Executive Summary (TL;DR) This article explains how Multi Trade Block manages and tracks trade restrictions across Orion Connect and Eclipse using multiple blocks, reasons, effective dates, and permissions instead of a single "Do Not Trade" setting. It covers how to add, manage, and automate trade blocks, replace legacy controls, and maintain consistent, auditable trading restrictions across your firm.

 

 

What Does This Article Help Solve?

Common Real-Life Questions Users Ask About Multi Trade Block

"How do I stop just one account from trading without turning off everything else?"

"Why can't I remove a block that Orion placed on an OCI account?"

"I scheduled a block for next week — why isn't it active yet?"

"Will a block I create in Eclipse show up in Orion Connect?"

"We still see the old Do Not Trade options — do those still work?"

 

 

Article Quick Links

Why Use Multi Trade Block?

What is Multi Trade Block?

How Does Multi Trade Block Work?

Turn Multi Trade Block On

Manage Your Firm's Custom Reasons (Eclipse)

The Capabilities Multi Trade Block Includes

Moving from Do Not Trade to Multi Trade Block

Add a Block Step by Step

See Active vs. All Blocks

Manage Many Blocks with Custom Imports

FAQs

 

 

Why Use Multi Trade Block?

• Pause trading on the exact accounts or registrations you choose, without a firm-wide switch.
  
  
• Place more than one block on the same entity at the same time, each for a different reason.
  
  
• Record a reason on every block, so your team and your auditors always keep context on why trading is paused.
  
  
• Block at the level that fits the situation: registration, account, or (in Eclipse) portfolio.
  
  
• Trust one consistent picture across systems, since nearly all blocks sync between Orion Connect and Eclipse automatically.
  
  
• Let date automation and certain workflows (such as Fixed Income) turn blocks on and off for you, which reduces manual clean-up.
  
  
• Keep Orion-run trades protected by system-maintained blocks, while your firm keeps full control of its own reasons.
  
  

 

 

What is Multi Trade Block?

Multi Trade Block is the model Orion uses to manage "do not trade" decisions. It replaces the older approach, where an account was simply "blocked" or "not blocked," with a richer structure: a list of blocks, each carrying its own reason, level, and effective dates.

 

Every block records why trading is paused, applies at the registration, account, or portfolio level, and stays in sync between Orion Connect and Eclipse. The result is a single, governed way to control trading, flexible enough for your firm's policies and structured enough to keep everyone honest.

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How Does Multi Trade Block Work?

The sections below explain the concepts, the capabilities, and the everyday steps. Remember the core rule: you add, edit, and remove blocks that use your reasons; Orion-managed trade blocks—such as those for Orion Custom Indexing (OCI) accounts remain the responsibility of the appropriate Orion team.

 

Turn Multi Trade Block On

Enabling Multi Trade Block is a configuration step handled with your Orion team, and it comes first; the options below need to be switched on before the workflows in this article apply. At a high level, the options that get switched on (depending on what your firm needs) include:

• Multi Trade Block Feature: the master switch, enabled in both Orion Connect and Eclipse.
  
  
• Trade Block Sleeved Accounts: so a registration-level block cascades to underlying accounts.
  
  
• Start/End Date Automation: enabled in both systems to use scheduled start and end dates.
  
  
• Trade Block Management: the Eclipse firm preference that turns on the Custom Reasons grid.
  
  
• SMA / ASTRO Auto-Blocking and the Auto Eclipse Trading Only option: for Separately Managed Account (SMA) and ASTRO models, where applicable to your firm.
  
  

Your Orion contact confirms which settings make sense for your firm and turns them on. You do not need the technical details.

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Reasons Your Firm Manages

Every trade block has a reason, and the reason determines who places or removes the block. Reasons fall into two groups. Your team adds, edits, and removes these directly in Eclipse :

• Manual: a general-purpose, user-applied block.
  
  
• TOM Only: an Orion Connect–only block. It exists on the account or registration in Orion Connect and does not sync to Eclipse. Use it to hold an entity out of trading in TOM (the Orion Connect trading workflow) without placing a block in Eclipse.
  
