

Now add the contingency, commonly a percentage of the total rather than a fixed sum. The final figure is higher than the first quote you received. That is normal, and it is better to see it in the worksheet than in the bank account.

Cash timing matters as much as the total

Two budgets with the same twelve-month total can feel very different. One may demand most of the cash in the first month, the other spreads it. Mark the month in which each item is paid, and total each month. The result is a simple cash plan that shows the peak.

If the peak is uncomfortable, ask vendors whether deposits can be split, whether setup can be billed on delivery and whether a longer term lowers the monthly price. These are normal questions and the answers are often negotiable.

Common worksheet mistakes

• Entering the platform price and forgetting everything else.
• Mixing monthly and one-off figures in a single column.
• Leaving optional work out of the totals.
• Skipping the contingency.
• Forgetting the cost of your own team’s time.

Each one is easy to fix with the layout above. Review the sheet with a colleague who did not build it.

Keeping the worksheet alive

After you sign, keep the sheet and add a column for actual spend. Each month compare the plan with reality, note the differences and ask why. Over a few months you learn which lines were estimated well and which were not, and your next budget improves. See our cost guide for the typical lines.

How to get the numbers in the first place

A worksheet is only as good as its inputs. For each row, ask for a written figure, the date of the quote and the conditions. If a vendor says "around", ask for the range and what moves the number. If a figure is your own estimate, mark it as an estimate and write the assumption beside it.

Buyers sometimes feel awkward asking for so much detail. In practice vendors respect it. A buyer who asks precise questions is more likely to be a serious customer, and vendors tend to give those buyers better answers and better terms.

Scenarios: low, expected and high

Duplicate the worksheet three times. In the low scenario, client growth is slow and optional work is postponed. In the expected scenario, growth follows your plan. In the high scenario, growth is faster and more support, payments and compliance are needed.

Compare the three totals and note the lines that change the most. Often a handful of lines drive the difference, such as support, payment fees and plan limits. Those are the lines to negotiate and watch. The scenarios also give you a range to present to partners and investors, which is more credible than a single figure.

Reviewing the worksheet with an adviser

Before you commit, share the worksheet with an adviser or a trusted colleague who has launched a brokerage. Ask them what is missing. People with experience can often name a line you have not thought of, such as a regulator’s annual fee, a bank’s minimum balance or the cost of an audit.

Treat their comments as additions to the sheet. A budget that has been challenged by someone experienced is a better budget, and the exercise costs an hour or two.

A final check before approval

Before approving the budget, ask three questions: does every number have a source, does the total include a contingency and have we added the cost of our own people? If the answer to any is no, fix it. Then ask a colleague to review the sheet and sign it off.

A signed budget is a commitment, and it provides a reference when costs are reviewed.

Frequently asked questions

What should I include in a budget for an MT5 setup?

Platform, setup, branding, CRM and API, payments, liquidity, support, company and banking, people, marketing and a contingency.

How much contingency should I add?

Many buyers add a percentage that reflects uncertainty. Decide with your adviser and write down the reason.

Should I budget for twelve or thirty-six months?

Both. Twelve months for cash planning, thirty-six for comparing models and contracts.

What if a vendor will not itemise?

Treat it as a warning and ask again. A vendor who cannot itemise a quote may not understand its own scope.