How to Place a Trade

Ready to buy or sell stocks? This guide walks you through every step of placing a trade on PiTrade, from finding a stock to confirming your order.

Video Guide

Watch how to place a trade step-by-step:

Complete Trading Flow

Step 1: Open Explore & Find Your Stock

  1. Open your PiTrade app
  2. Tap the Explore tab at the bottom
  3. Use the search bar to find your stock
  4. Type stock symbol (AAPL, MSFT) or company name (Apple, Microsoft)
  5. Tap on the stock from results

Market Hours: Regular trading 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM ET (Mon-Fri). Pre-market 4:00 AM - 9:30 AM ET. After-hours 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM ET. Market closed on weekends/holidays.

Step 2: Review Stock Information

  1. Stock detail page opens
  2. Review price chart (1D, 1W, 1M, 3M, 6M, 1Y, All timeframes)
  3. Check key info: market cap, P/E ratio, dividend yield, 52-week high/low, volume, beta
  4. Read company details and recent news
  5. Decide if you want to trade

Step 3: Start Your Trade

  1. On stock detail page, tap Trade button (floating button at bottom right)
  2. Portfolio selection screen appears or trade form opens

Step 4: Choose Your Portfolio

  1. If multiple portfolios exist, select the one you want to trade with
  2. Or create new portfolio if needed

Step 5: Choose Buy or Sell

  1. Tap BUY (green) to purchase shares or SELL (red) to sell shares

For Buying: Shares added to portfolio, cash deducted, includes 2.5% fee. Need sufficient cash available.

For Selling: Shares removed from portfolio, cash added, fee deducted. Need to own the stock.

Step 6: Enter Your Quantity

Choose one method:

  • By Shares: Enter number of shares, amount auto-calculates
  • By Amount ($): Enter dollar amount, shares auto-calculate

Real-Time Updates: System auto-updates as you enter values, uses live market price. Sell All Option: For selling only, toggle Sell All to automatically fill your quantity.

Step 7: Review Your Order

Check everything:

  • Stock Details: Correct symbol, company name, current price, right portfolio
  • Order Details: Buy or Sell correct, quantity correct, amount correct

For Buying: Available cash shown. For Selling: Available shares shown.

Step 8: Validate & Place Order

  1. App checks: quantity ≥ 0.01, amount ≥ $1, account setup, current price available, sufficient balance/shares
  2. Review everything one final time
  3. Tap Place Order button
  4. Order sent to broker

Order Confirmation

Confirmation Modal

After placing your order:

  • Success message appears
  • Shows order status, execution details, real-time updates
  • Displays stock symbol, buy/sell action, quantity executed, execution price

What Happens Next

Immediately: Order sent to broker, confirmation received, tracking modal shows status, real-time updates begin.

Within Seconds: Market order executes, execution price confirmed, shares added/removed, cash updated, portfolio refreshed.

After Execution: Order appears in holdings, transaction recorded, performance updated, can close modal, return to market or portfolio.

Viewing Your Trade

  1. Tap View Portfolio to see holdings
  2. Or go to Account → Reports → Transactions
  3. Find your order in transaction history

Next Steps: Monitor your position, set price alerts if desired, track performance, plan your next trade.

Related Guides:

Questions? Browse our FAQ →

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