What is an execution report?
- Author
- CRYPTO PORT Editorial
- Published
- Updated
- Reading time
- 4 min
In short
An execution report is the exchange's record of when your order filled, at what price and for how much. It is the primary source for understanding why a result differed from your expectation, and it feeds tax calculations and reconciliation. The fields shown vary by operator.
Key points
- A record of fill time, price, size and fees
- The primary source for explaining an unexpected result
- Partial fills appear as several separate lines
- Used for tax calculations and reconciliation
Definition
The record an exchange presents — as trade history or a statement — showing whether an order filled and at what time, price, size and fee.
Orders do not always fill in one piece. Depending on the book, the size can be split and filled at several prices in sequence. The report then shows multiple lines with different prices, and your average fill price is the size-weighted figure across them.
The fields to check are the fill time, price, size, fee, and how much of the order filled versus remained. If a limit order filled only partly, the remainder is either still resting in the book or was cancelled, depending on the time-in-force treatment.
These records are what you use when an outcome does not match your expectation. Whether a market order took a worse price, a limit order never got there, or a fee tier differed from what you assumed — the report distinguishes them. Checking the record rather than your recollection is what stops the same mistake recurring.
Watch out for
- · On-screen rounding can differ from the precision in the record
- · Looking only at the average price hides the breakdown of a partial fill
- · Available fields and retention periods differ by operator