Nonqualified options may be labeled NQO, NQSO, or NSO in source documents. Confirm the grant type before entering it.
Check the inputs
Open the client → Equity and review the option grant's strike price, expiration, vesting, quantity already exercised, and remaining options. Check the company price and the client's income/tax assumptions.
Use Exercise Priority as one planning signal, alongside expiration risk, liquidity, and cash requirements.
Compare alternatives
Open a manual trading plan.
Review the Unexercised Options inventory.
Model an exercise and any associated sale with the intended dates and quantities.
Review the action cards, exercise cost, proceeds, and tax impact.
Compare against a separately saved alternative.
The Same Day Sales NQSOs strategy can be a starting point where offered. Review its actions and assumptions before relying on the result.
Understand the tax context
For most nonstatutory options without a readily determinable option value at grant, the exercise spread is included in income when exercised; a subsequent stock sale can produce a capital gain or loss. Confirm the client's specific treatment and basis with their tax professional. IRS Topic 427.
Check Cashflow for exercise funding and Tax for the annual effect. Record completed exercises and sales using Add Action, rather than leaving an executed trade only in a proposed plan.