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Archive items in Square Dashboard

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  • Sellers with general items and inventory permissions. Set permissions in the Square Dashboard.

    • About archiving items

    You can archive items to prevent them from being sold without permanently deleting the items and losing all item data and stock history. Archived items will still appear in your inventory reports.

    Before you begin

    To archive items, you need to have existing items in your Item library and access to your Square Dashboard. Learn how to create items in Square Dashboard.

    Archived items do not appear in Square Point of Sale, the Square Retail POS app, the Square Restaurants POS app, Square Appointments POS app, or Square Online. When you archive an item, all variations of the item are also archived.

    You have three options for archiving items in Square Dashboard:

    • Archive a single item

    • Archive multiple items in bulk

    • Archive multiple items with the bulk import tool

    To unarchive items by scanning the barcode in the Retail POS app, you need to have a compatible barcode scanner connected or a camera on your iOS device. Learn how to connect a barcode scanner to your point of sale.

    Archive items

    You have three options for archiving items all from your Square Dashboard.

    Option 1: Archive a single item

    1. Sign in to your Square Dashboard and click Items & orders > Items > Item library.
    2. Click the three dots (•••) on the row of the item you want to archive.
    3. From the drop-down menu, click Archive.
    4. If your item has variations, click Archive to confirm you want to archive all item variations.

    You can also archive a single item by selecting it and clicking Actions > Archive.

    Option 2: Archive multiple items in bulk

    1. Sign in to your Square Dashboard and click Items & orders > Items > Item library.
    2. Click the box next to each item you want to archive.
    3. Click the Actions drop-down menu > Archive.
    4. If your item has variations, click Archive again to confirm you want to archive all item variations.

    Option 3: Archive multiple items in bulk with the import tool

    1. Sign in to your Square Dashboard and click Items & orders > Items > Item library.
    2. Click the Actions drop-down menu > Export library.
    3. In the exported file, go to the Archived column.
    4. Change the cell from N to Y.
    5. Import your file by going back to your Item Library and selecting Actions > Import Library.

    View archived items

    You can view a list of archived items or check if an item has been archived all from your Square Dashboard.

    Option 1: Filter by a list of archived items

    1. Sign in to your Square Dashboard and click Items & orders > Items > Item library.
    2. Click Active from the list of filters at the top of the screen.
    3. Click Archived from the drop-down menu.
    4. See your archived items in the filtered view.

    Option 2: Check a single item

    1. Sign in to your Square Dashboard and click Items & orders > Items > Item library.
    2. Select All statuses or Archived from the list of filters at the top of the screen.
    3. Click an item to view the details. You will see a notification stating “This item is archived. Unarchive to begin selling again.”

    Archived items show an archived box icon next to them. If you hover over the box, you will see a notification stating “This item is archived”.

    Unarchive items 

    You have multiple options to unarchive a single or multiple items from your Square Dashboard.

    Option 1: Unarchive a single item

    1. Sign in to your Square Dashboard and click Items & orders > Items > Item library.
    2. Change Active to All statuses or Archived from the list of filters across the top of the screen.
    3. Click the three dots (•••) on the row of the item you want to unarchive.
    4. From the drop-down menu, click Unarchive.
    5. Click Unarchive to confirm you want to archive all item variations, if applicable.

    You can also unarchive a single item by selecting it and clicking Actions > Unarchive.

    Option 2: Unarchive multiple items in bulk

    1. Sign in to your Square Dashboard and click Items & orders > Items > Item library.
    2. From the list of filters across the top of the screen, change Active to All statuses or Archived.
    3. Check the box next to each item you want to unarchive.
    4. Click Actions > Unarchive.
    5. Click Unarchive to confirm you want to archive all item variations, if applicable.

    Option 3: Unarchive multiple items with the bulk import tool

    You can unarchive multiple items by exporting/importing a CSV file of your Item library in Square Dashboard. Learn how to bulk import items in Square Dashboard.

    1. Sign in to your Square Dashboard and click Items & orders > Items > Item library.
    2. Click Actions > Export library.
    3. Go to the Archived column in the exported file.
    4. Change the cell from Y to N.
    5. Import your file by going back to your Item library and selecting Actions > Import Library.

    Option 4: Unarchive items with a purchase order

    You can unarchive a single item or multiple items by receiving a pending purchase order.

    1. Sign in to your Square Dashboard and click Items & orders > Items > Inventory management > Purchase orders.
    2. Click the purchase order you want to receive from your list of purchase orders with Pending status. You can also click the three dots (•••) next to the purchase order you want to receive, then click Details.
    3. Review your purchase order. Click Receive next to the archived item or click Receive All to unarchive multiple items.
    4. Click Save to receive the purchase order.

    You can unarchive a single item or multiple items at once in the Retail POS app.

    Option 1: Unarchive a single item by scanning the barcode

    You can unarchive items by scanning the barcode with a compatible barcode scanner or the camera on your device.

    1. Open the Retail POS app.
    2. Tap Checkout and scan the barcode to add the item to your cart.
    3. Tap Unarchive from the Unarchive to continue notification.
    4. Complete the transaction.

    Option 2: Unarchive a single item through a return

    You can unarchive items through a return or exchange.

    1. Open the Retail POS app and tap ≡ More > Transactions.
    2. Locate the original transaction by either swiping your customer’s card or searching for the receipt number.
    3. Tap Return or Exchange.
    4. Select the item(s) to restock or tap Skip Restock. Tap Next.

    Issue a refund or search your item library to add additional items to the cart. The cart amount will automatically adjust, calculating the difference between the original and replacement items.

    1. Tap Refund, then choose a refund method and a reason for refund.
    2. Tap Refund again to finalize the transaction.

    Option 3: Unarchive a single item by receiving stock

    1. Open the Retail POS app.
    2. Tap Inventory > Stock overview > Receive stock.
    3. Search for or scan the barcode on an archived item, then tap Continue.
    4. Tap Unarchive from the Unarchive to continue notification.
    5. Choose an amount to receive, then tap Continue.
    6. Tap Confirm Receive to unarchive the item.

    Option 4: Unarchive items by counting stock

    Inventory counting is only available with Square for Retail Plus or Premium.

    1. Open the Retail POS app.
    2. Tap Inventory > Stock counts > Count stock.
    3. Tap Cycle Count, then search for or scan an archived item.
    4. Choose an amount of stock to count and tap Submit Progress.

    Option 5: Unarchive items with a purchase order

    1. Open the Retail POS app.
    2. Tap Inventory > Purchase orders.
    3. From your list of purchase orders with Pending status, tap the purchase you want to receive.
    4. Tap Receive items > Next > Receive.
    5. Receiving the purchase order unarchives any archived items.

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