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Unarchive items in Square Dashboard and the Retail POS app

Who is this article for?
This article is for business owners and team members with item creation permissions who are unarchiving items in Square Dashboard. Learn more about custom permissions.

This article is also for retail owners and team members with Checkout, Transactions, or Stock Counting permissions who are unarchiving items with a Square for Retail Free, Plus, or Premium subscription. Learn how to set up your team with Square for Retail.

About unarchiving items

In Square Dashboard and the Square Retail POS app, you can unarchive items to make them visible again and to continue selling them in the Square apps.

You have four options for unarchiving items in Square Dashboard:

  • Unarchive a single item

  • Unarchive multiple items in bulk

  • Unarchive multiple items with the bulk import tool

  • Unarchive items with a purchase order

You have five options for unarchiving items in the Retail POS app:

  • Unarchive a single item by scanning the barcode

  • Unarchive a single item through a return

  • Unarchive a single item by receiving stock

  • Unarchive multiple items by counting stock

  • Unarchive items with a purchase order

Before you begin

To unarchive items, you need to have previously archived items and access to your Square Dashboard or the Retail POS app. Learn how to archive items in Square Dashboard. 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 Square.

To make an item available to sell in Square Online, you have to manually set the availability.

Unarchive items in Square Dashboard

You can unarchive a single item or multiple items at once in Square Dashboard.

Unarchive a single item

You can unarchive a single item in Square Dashboard.

  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. Click the three dots (•••) on the row of the item you want to unarchive.
  4. From the drop-down menu, click Unarchive.
  5. If your item has variations, click Unarchive to confirm you want to archive all item variations.

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

Unarchive multiple items in bulk

You can unarchive multiple items through bulk actions in Square Dashboard.

  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. If your item has variations, click Unarchive to confirm you want to archive all item variations.

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 or edit items in Square Dashboard.

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

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. From your list of purchase orders with Pending status, click the purchase order you want to receive. 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.

Unarchive items in the Retail POS app

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

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.

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.
  5. You can either 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.
  6. Tap Refund, then choose a refund method and a reason for refund.
  7. Tap Refund to finalise the transaction.

Unarchive a single item by receiving stock

  1. Open the Square 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.

Unarchive items by counting stock

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

  1. Open the Square 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.

Unarchive items with a purchase order

  1. Open the Square 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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