Menu / Inventory Edit History Retention

Overview

OrderCounter keeps a history of every edit to a menu item or inventory item so you can review it in the back office, and it trims old history automatically so the history does not fill up your database.

Every time you edit a menu item or an inventory item, OrderCounter records a snapshot of the change. Over time, those snapshots add up. On stores that edit menus or inventory often, the saved history can grow large, the database can fill up, and End of Day can slow down.

OrderCounter keeps this history small in three ways:

1. The POS only records an edit-history snapshot when something really changed.
2. Old history is automatically trimmed at End of Day. The default is to keep the last 6 months of edit history; anything older is removed during End of Day. You can change this if you want.
3. History tables are compressed automatically to save disk space.

How to Use

There is nothing you need to do for this to work. It is on by default, and each End of Day trims history older than the retention period.

If you want to change how many months of edit history to keep, contact OrderCounter support to change how many months are kept. There are two separate values:

• How many months of menu item edit history to keep (default 6).
• How many months of inventory item edit history to keep (default 6).

OrderCounter support can also turn off automatic trimming, so history is kept forever (not recommended on SQL Express).

The edit history on each item in the back office shows the most recent 50 edits, newest first.

Limitations

• The POS records history only for the fields it tracks. Changes to a product's Brand, Size, Qty/Case, Container Deposit, Wholesale Price, Par Level, Unit Size, Container and Linked Item are recorded, even when nothing else on the product changes in the same save. This includes filling in unit sizes, linking an item, and a pack change that sets Qty/Case.
• Trimmed history is permanently deleted — there is no undo and no archive. If you need to keep older history for compliance reasons, ask OrderCounter support to keep more months (for example, 24 for two years) before the next End of Day runs.
• Some older versions of SQL Server do not support data compression. On those, old history is still trimmed, but the history tables are not compressed.
• The edit history in the back office shows up to 50 recent edits per item. Older history is still kept (until it is trimmed) but does not appear on the item.

FAQ

Q: How much edit history is kept? A: Each End of Day trims history older than the retention period (6 months by default). If you want to keep more, contact OrderCounter support to change how many months are kept.

Q: My database is already very full. Will this shrink it on its own? A: It will help. History tables are compressed automatically to save disk space, and each End of Day trims old history. If your database is already at the SQL Express 10 GB limit, contact OrderCounter support for help to free up space.

Q: Can I see who made an edit and what changed? A: Yes — open the inventory or menu item in the back office and open its edit history (the History tab, or the Item Edits and Sales Item Edits sections). It shows the date, employee, and the values at the time of each edit, newest first.

Q: Does this affect order history, sales, or reports? A: No. This only changes how long the menu item and inventory item edit-history snapshots are kept. Orders, sales, payments, and reports are not touched.

Q: I want to keep edit history forever. A: Ask OrderCounter support to turn off automatic trimming. Be aware that on SQL Express the database can eventually reach the 10 GB limit; if that happens, ask OrderCounter support to turn trimming back on.