How to Start Automated Options Trading as a Side Income

Starting automated options trading as a side income involves a specific setup process: a brokerage account with options approval, an automation platform, funded capital, and a baseline understanding of how the strategy works. This guide walks through each step — what you need, what the setup involves, and what to expect once the system is running.

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Step 1: Understand the Core Strategy

Before funding anything, understand what the system does. Tradematic automates iron condor trading — a four-legged options strategy that collects premium when markets stay within a defined range.

The fundamentals to understand before starting:

• Iron condors profit from stability. They generate income when the underlying doesn't move significantly in either direction. They lose when markets make large directional moves.
• Losses are defined but real. Each trade has a maximum loss known upfront. This doesn't mean losses are small — it means they're bounded.
• Results are variable. Some months will be profitable. Some will have losses. Over time, favorable conditions should produce net positive results, but individual months are unpredictable.
• This requires capital. Unlike freelancing, you can't start with nothing. Meaningful results start around $5,000–$20,000.

For a clear explanation of how iron condors actually generate income, Iron Condors for Side Income: Getting Started is worth reading first.

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Step 2: Open a Compatible Brokerage Account

Tradematic connects to two brokers: Tradier and Tastytrade. You'll need an account with one of these.

What to look for when opening:

• Options trading approval (spread trading: Level 2 at Tastytrade, Level 3 at Tradier)
• Sufficient funding for your target position size
• Account type that matches your tax situation (individual, IRA, etc.)

Both Tradier and Tastytrade offer straightforward account opening. Approval for defined-risk options trading is typically granted to most applicants who indicate investing experience.

Timeline: Account opening usually takes 1–3 business days. Options approval may require answering questions about your trading experience.

For a detailed walkthrough, How to Open a Tastytrade Account and How to Open a Tradier Brokerage Account cover the process step by step.

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Step 3: Start Your Tradematic Trial

Tradematic offers a 7-day free trial with paper trading — simulated trading that mirrors real market conditions without using actual capital. This is the right place to start.

During the trial period:

• Connect your brokerage account (paper trading doesn't require funded capital)
• Watch how the system identifies and places iron condor setups
• Review the dashboard — positions, P&L, trade history
• Evaluate whether the system's behavior matches what you expected

Use the full 7 days. The goal is to confirm you understand what the system is doing and are comfortable with the strategy before real capital is involved.

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Step 4: Fund Your Account and Configure Settings

Once you've evaluated the paper trading and decided to proceed with real capital:

Fund your brokerage account at your target amount. Start conservatively — you can always add capital later. The minimum to see meaningful results is approximately $5,000, though the system accepts accounts from $1,000.

Configure Tradematic settings:

• Set your capital allocation — how much of your account you want the system trading
• Set risk preferences — the Equity Protector feature (Standard plan) automatically reduces exposure if drawdown hits a threshold you define
• Choose your subscription tier — Starter ($29/month) or Standard ($99/month)

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Step 5: Monitor and Stay the Course

Once running, Tradematic requires 1–3 hours per week of oversight:

• Check the dashboard for open positions and recent trades
• Review performance against expectations
• Confirm the system is executing normally

The most important thing at this stage: don't abandon the strategy during a losing period. Iron condors have losing months — this is expected. Stopping the strategy after a loss, then restarting after a gain, is the behavior pattern most likely to produce poor long-term results.

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What to Expect in the First 90 Days

The first three months are a real-world calibration period:

Month 1: The system begins placing trades. Depending on market conditions, results could be positive or negative. Focus on understanding the trades rather than the P&L.

Month 2: You develop a sense of how often trades are placed, how the system handles different market conditions, and what a typical week of oversight looks like.

Month 3: You have enough data to evaluate whether the system is performing in line with your expectations and whether the capital allocation is appropriate.

Most users who go through this period with appropriate capital and realistic expectations find it worthwhile to continue. Those who don't are typically people who started with too little capital, had unrealistic income expectations, or stopped during the first losing month.

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Summary Checklist

• Understand iron condors and defined-risk options before starting
• Open a Tradier or Tastytrade account with options approval
• Start the Tradematic 7-day free trial with paper trading
• Fund your brokerage account at $5,000–$20,000 for meaningful results
• Configure capital allocation and risk settings
• Monitor 1–3 hours per week and stay committed through losing months

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need options trading experience to use Tradematic? Not extensive experience, but baseline familiarity with iron condors and defined-risk spreads is important. Tradematic automates execution — it doesn't replace understanding what you're running. FINRA's investor education resources cover options basics worth reviewing before you start.

What broker should I choose — Tradier or Tastytrade? Both work with Tradematic. Tradier charges $0.35/contract both ways, which is cheaper at small sizes. Tastytrade charges $1.00 to open and $0.00 to close, with better platform analytics. For most beginners, Tastytrade's interface is easier to navigate. See Tradier vs Tastytrade for Options Automation for a full comparison.

How long does the full setup take? From deciding to start to having a live system running: typically 1–2 weeks. Account opening takes 1–3 days, options approval adds another 1–3 days, funding via ACH takes 1–3 days, and Tradematic configuration takes a few hours.

Can I run Tradematic in an IRA? Yes. Both Tradier and Tastytrade support IRA accounts with options spread approval. Iron condors are defined-risk trades that don't require margin, making them IRA-compatible.

What if I want to pause or stop? You can disconnect your broker and pause automation in Tradematic at any time. Any open positions in your brokerage account remain yours to manage manually.

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Conclusion

Getting started with automated options trading as a side income is a multi-step process, but each step is manageable. The hardest part isn't the setup — it's maintaining the discipline to stay with the strategy through the inevitable losing months while keeping realistic expectations about income variability.

Start your 7-day free trial with paper trading to evaluate the system before committing capital.

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Trading involves risk and losses can occur. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Options trading is not suitable for all investors. Only allocate capital you are comfortable risking.