This page shows an example of what happens when you use Items Remover to delete a Restricted Item - that is an Item that is being used by MYOB®.

The Item we want to delete is Item Number 400. The profile for this Item looked as follows:



This is a sale transactions for a sale (involving Item 400) that took place on 2 June 2012:



This is how it appeared in the Transaction Journal:



This is what the P&L for that month looked like:



Later we stop using that Item and decide to delete it from our company file. However when we try to delete it, we get this message from MYOB®:



We decide to use Items Remover to remove this Restricted Item.

We created a new Replacement Items as follows:



Note the differences in the Accounts used - this is to illustrate that existing transactions are not disturbed.

On the Table of Items in Items Remover, we note that MYOB® has allocated a Record_ID of 41 for our Replacement Item. After selecting Item Number 400 (Record ID = 13) for deletion, we enter 41 as the Replacement Item Record_ID as we can see below:



When the changes are made, Items Remover will replace all references to Item Number 400 - Pottery Crock with Item Number ZZItems Deleted Nov 2013.

After the changes were made we Optimised the file, then opened it in MYOB® and Verified the file. There were no errors identified. When we review the changes, this is what we find. Firstly this is how the Sale transaction dated 2 June 2012 appeared in the Transactions Journal AFTER the Items Remover process:



It appears exactly the same way as it did above (before the deletion). The deletion process did not change the accounts or amounts.

This is what the Sale Transaction looks like AFTER the Items Remover process:



Note the only change is the Item Number - the '400' is now replaced with 'ZZItems Deleted Nov 2013'.

This is what the P&L for that month looked like AFTER the Items Remover process:



Note that it is exactly the same as pre the deletion.

This illustrates how transactions will look after the Items Remover deletion process. The only changes are the Item Number that appears where-ever the deleted Item appeared.


Items Remover does not change any transactions, accounts or amounts of any previously recorded transactions.

There are however two things to note about using Items Remover to delete Restricted Items.

Firstly, this process reveals a 'quirk' in MYOB®'s Recap Transaction feature. The Recap Transaction feature does not show what 'did' happen but rather what 'would' happen if the transaction was posted. So when you select 'Recap Transaction' for a previously recorded transaction, MYOB® will show what accounts the transaction would be posted to using current settings, not what was actually posted based on the settings at the time of the transaction. 'Recap Transaction' information can be ignored for transactions that involve an Item that has been deleted using Items Remover.

Secondly, while you can drill down, open and view a previously recorded transaction that involved an Item that has since been deleted, you should NOT make ANY changes to the transaction. See this WARNING for more information.