  
• Fixed Income: created automatically by the Fixed Income workflow, but visible and manageable like other blocks.
  
  
• Your Custom Reasons: reasons your firm defines for its own policies and language.
  
  

 

Reasons Orion Manages (System-Maintained), Including OCI

Orion places and removes some reasons, also called system-maintained. The clearest example is OCI (Orion Custom Indexing). Orion's systems and the OCI trading team handle these as part of running centralized trading for OCI, SMA, and ASTRO model accounts.

What this means for your firm in practice:

• Adding, editing, or removing OCI and other system-maintained blocks is a restricted permission that most firm users do not hold.
  
  
• These blocks apply automatically. When an account is assigned to the relevant model type and the supporting options are on, the block appears on its own.
  
  
• System-maintained blocks (and historical ones) stay fully visible to you, so you always keep the full picture on the account.
  
  

If you believe an OCI-traded account is blocked when it should not be, or you need a block placed or lifted on an OCI account, do not change it in the trade block screen. Instead, coordinate with the Orion OCI trading team. They own the placement and removal of these blocks and either make the change or explain why the block is in place.

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Manage Your Firm's Custom Reasons (Eclipse)

• Go to Administration > Preferences > Firm > Trade Block Management.
  
  
• Click Create New Type, enter the reason name, and save. It becomes available immediately.
  
  
• To rename or delete a reason, use the same Trade Block Management grid (these actions are not available from the account or portfolio screens).
  
  

 

Renames and deletes propagate to your connected Orion Connect and companion Eclipse firms automatically. Deleting a reason that is still in use leaves the block in place and switches it to Manual.

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The Capabilities Multi Trade Block Includes

For most firms, Multi Trade Block goes live as a complete package once the feature is enabled. The capabilities below arrive together.

Capability	What It Does
Core Multi-Blocking Across Orion Connect and Eclipse	Holds multiple concurrent blocks, each with a reason and level, in sync between Orion Connect and Eclipse. Manage blocking decisions in one place and trust that both systems reflect the same state, whether a block came from a person, an import, or an automated workflow.
Start and End Date Automation	A block with a future start date waits pending and turns on by itself on that date; a block with an end date is removed automatically on that date. Pending blocks appear under All until they activate, active blocks under Active until they expire or are removed, and expired blocks stay under All for audit history. A block with no end date stays until someone removes it.
Custom Reasons	Beyond Orion's standard reasons, your firm defines and maintains its own catalog of reasons in Eclipse, using your house language and control categories — standardizing vocabulary and producing cleaner reporting without giving up the structure of typed blocks.
Role-Based Permissions for Trade Blocks	Controls which roles assign or lift each trade block reason, with read, create, edit, and delete permissions for managing your reason catalog. Turning a role off for a reason genuinely prevents that role from applying or removing it, rather than just hiding the option.
Fixed Income Integration	Fixed Income workflows create their blocks on the Multi Trade Block framework using a dedicated Fixed Income reason, so they are visible and auditable like every other block, sync between systems, and expire on schedule. Fixed Income trades themselves remain exempt from blocking, exactly as before.
Auto "Eclipse Trading Only" for Firms Moving into Eclipse	An opt-in Eclipse firm preference that automatically places an "Eclipse Trading Only" block in Orion Connect whenever a new account or registration arrives in Eclipse, keeping Eclipse the active trading platform. Off by default; applies only to new accounts and registrations after it is turned on.
Bulk Management with Custom Import	Spreadsheet-based Add, Update, and Delete of trade blocks handles many at once in Orion Connect and Eclipse, so large onboarding or policy changes do not require hundreds of individual clicks. See the Custom Import steps below.
API Access (Eclipse and Orion Connect)	Trade blocks are also added, updated, and removed through APIs in Eclipse and Orion Connect. Permission, reason, and sync behavior match the product. Step-by-step API guidance is documented separately; work with your Orion contact or integration team for the material that applies to your firm.

