The BROKER window and your commission schedule
BROKER, at the right end of the WINDOWS row, sets which broker the desk sends orders to, what that broker can do, and its commission schedule. Each broker in the dropdown shows its status. EXECUTES means the desk sends orders to it: TradeZero and Alpaca, in this build.
In this video
The 30-second version
The same topic in thirty seconds, made for a phone screen.
Both videos use the desk in paper mode with made-up symbols and prices.
Read the transcript
Where your orders go
BROKER, at the right end of the WINDOWS row, sets which broker the desk sends orders to, what that broker can do, and its commission schedule.
The broker list
Each broker in the dropdown shows its status. EXECUTES means the desk sends orders to it: TradeZero and Alpaca, in this build. The others are on file for their details, but no orders can be sent to them. Only a broker marked EXECUTES can be armed or traded live. To try the desk, you need no broker account. Paper trades against live prices with a virtual wallet, and no order reaches a broker.
What it supports
The capability line says whether the selected broker takes market orders, and only in regular hours, whether resting limits are free, whether it needs locates, and whether it supports cancel all and cancel last. CREDENTIALS opens the window for your keys.
Your commission schedule
No broker supplies its commission schedule through its API, so you enter it, and keep it current. These numbers drive the journal's fee lines, the breakeven, and the free-entry figure. The free-order minimum in shares and price, the per-share rate, a flat fee under the minimum, and the minimum and maximum per order.
Locates and saving
REFUND NETTED LOCATES decides whether a short that only closes out a long gives its locates back to the desk's count. Off is the cautious choice. Off can refuse a later short, rather than send one the broker would reject. SAVE saves the broker and the schedule; RESET puts the shipped schedule back in the boxes. Check the numbers against your broker's statement whenever anything changes.
Test in paper first
Test any new broker or schedule in paper first. Real fills are decided by the venue, so live results can differ.