The active trader’s workflow: from first scan to trade review

Step 1 · Scan: narrow the field

01 / SCAN

A scanner filters a large universe into names that match your observation criteria. Price, volume, change, gap and float can help organize the results. An alert is a reason to investigate, not an instruction to place an order.

Start with the session and filters you want to observe, then keep a manageable shortlist. Small-cap traders often look at price, float and volume together. Float is not borrow inventory, and printed volume does not guarantee liquidity at the price on your screen.

• Save the symbol, alert type and observation time.
• Check the reference behind Gap % and Day %; premarket movement is not an established opening gap.
• Write one sentence explaining why each name deserves research.

In FennEdge · Scanner surfaces filtered names and alerts to narrow the research shortlist.

Step 2 · Research: turn movement into questions

02 / RESEARCH

Research starts by confirming the security, the event and the original source. A headline, company announcement and SEC filing can describe different stages of the same development. Do not turn the price move itself into evidence for a convenient explanation. BamSEC helps search company filings and earnings-call transcripts; verify the original passage and its date.

When checking price, market cap, float, outstanding shares and financing documents, retain each figure’s date, units and definition. Keep conflicting sources and missing information visible instead of resolving them into unsupported precision.

• Open the original announcement or filing, beyond the summary.
• Separate confirmed facts, your interpretation and unanswered questions.
• Distinguish issuance, registration, resale and shares actually sold.

In FennEdge · Research connects company context and disclosures. Continue with how to research a stock move.

Step 3 · Plan & note: capture the thinking as it happens

03 / PLAN & NOTE

A plan is not a polished explanation written after the close. Preserve what you knew before acting: your thesis, what would contradict it, and the risk boundaries you set for yourself. Notes can evolve as research and intraday observations arrive.

Keep facts, judgments and intended actions distinct. Timestamp new observations. A daily plan, a question that spans sessions and research on one ticker need not live in the same note; labels can keep them organized without forcing a rigid layout.

• Write the thesis and the evidence that would challenge it.
• Record your participation conditions, reasons to stand aside and predefined risk limits.
• Append changes rather than overwriting the original plan.

In FennEdge · Desk holds freely arranged ticker cards, Daily Notes and Ongoing Notes. Use Labels to organize them and Attached Notes to keep research beside its ticker.

Step 4 · Trade: execute in your trading platform

04 / TRADE

Trade is a distinct handoff. Orders, cancellations, fills and position management belong to your broker and its supported platform—for example, DAS Trader Pro, Sterling Trader Pro, Lightspeed Trader, Takion, TradeZero. These examples include brokerage services and trading software; availability depends on the broker, account and region. FennEdge does not replace the broker or execute orders in the workflow described here.

The brokerage account and trading interface can be separate choices. IBKR’s DAS connection documentation confirms that DAS can route orders to an IBKR Pro account without installing TWS. Using IBKR does not necessarily mean using TWS.

Before submitting, check the account, symbol, side, quantity, order type and duration. After submitting, read the broker’s status: sent, accepted, partially filled and filled are different states. Short sales also require checking applicable borrow availability and broker restrictions.

• Use the platform’s order checks; a button click is not a fill.
• Verify execution price, quantity and time against actual reports.
• If you do not trade, record why. Completing the workflow does not require an order.

In FennEdge · Execution stays external. Learn about order types, stock locates and DAS Advanced Hotkey Scripts; educational content is not an execution connection.

Step 5 · Record: reconcile the facts

05 / RECORD

The trade record answers what actually happened. Order reports, executions, fees and research notes serve different purposes. Reconcile the facts before adding your labels or interpretation, using broker records as the source for fills.

Dedicated trading journals include TraderSync, Tradervue, TradeZella, Edgewonk. They help organize trade records and analyze performance; check support for your broker, instruments and import format first.

When importing through a supported method or entering records manually, check the account, time zone, duplicate executions, partial fills and fee treatment. Keep intraday notes available so the later review does not rely entirely on memory. Supported imports and formats depend on the options currently available in the product.

• Reconcile execution quantities, timestamps, costs and positions.
• Separate gross results, net results and still-open positions.
• Keep original research, intraday changes and actual execution distinguishable.

In FennEdge · Trade Log / Journal supports recording and reviewing trades, while Desk keeps your research notes. A workflow connection does not mean automatic synchronization with every broker.

Step 6 · Review: improve the next pass

06 / REVIEW

Review the process as well as the result. A profitable trade can involve a departure from the plan; a losing trade can follow it. Check whether the research was supported, the notes were timely and the execution matched your own constraints before evaluating the outcome.

When comparing similar situations, keep the sample size and date range visible. A historical daily high, a later filing or subsequent price action was not advance information. Swing traders can stretch the same sequence across multiple sessions and keep open questions in ongoing notes.

• Revisit your history in the ticker alongside the current thesis.
• Separate research issues, execution issues and missing records.
• Choose one concrete process adjustment to test on the next scan or plan.

In FennEdge · Journal and Your History in Research help revisit personal records. Use the notes preserved in Desk to compare your thinking at the time with actual execution.

Two tool stacks. The same handoffs.

You can assemble specialist products for each step, or use FennEdge for scanning, research, notes, records and review. News sources, issuer announcements, charting tools and brokers still have their own roles. Integration here means organizing the work around the same names and research questions; it does not mean replacing every specialist tool or automatically connecting every account.

The diagram uses category examples: Trade Ideas scanning and alerts, Benzinga Pro news, original filings on SEC EDGAR, TradingView charts, Notion notes, DAS order and trade windows, and TraderSync trade imports. Check each provider’s current documentation for product and account support.

Take this checklist into your next session