PURCHASING > Utility > Purge and Archive History >
This menu group contain various utilities that are used to purge (delete) old data from SpendMap's Database.
There are many areas (tables) in SpendMap that will accumulate information as transactions are processed. To ensure the best performance and to reduce hard disk space requirements, old data should be purged periodically.
See also Information for System Administrators.
Purge Frequency and Data Retention
With the exception of Open Purchase Orders (see below), in most environments the purge utilities can be run yearly. However, you can run them more often if you prefer.
When you purge old history, you can specify how much history to keep (i.e. you do not have to purge all your history). Most organizations retain a few years of history for audit purposes but, again, the amount of history you retain will be based on your specific business needs.
Open Purchase Orders
Open Purchase Orders are an exception. The Open PO table contains your “open” or "live" POs. Since the Open PO table is accessed for most operations (more than any other table in the system), this file should be kept as small as possible to maximize system performance. When the number of open POs in the system is kept to a minimum, transactions process faster, searches will be faster, PO-related reports will print faster, etc.
Therefore, SpendMap offers a two-step process for purging old POs:
1.POs can be moved from the Open PO table to the Closed PO Archive on a frequent basis to improve system performance for daily activities and transactions that access open POs
AND THEN
2.The Closed PO Archive can then be purged on a yearly basis, like the other areas that accumulate history.
Audit Considerations
If you are purging information that may be required for audit purposes, ensure that the appropriate reports are printed and retained for your records and/or a backup is performed before the data is purged. With the exception of archiving closed POs (which simply moves PO data to another area, rather than purging), data that is purged is non-recoverable.
