Is there a way to temporarily deactivate a particular item?

[Cathyd]

Is there a way to temporarily deactivate a particular item? I would like to remove it from the list of items so it doesn't get used in error but I don't want to lose the historical sales information, and the item will be used again at a later date.

Thanks for any insight!

[ryanh]

Edit: This is now possible. Just go to Dashboard and disable the item at every location. It will not show up on POS at any location, but it will still be on the Dashboard for you to re-enable later.

Unfortunately at this time there isn't a way to disable an item at all locations, it has to be enabled in at least one location. I've put this feature on our todo list but it may be a while before it gets released. If you want, you could create a new location in the settings and enable the items in that location and disable them at your real locations.

By the way, even if you delete the item, you won't lose the historical sales information.

[HammersandNails]

The square website does not let me update the debit card info.

[katieand]

Hi @HammersandNails - Can you share a little more about the trouble you're having? Where are you having trouble updating your debit card info? In the Dashboard? 

If you're trying to update your debit card for instant deposit, you'll have to do some from the POS app. Here are some instructions.

[steamboatdays]

I too would love to see the ability to deactivate/reactivate items.  It's a real pain to have to delete and re-setup items for EVERY event.  Sometimes I don't need certain items at sales events, but I don't want to confuse the cashiers by leaving irrelevant items on the menu.  And I don't always remember to re-add them when I do need them, causing even further problems for cashiers.  It really is a MUST-HAVE FEATURE.  Sooner than later is always better.

[ryanh]

This is now possible. Just go to Dashboard and disable the item at every location. It will not show up on POS at any location, but it will still be on the Dashboard for you to re-enable later.

[Pack776]

I cannot find where you disable an item

[Pack776]

I might have figured it out, I was looking for somethign that said "disabel", instead I'm unchecking a location box.  

Another question along this line, if I know that I will NEVER be able to sell an item again, would it better to delete it?  If I understand correctly, I would still have historical data but I wouldn't have clutter of items that will never be sold again - for example, I sell a lot of admission to an event.  No one can buy an event in the past.  Would it be better to delete that item?

[ryanh]

I could have been more clear. I meant you can just disable every location.

And yeah, if you know that you're never going to sell it again, then I would just delete the item. The sales history takes a snapshot of the item when you sell it. So, for example, if you change the name of an item, the sales history and reports will continue show the previous name of the item on old sales, but will show the new name on future sales. And even if you delete the item, the sales history and reports for that item will not change.

[amandastapes]

Going into every single item to disable the location is unbelievably time consuming. There should just be a check box next to each item and then you could click a button that says "disable" or something. I'm staring down a looooong list of items I have to disable and it's daunting. 

[ryanwanner]

You can always export your Item Libaray to excel. Once you do that, look for the Enabled [Location x] column (if you have more than one location enabled, otherwise it should just say Enabled), and make your modifications there. Doing it one item at a time is a lesson in wasted time, that's for sure! 🙂

[NCSDAtreas]

We can not make a transaction from our website. 

Our items are all showing up on the item list with the "active" box unchecked. Is this the problem? If so how do I check the active boxes and save my changes? 

If this is not the problem then what do we need to do to get our items to work? 

[WoodenLegs]

This reply was created from merging an existing thread: Brewery: Hide rotating beers without deleting them?

We are a brewery and restaurant that has a highly rotating selection of beers. It is important for us to be able to have the proper name of the beer and the picture in the Register app. But as the year goes on, we begin to build a large number of items that are no longer seasonally available. Because it is imporant to us to still be able to see historic data on those items and the fact that many of them will be back at a later time that year, we do not want to delete them. But the screen becomes unmanagemble if there are too many old items to sort through when the server is looking for what the customer has ordered. Is there a way to hide the item from being displayed in the Register app but still exsists on the back end? Or as a work around, Is there a way to move the item to a "phantom" location so that it does not appear as an option in the Register app?

[feedbucket]

make a category that says Current or some other title you like and only assign the current beers to that category.

[Sean]

@feedbucket - Thanks for taking the time to share your workaround! 

@WoodenLegs - Welcome to the Seller Community, and kudos on your first! 🎖  We're happy to have you!

As for your question, I do have an alternate suggestion. While we don't have a "hide" feature per se, I do have a suggestion. If you head to the Items tab of your Square Dashboard, and then locate the Item you'd like to hide - you can deselect the location where it is available. Don't forget to save your changes afterward.

This should do the trick, if not, please let me know! 

[cocoongallerync]

Thanks for the solution to not allowing item variations to show up on the POS screen.  It is still cumbersome to have all these old variations on the dashboard.  You said in one of your responses that an item variation can be deleted and not impact reporting.  That is not what your pop up warning implies when I am deleting one that has sold.  An archive feature what be useful to alleviate any concern that data will be lost.

[Knerq]

Although I would rather there was an "Archive" function, this work around does the job. 

[jeki]

Hi Sean - Thank you for providing this work around. I have one followup question:

After removing an item from a location, how do it later locate that item to re-add to the location? I'm having trouble now returning to items to find what I've removed from all locations to re-add. thank!

[ryanwanner]

Hey @jeki 

You'll have to log into your dashboard from a computer or tablet. Since the item isn't available for that location you can't see it from the Point of Sale. Once you're in the dashboard item library, all items will be seen. You can update location availability there.

[feedbucket]

My dashboard does not show location. Only item and category.

[Tom]

Hey @feedbucket, thanks for pointing that out. You're correct: if you aren't using the location management feature, your online Square Dashboard won't show the "Locations" field. Hope that helps clear things up!