Archive completed orders in Shopify
Orders that are done should leave the open list. Archiving removes a finished order from your open orders without cancelling or refunding it. This tutorial archives the eighteen completed orders from last week.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 5 minutes read
The worked example
| Orders to archive | 18 |
| Fulfilled and paid | 12 |
| Cancelled | 6 |
| Still open after | 0 |
Download the archive batch: archive-batch.csv (391 bytes).
The eighteen orders in the batch and their status. Twelve are fulfilled and paid, and six are cancelled, for 18 in total.
1Count the finished orders
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders and look at the open list. Eighteen orders are finished: twelve are fulfilled and paid, and six are cancelled. Most orders you are done with are archived automatically by default, but these eighteen are still open, so they need a manual archive.
2Open the first order
From the Orders page, click the number of the order that you want to archive. Start with order 1031, which is fulfilled and paid. Check the status on the order before you archive it: only orders you are done with should be archived.
3Archive the order
Click More actions, and then click Archive orders. The order status becomes Archived, and the order leaves the open list. Archived orders are displayed on the Closed order view.
4Archive the rest in bulk
Go back to the Orders page and select the remaining seventeen orders with the checkboxes. You can also perform a bulk action to archive or unarchive multiple orders. Archive them in one bulk action, then check the open list: it should be empty of last week orders.
5Check the Closed view
Open the Closed order view and count the eighteen orders: twelve fulfilled and paid, six cancelled. If an order is missing from the Closed view, it was not archived. If an order is still in the open list, archive it on its own.
The arithmetic
| Group | Orders |
|---|---|
| Fulfilled and paid | 12 |
| Cancelled | 6 |
| Total archived | 18 |
The two groups add to 18: 12 plus 6 is 18. The open list holds none of these eighteen orders after the archive.
Held at the counter
Archiving is not cancelling. Archiving an order means you are done with the order and want to remove it from your open orders list. Cancelling means you are stopping an order that is in process. An archived order is not refunded, and a cancelled order is not finished just because it is archived.
Automatic archiving can be off. Most orders that you are done with are automatically archived by default. If you deactivated automatic archiving, finished orders pile up in the open list until you archive them by hand. Check the setting if the list keeps growing.
Deleted is not archived. Deleted orders are removed from your Shopify admin and are no longer tracked in reports. Before you can delete an order, it must be archived or canceled. Do not delete an order you only meant to archive.
Sources
- Canceling orders — Shopify's help pages: canceling an order, the refund options at cancel time, restocking, archiving, and what cannot be canceled.