Back to topics

Set up your Lynx / IBKR account (phase A)

Before WheelTrading can work for you, a handful of steps need to be completed directly at Lynx or Interactive Brokers. This phase is entirely on your side - WheelTrading has no access to your broker account and cannot set anything up there for you.

New to Lynx? We are working on an official partnership with Lynx. Once the affiliate link is live, you'll be able to jump straight to account opening from here. Until then: the Lynx website is www.lynxbroker.de (Germany / Austria) or www.lynxbroker.ch (Switzerland). _(Affiliate link to follow.)_

1. Open a Lynx account (with options trading)

  • Fill out the account application (about 15 min).
  • Under trading permissions you need at least level "Options (Long

& Short on Stocks)" - the Wheel strategy requires both short puts and covered calls.

  • Without this permission every order will be rejected later.
  • The account can be a cash or margin account. Portfolio margin is

fine but not required.

2. Second trader login (optional: paper account)

  • Lynx lets you set up a second paper trading login alongside your

live account (demo account with virtual money).

  • Recommended for the first days with WheelTrading to get comfortable

with the send flow before risking real premium.

  • Activate under **Client Portal ▸ Settings ▸ Account Management ▸

Paper Trading Account**.

3. Order market-data subscriptions

  • Required for live quotes:
  • _US Securities Snapshot and Futures Value Bundle_ (free above

approximately USD 30 in monthly commissions, otherwise ca. USD 10/month).

  • _OPRA - US Option Exchanges_ (approx. USD 1.50/month).
  • Recommended: NYSE / NASDAQ Top of Book for tighter stock quotes.
  • Optional: Reuters Worldwide Fundamentals for earnings dates

straight from IBKR (otherwise we use Finnhub - free tier is enough).

  • Order under **Client Portal ▸ Settings ▸ User Settings ▸ Market Data

Subscriptions**.

  • Detailed breakdown of which app features depend on which

subscription: market-data checklist.

4. Install IBKR Mobile Authenticator

  • For the live IBKR login (also via WheelTrading) you need the **IBKR

Mobile app on your phone - not Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator**.

  • Setup: download IBKR Mobile ▸ log in ▸ enable IB Key.
  • From then on every login triggers a push to the app which you confirm

with Face-ID / fingerprint.

Note: This is NOT the same as the 2FA for your WheelTrading account (step "Enable 2FA" in the onboarding). There Microsoft Authenticator or Google Authenticator are fine because that's our WT-login 2FA. The two are completely independent.

5. Create a Flex Web Service token

  • Client Portal ▸ Reports ▸ Flex Web Service ▸ Configure.
  • Top right: Generate Token.
  • The token is typically valid for one year. Note the expiry date
  • WheelTrading reminds you 10 days before it lapses.
  • Paste the token 1:1 into WheelTrading under

Settings ▸ Global settings ▸ IBKR Flex token.

6. Create Flex queries (1 or 3)

Recommendation: ONE combined query (saves calls against the 15-min rate limit).

  • Client Portal ▸ Reports ▸ Flex Queries ▸ New (Trade Statement).
  • Enable sections: Trades, Cash Transactions, **Corporate

Actions, Fees, Interest** (all relevant bookings).

  • Format: XML.
  • Period: Last 365 days (WheelTrading pulls incrementally).
  • Save - paste the generated query ID (7-8 digits) under

Settings ▸ Global settings ▸ IBKR Flex query ID (Transactions).

Alternative: two separate queries (trades + dividends) if you prefer the IBKR default template:

  • Trade Confirmations query ▸ ID goes into "query ID (trades)"
  • Cash Transactions query (filter: dividends + withholding tax) ▸

ID goes into "query ID (dividends)"

  • Both are polled twice daily.

Full walkthrough with screenshots: Set up the Flex import.

What to do next in WheelTrading

Everything else happens inside WheelTrading itself - see the setup checklist in the header. The order there:

  1. Enter IBKR credentials (live + optional paper).
  2. Paste Flex token + query ID.
  3. Confirm market-data subscriptions (self-attestation).
  4. Add API keys (Finnhub required, DeepL optional).
  5. Secure your WT login with 2FA.
  6. Optional: set up the Telegram bot for push notifications.