Orders
Orders are commands sent to your broker to buy or sell securities. UTM tracks order lifecycle from submission through fills.
Placing Orders
From the Dashboard
- Click Place Order button
- Select your account
- Enter order details
- Review and confirm
- Submit
Order Entry Fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Account | Trading account (only tradeable accounts shown) |
| Symbol | Ticker symbol (e.g., AAPL, MSFT) |
| Action | Buy or Sell |
| Quantity | Number of shares |
| Order Type | Market, Limit, Stop, or Stop-Limit |
| Limit Price | Target price (for Limit/Stop-Limit orders) |
| Stop Price | Trigger price (for Stop/Stop-Limit orders) |
| Time in Force | How long the order stays active |
| Extended Hours | Allow pre/post-market execution |
Order Types
Market Order
Executes immediately at the best available price.
Use when: You want to enter/exit quickly and price isn't critical.
Limit Order
Executes at your specified price or better.
- Buy Limit: Fills at limit price or lower
- Sell Limit: Fills at limit price or higher
Use when: You want a specific price and can wait.
Stop Order
Becomes a market order when the stop price is reached.
- Buy Stop: Triggers when price rises to stop price
- Sell Stop: Triggers when price falls to stop price
Use when: Setting stop-losses or entering on breakouts.
Stop-Limit Order
Becomes a limit order when the stop price is reached.
Use when: You want a stop-loss with price guarantee (though may not fill).
Time in Force
How long your order stays active:
| TIF | Name | Behaviour |
|---|---|---|
| day | Day Order | Expires at market close |
| gtc | Good til Cancelled | Stays active until filled or cancelled |
| ioc | Immediate or Cancel | Fill immediately, cancel unfilled portion |
| fok | Fill or Kill | Fill completely or cancel entirely |
| opg | Market on Open | Execute at opening auction |
| cls | Market on Close | Execute at closing auction |
| gtd | Good til Date | Active until a specific expiry datetime (expiresAt required) |
See Time in Force Reference for details, including broker-specific CLS submission windows.
For cls orders to reach the closing auction they must be submitted before the broker's cutoff. UTM applies a relative cutoff per broker: close minus 10 minutes for Alpaca and TradeStation, close minus 15 minutes for Interactive Brokers. Strategy auto-close enforces a minimum 15-minute buffer and downgrades to day if a close job fires past the cutoff, so positions are not left open overnight. Paper accounts always use a plain market / day order for auto-close because paper endpoints do not handle the closing auction reliably. See Time in Force Reference for the full table.
Extended Hours Trading
Trade before market open or after close.
Pre-market: 4:00 AM - 9:30 AM ET After-hours: 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM ET
To enable:
- Toggle "Extended Hours" in order entry
- Order type must be Limit
Extended hours have wider spreads and less liquidity. Use limit orders to control execution price.
Order Statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| pending | Submitted, awaiting broker acknowledgment |
| new | Order received and accepted by broker |
| accepted | Broker acknowledged receipt |
| partial | Some shares filled, remainder still open |
| filled | Completely filled |
| cancelled | Cancelled (by you or broker) |
| rejected | Broker rejected the order |
| expired | Time in force expired |
| submissionFailed | UTM could not deliver the order to your broker after several automatic retries. Check the broker connection and re-place it. |
Viewing Orders
Orders Page
Navigate to Orders to see all orders with filters:
- Status: Active, Filled, Cancelled, All
- Symbol: Filter by ticker
- Date Range: From/to date
- Account: Specific account
Order Details
Click any order to see:
- Full order parameters
- Status history (timeline)
- Executions (fills)
- Related signal (if from signal)
- Related trade
Cancelling Orders
Single Order
- Find order in Orders list
- Click Cancel
- Confirm cancellation
Bulk Cancel
- Select multiple orders
- Click Cancel Selected
Only orders in pending, new, accepted, or partial status can be cancelled. Filled orders cannot be undone - you must place a closing order.
Order Status Timeline
Each order shows a timeline of status changes:
pending (9:30:00 AM) → User submitted
↓
new (9:30:01 AM) → Broker received order
↓
accepted (9:30:01 AM) → Broker acknowledged
↓
filled (9:30:15 AM) → 100 shares @ $175.50
This helps track exactly when each status change occurred.
Common Issues
Order Rejected
Check:
- Account has sufficient buying power
- Symbol is tradeable on this broker
- Market is open (for market orders)
- Limit price is reasonable
Order Not Filling
For limit orders:
- Price may not have reached your limit
- Check bid/ask spread
- Consider adjusting price
For market orders:
- Check if market is open
- Extended hours requires limit orders
Wrong Account
Always verify the account before submitting. UTM prevents cross-mode orders (live orders in paper mode).