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Moving from Do Not Trade to Multi Trade Block

Multi Trade Block replaces the older Do Not Trade controls. Once it is enabled for your firm, manage all blocking through Multi Trade Block, the Trade Block Details grid (account, registration, or portfolio), or Custom Import. Treat the Trade Block tab, Trade Block Details grid, and Trade Block Count on grids as the source of truth.

What To Use Now

• Use a Manual block or one of your firm's Custom Reasons for policy-driven holds.
  
  
• If you previously used Do Not Trade (Custodian) for custodial restrictions, work with your Orion team to choose the right reason and role permissions so compliance behavior stays correct.
  
  
• Move spreadsheet jobs that updated Do Not Trade on Account Details to the Multi Trade Block import templates as part of your rollout.
  
  

Where the Old Controls Went

With Multi Trade Block enabled, the legacy Do Not Trade (Advisor) and Do Not Trade (Custodian) controls become read-only or are removed (for example, on bulk account edit and the Accounts grid context menu), so those paths no longer add, change, or remove blocks. Some screens still show legacy Do Not Trade labels or columns as read-only during the transition, rely on the trade block grids and counts for the real state.

While Multi Trade Block is still off (for firms mid-migration), the legacy Do Not Trade controls stay active on the account, portfolio, and registration screens until the feature is turned on.

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Add a Block Step by Step

You add, edit, and remove blocks that use your reasons. OCI and other Orion-managed blocks stay with the Orion OCI trading team.

 

Add a Block to an Account (Orion Connect)

• Go to Portfolio Audit  > Accounts.
  
  
• Find and edit the account you want.
  
  
• Select Model Assignment.
  
  
• In the Trading Block section, click Add New.
  
  
• Fill in the block:
  • Level: Account or Registration.
    
    
  • Type / Reason: choose from the reasons available to your firm (for example, Manual, TOM Only, Fixed Income, or one of your Custom Reasons).
    
    
  • Description: your own note, or system-generated text where applicable.
    
    
  • Start Date / End Date: set these to schedule the block.
    
    
• Save. The block appears in the Trading Block section. It syncs to Eclipse automatically unless the reason is TOM Only (Orion Connect only).
  
  

 

Add a Block to a Registration (Orion Connect)

• Go to Portfolio Audit    > Registrations.
  
  
• Edit the target registration (it must be sleeved).
  
  
• In the left menu, select Sleeve Setup (Trading > Sleeve Setup).
  
  
• Open the Trade Block tab and click Add New.
  
  
• Fill in the same fields as above and save.
  
  

If your firm has registration-to-account cascade turned on, a registration-level block extends automatically to the underlying sleeved accounts.

In Sleeve Setup, manage blocks from the Trade Block tab. The legacy Do Not Trade checkbox appears grayed out (read-only) during the transition to Multi Trade Block and is slated for removal.

 

Add a Block to an Account (Eclipse)

• Go to Accounts > All Accounts.
  
  
• Edit the account you want.
  
  
• In the Trade Block Details section, click Add New.
  
  
• Fill in the block and save. Behavior (types, dates, sync) matches Orion Connect.

 

Add a Block to a Portfolio (Eclipse)

• Go to Portfolios and edit the portfolio you want.
  
  
• On the Trade Block tab, click Add New.
  
  
• Fill in the block and save. It syncs to Orion Connect.
  
  

 

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See Active vs. All Blocks

• The Active view shows blocks currently in effect.
  
  
• The All view also shows pending (future-dated) and expired blocks, which helps with scheduling and audit history.
  
  

List Every Active Block at Once (Orion Connect)

To pull a bulk list of active blocks across registrations and accounts, run the standard Orion query for active trade blocks:

• Go to Query  > Orion Queries > All Queries, locate Query 40678 (All Active Trade Blocks), and run it.
  
  
• Review the results, which include the block details plus the registration and account context, all in one place.
  
  

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Manage Many Blocks with Custom Import

Custom Import (Orion Connect)

Use Custom Import  > Single Database Templates and the Trade Block templates. Each action needs the matching permission, which your administrator grants.

