Let's bring the labels together in one clearly marked Paper example. We begin with six hundred dollars of cash, holdings valued at four hundred dollars, and two hundred dollars reserved within the cash. That gives four hundred dollars tradable and one thousand dollars of total value. The reserve is included in the cash, so we count it only once.

For the arithmetic on this page, assume prices do not change, no fees apply, no reserve adjustment occurs, and there is no other activity. These assumptions make the categories easy to follow. They are not promises about a real order or every Paper execution. You can complete the exercise by watching the example; no new purchase is required.

Now the example buys one hundred dollars of an asset, and the result is confirmed. Cash falls from six hundred to five hundred. Holdings value rises from four hundred to five hundred under our unchanged-price assumption. Total value remains one thousand. The account exchanged part of its cash for a holding; it did not gain another hundred dollars simply because a new position appeared.

The reserve stays at two hundred in this example, so tradable cash becomes three hundred. That is five hundred cash minus two hundred reserve. Notice that the reserve dialog can still show Total Balance of one thousand while the header cash and tradable values are lower. The views are answering different questions about the same account, not disagreeing about a missing deposit.

Next, the example sells that one-hundred-dollar holding for the same amount, and the sale and account update are confirmed. Cash returns to six hundred, holdings value returns to four hundred, and tradable returns to four hundred with the reserve unchanged. This is a category demonstration, not a profitable trade. Actual fees, price changes, or reserve adjustments would change the final numbers.

To review an actual result, match the same mode, account, pair, and approximate time in Portfolio and Transactions. Use the executed quantity and recorded values rather than the earlier estimate. If other strategies were active or another action was pending, include that activity in the explanation. A before-and-after comparison is only clean when you know what happened between the two views.

If the figures do not line up, check them in a deliberate order. First, confirm context and currency. Then check refresh status and unresolved requests. Finally, check what each total includes, whether a reserve or budget changed, and whether you are comparing cash with holdings value. Avoid changing settings just to make two numbers match. Investigate the definition before changing the account.

You have finished this chapter when you can tell the story without counting any money twice: here is cash, here is the portion identified as reserve, here is tradable cash, and here is the value still held in assets. Explain any unresolved difference honestly. Next, Reading Your Exit Alerts and Portfolio will help you interpret the holdings and exit information that sit alongside the cash figures you now know how to read.