How to clear out old orders

Over time “Orders” collects many finished orders. There are two ways to get them out of sight: send them to the archive or delete them to the trash. Which one fits depends on the order.

Archive: out of the lists, but kept

• Only a finished order can go to the archive: “Done”, “Cancelled” or “Refunded”. Unfinished ones are skipped.
• In “Shop → Orders” tick the orders and press “Archive” in the action bar, or open the order and press “Archive” on its card.
• An archived order disappears from the working lists and from “Latest orders”, but stays in the “Archive” filter, in reports and in the log. The customer still sees their order.
• You can bring an order back with “Unarchive” (on the card or in bulk).

The archive suits every order that involved money or delivery: it erases nothing.

Trash: delete, with a way back for 30 days

• “Delete” on the order card sends it to the Trash. It lies there for 30 days and can be restored.
• After 30 days the order is erased for good (checked once an hour). Earlier, you can remove it with “Delete permanently” in the Trash.
• The customer no longer sees a deleted order: its link answers “page not found”, and the counters and the Customers list do not count it.

What cannot be deleted, and why

• An order that received a payment. It is an accounting record: the money adds up through it.
• An order from which something has already been issued: a key, a download link or access.

For such orders the “Delete” button is not shown; the archive is offered instead. If an order was already in the Trash when a payment or an issue arrived, the Trash marks it “Cannot be erased” with the reason and has no “Delete permanently”: restore the order and archive it.

What to choose

• The order was real (payment, delivery, reports) — archive.
• The order is a test, a mistake or empty and nothing was paid on it — trash.