Add blocks Trade Block Add template:

Column	Required	Notes
Registration ID	One of	Registration ID or Account ID.
Account ID	One of	Registration ID or Account ID.
Type	Yes	For example, Manual, TOM Only.
Start date	Yes	MM/DD/YYYY.
End date	Optional	Must be after the start date.
Description	Yes

• Edit blocks: Trade Block Update template: provide the Trade Block ID plus the start date (required), and optionally an end date and description.
  
  
• Delete blocks: Trade Block Delete template: provide the Trade Block ID.
  
  
• Submit through New Import. Validate before submitting; the system rejects duplicate rows.
  
  

Custom Import (Eclipse)

Use Data Management > Custom Import and search for Trade Block (Add). Your role needs to create permission under Trade Block Management (Manage Users > Roles). The system checks each row against your role's permission for the specified Type; Orion Admin bypasses type-level restrictions.

Add blocks Trade Block (Add) template:

Column	Required	Notes
Portfolio ID	One of	Portfolio-level block (maps to registration in Orion Connect). Provide either Portfolio ID or Account ID — not both.
Account ID	One of	Account-level block.
Type	Yes	Trade block reason. Must be permissioned for your role.
Start Date	Yes	MM/DD/YYYY.
End Date	Optional	Must be after Start Date if provided.
Description	Optional	Max 512 characters. If omitted, the system sets one automatically.

• Upload, Validate, then Apply. Blocks sync to Orion Connect. Applied imports support Override Data to reverse inserted rows.
  
  
• Update blocks: Data Management > Custom Import > Trade Block (Update). Requires Update (Edit) permission under Trade Block Management. Provide Trade Block ID plus only the fields you want to change (Description, Start Date, End Date).
  
  
• Delete blocks: Data Management > Custom Import > Trade Block (Delete). Requires Delete permission under Trade Block Management. Provide Trade Block ID on each row; the system auto-populates Type, Description, and dates from the existing record, so you verify the correct rows before applying. Deletes are soft-deleted (the same as deleting a block manually in Eclipse) and sync to Orion Connect. This template does not support Override Data.
  
  

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FAQs

Q. Do I Get More Than One Block on the Same Account?

A. Yes, that is the core idea. Each block carries its own reason and dates.

 

Q. Why Can't I Remove a Particular Block (for Example, OCI)?

A. It is an Orion-managed, system-maintained block. Orion's systems and the OCI trading team place and remove those. Coordinate with the OCI trading team for any changes.

 

Q. I Scheduled a Block for Next Week — Why Isn't It Active Yet?

A. With start/end automation on, future-dated blocks stay pending (visible under All) and turn on automatically on their start date.

 

Q. A Block Disappeared on Its Own — Is That a Problem?

A. If it had an end date and automation is on, it expired and was removed as designed. It stays viewable under All for history.

 

Q. Does a Block I Make in Eclipse Show up in Orion Connect (and Vice Versa)?

A. Yes, for most reasons — blocks sync between the two systems automatically. TOM Only blocks are the exception: they exist only in Orion Connect and do not appear in Eclipse.

 

Q. I Deleted One of Our Custom Reasons That Was in Use — Did I Just Unblock Those Accounts?

A. No. The blocks stay in place, and their reason switches to Manual.

 

Q. We Still See Do Not Trade (Advisor) / (Custodian) — Do We Keep Using Them?

A. Not for changes. With Multi Trade Block enabled, manage blocks in Trade Block Details, the Accounts grid Trade Block menu, and Multi Trade Block import templates. Any legacy label you still see is read-only during transition; use the trade block list and counts to see the real state.

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In Summary Use Multi Trade Block to pause trading on specific accounts, registrations, or portfolios — with a reason and dates on every block. Manage blocks that use your reasons yourself; coordinate with the Orion OCI trading team for OCI and other system-maintained blocks. Let start/end date automation activate and expire blocks on schedule, and trust that most blocks sync between Orion Connect and Eclipse (TOM Only stays in Orion Connect). Standardize your firm's language with Custom Reasons and control access with role-based permissions. Handle high volume with Custom Import or APIs, and treat the Trade Block grids and counts as the source of truth during the move off legacy Do Not Trade controls.