Projects

Archive or delete a project

When a project wraps, archive to preserve history or delete to remove from the list permanently. What each option does to your data.

3 min read · Updated April 24, 2026

When a project wraps, you have two options: archive (preserve all history, hide from active list) or delete (permanent removal of the project). They're different outcomes — pick based on what you need to keep.

Archive — the default choice

Archiving hides the project from the main Projects list but keeps every transaction, invoice, and time entry associated with it. Archived data still appears in:

Annual exports (CSV, PDF)
Tax reports and Schedule C category totals
Customer CRM history (if the project was tied to a customer)
Historical period comparisons on the dashboard

To archive: open the project → Project settings → Archive project. You can unarchive at any time.

Delete — permanent

Deleting removes the project and all its data — transactions, invoices, time entries — from every view and export. There's no undo.

Use delete only for projects created by mistake (typos, duplicates).
If you might ever need the data for tax purposes, archive instead.
The IRS's 7-year record retention rule applies to your data regardless of what Hustlay shows — so archive, don't delete, if the records are needed for tax defense.

To delete: open the project → Project settings → Delete → confirm the action.

Deleted is deleted

Deletion is permanent and immediate. The only path back is from a backup export (if you've been exporting regularly). When in doubt, archive.

What if the project has a customer?

Archiving a project doesn't archive the customer. The customer record stays active. If the customer has no other active projects and you want to archive them too, do that separately in the Customers tab.

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