Deal Ticket: What it is, How it Works, Information

A deal ticket, commonly known as a trading ticket, is a record of all the terms, conditions, and basic information of a trade agreement. It lists transaction type, the security's name, order type, order duration, quantity, price, commission, names of involved parties, date, and time of transaction.

What Is a Deal Ticket?

A deal ticket, commonly known as a trading ticket, is a record of all the terms, conditions, and basic information of a trade agreement. The creation of a deal ticket comes after the transaction of shares, futures contracts, or other derivatives.

Understanding Deal Tickets

Think of a deal ticket as a trading receipt. This receipt tracks the price, the volume of the trade, the names involved in the transaction, and the dates of a deal. The deal ticket also includes all other relevant information. A company will use deal tickets as part of their internal control system which allows them to organize access to transaction history. The tickets can be in either electronic or physical form.

Information on the deal ticket is stored and transmitted to appropriate entities for distribution to the public in the form of a live or delayed feed. Deal tickets are useful for internal recording, tax purposes, and analysis through charting and quoting software.

Users of online trading services are already familiar with deal tickets. The online trader is required to fill in most of the information on the ticket themselves. While each broker's trading screen looks different, they all need the same essential information completed.

Essential Information About Deal Tickets

• Type of transaction: Information covers execution of the specific trade and the intention of the trade, including the order to buy, sell, buy to close, or sell short.
• Name of the security: The shortened name of the security traded is included, but is not necessarily the ticker symbol.
• Order type: Information about how to execute the order and the price for initiation of the transaction. This field contains directions to buy at the market, at a specific limit or using a buy stop. Selling commands include at the market, at a limit, or to sell using a sell stop.
• Order duration: Traders may set a time frame for how long the offer is active. These commands include day order, good till canceled (GTC), fill or kill (FOK), on the open, and the close.
• Quantity: The quantity field describes the number of shares or contracts for this instance of a security trade.
• Commission: This field is typically completed by the particular trading platform the investor is using to make the transaction. The commission is the fee paid to the parties or companies that execute the trade on behalf of the investor.
• Names: Shows all of the parties involved in the trade on the deal ticket.
• Date: Finally, the date and often the time of the transaction is listed.