How to bulk archive tracking options in Xero
Last updated: October 2026
If you use tracking categories for job numbers, projects, events or locations, the list keeps growing — and tracking options are archived one at a time. For a few finished jobs that is fine; with hundreds it is a long session of clicking, which is why a way to bulk archive tracking options is a popular request on Xero's idea board (150+ votes). BulkOps is a tool that does it in one reversible job.
The manual process
- Go to Settings (Organisation settings) → Advanced settings → Tracking categories.
- Open the category (e.g. "Job Number").
- Next to a single option, open the menu and choose Archive. Confirm.
- Repeat for every option — each one is archived individually.
Archiving does not delete history: archived options keep their transactions and reporting; they just stop appearing in pick-lists. That is exactly why regular cleanup is worth doing.
Deleting vs archiving
Xero deletes an option only if it has never been used on a transaction. Anything in use can only be archived. So for real-world cleanup (finished jobs with history), archiving is the only route — bulk or not.
Bulk archive tracking options with a tool
BulkOps (built by us) connects via Xero's official OAuth and turns the cleanup into one job:
- It lists every tracking category and option in your organisation, active and archived.
- Tick the options to archive — individually or a whole category at once.
- They're archived as a background job under Xero's API rate limits, with per-item results. Works for options that are in use on transactions.
- Fully reversible: one click restores everything a job archived, and every change is logged to a CSV audit trail.
Free to try — previews are unlimited and your first 10 archived options cost nothing, no card required.
Related guide: Xero's tracking category limits and how to free up options.
FAQ
Does archiving a tracking option affect old reports?
No. Historical transactions and reporting keep the option; it only leaves the pick-lists.
Can I restore an archived option?
Yes — restoring makes it active again. BulkOps does this in bulk too (that's the undo button on any archive job).
Is there a limit on tracking categories?
Xero allows two active tracking categories per organisation (with up to 100 options each on most plans) — another reason to keep them pruned.