# Read retained history, export records and handle recovery

Preserve approved documents and unresolved commitments before closure or resumption.

Source: https://help.smartfact.ai/manuals/purchasing/history-and-recovery

Review edition: 25 October 2026

Roles: owner, supervisor, viewer, operator

History explains who changed a request, order, release, receipt or communication and which revision was involved. Read those facts together before correcting an apparent discrepancy or resuming work after recovery.

## Follow the retained evidence

Open the order and read **Earlier records**, **Order history** and **Send history**, along with linked supplier responses, documents and confirmations. Approved PDF and CSV bytes belong to their retained revision. A newer catalogue or amendment does not rewrite an earlier approval or declared-order record.

Check whether approval was made in Purchasing or declared from an order placed before it. A declaration does not contain invented approval votes or original provider acceptance. Supplier replies describe what was said; physical receipts describe what was observed through the authorised receipt path.

## Download the appropriate scope

Use the list's CSV or XLSX controls for the intended matching records and filters. List exports contain all matching rows, not just the current browser page, and preserve exact quantity text and identifiers.

The owner or supervisor can request a complete site export with recent Accounts verification. It is prepared as a private ZIP with a consistent recorded cut-off, retained documents and a manifest of hashes and row counts. It has a download expiry; an expired export needs a new request. Damaged bytes are refused rather than silently served.

The complete archive excludes authentication credentials and transient secrets. It preserves operational evidence such as approved documents and communication records. Handle the archive as sensitive company information.

## Review recovery and closure

Use **Recovery** or **Closure & complete export** for the stated site process. A restore can leave external receipt reports or sending evidence needing reconciliation. Do not assume that restored records establish the current supplier, source-stock or mail-provider position.

Keep held requests and original action identities for the responsible owner and supervisor. Ordinary export or operational controls do not bypass a recovery hold. A closure decision must account for outstanding commitments and communications, not only an empty queue.

Before resuming work, establish which order revision is current, which quantities remain committed, which receipts were recorded and which sends are unresolved. Reconcile the originals before retrying. If a complete export or closure action loses its answer, use [uncertain results](/manuals/purchasing/uncertain-results) rather than requesting a duplicate decision.

## Use the exposed recovery and closure controls

**Recovery** is a status and handover page. Read the recovery generation, recorded restore point, reports awaiting replay, closed lines awaiting original delivery facts, latest supervisor review and owner clearance where shown. Contact the installation operator or support with those facts. There is no ordinary review or reopen form on this page, and a recorded clearance alone does not reopen the installation.

For customer-led site closure, use [close a Purchasing site](/manuals/purchasing/closing-site). It has separate controls to stop new work, record supervisor dispositions, hand over uncertain communications and complete closure against a current export.

## Print a retained order document

Operator or Supervisor chooses **Print documents** on the order to open its print page. Under **Prepare a print request**, choose the exact **Document version** and whole **Copies** from 1 to 20, then **Prepare print request**. A watermarked draft and an approved retained document are different versions. Review the revision and retained version hash before continuing.

For a prepared request, choose **Submit this print request**. If it is submitting or unknown, use **Check original print request**. For a job already known to PrintStation, use **Refresh print result** for its authoritative status, then **Prepare PrintStation window** and **Open PrintStation** for attended output. If the browser blocks it, allow the offered pop-up and reopen the same request. A pop-up or job acceptance does not prove physical output or supplier sending.

A deliberate extra copy uses **Reprint copies**, **Reason for reprinting** and **Request reprint** on the original retained request. Both ordinary print requests and reprint requests use Operator or Supervisor authority. The original must have a known job and retained PDF hash. Investigate an unknown original before deciding that another copy is justified, and retain the parent request and reason with the new copy.