Archive or delete items

When an item is discontinued, you can retire it without losing its records. Fiddle offers two options: archive to hide it while keeping history, or delete to remove it entirely.

Archive vs. delete

	Archive	Delete
Hides from active lists	Yes	Yes
Keeps order/stock history	Yes	No
Reversible	Yes — restore anytime	No
Allowed when item has history	Yes	No

Archive is the safe default. Delete is only available for items with no transactions. Once an item has appeared on a purchase order, sales order, or stock movement, it can no longer be deleted — archive it instead.

Archive an item

1. Go to Inventory → Items and open the item.
2. Choose Archive.
3. The item disappears from active lists but stays on past orders and reports.

To bring it back, filter the list to show archived items and choose Restore.

Delete an item

1. Open the item and choose Delete.
2. Confirm. This is only possible if the item has zero stock and no transaction history.

Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. If there’s any chance you’ll reference the item later, archive it instead.

Retiring many at once

To clear out a batch of discontinued items, select them and archive in one step — see bulk-edit items.