Data cleaning is an important process that removes errors, duplicates, and irrelevant details from raw datasets, ensuring the information is accurate, consistent, and ready for analysis, reporting, and strategic decision-making. Poor-quality data can cause financial losses, whereas well-maintained data enables better decisions and helps pinpoint weaknesses in data entry or storage methods. The Odoo Data Cleaning module offers an efficient tool designed to help businesses organize and maintain their databases, offered in both Community and Enterprise editions, with a choice of free and premium features.
With Odoo 18’s Data Cleaning module, you can use the Recycle Records feature to automatically identify, archive, or delete records based on smart rules, helping you keep your system clean and optimized.
The Recycle Records tool scans your database for records that match specific conditions and flags them for recycling. Depending on the rule, these records can be:
- Archived — hidden from active use but still stored in the database for reference.
- Deleted — permanently removed from the database.
You can access this feature by navigating to:
Data Cleaning App > Recycle Records
The Recycle Records dashboard displays all records that meet the criteria defined in active recycle rules. You can filter them by rule, validate them for recycling, or discard them from detection.
Creating Recycle Record Rules
To configure rules, go to:
Data Cleaning App > Configuration > Recycle Records > New
Each Recycle Record Rule contains the following fields:
- Model
Specifies the Odoo model (database table) that the rule will apply to. Once selected, the rule’s title automatically updates to the model name.Select the Odoo model the rule will target (e.g., Leads, Sales Orders, Contacts).
- Filter
Conditions to narrow down which records are targeted. This is optional but recommended.
Example: Active = False, Lost Reason = "Too Expensive".
- Time Field
Choose a date/time field from the model (e.g., Last Updated On, Order Date) to determine when the record becomes eligible.
- Delta & Delta Unit
- Delta – Whole number representing the time duration.
- Delta Unit – Unit of time (Days, Weeks, Months, Years).
This tells Odoo "Recycle this record if the chosen time field is older than X duration."
- Recycle Mode
- Manual – Records require manual validation.
- Automatic – Records are recycled automatically without manual review.
- Recycle Action
- Archive – Mark the record inactive.
- Delete – Permanently remove the record.
- Include Archived – Option to also target archived records.
Example: Cleaning CRM Leads of a customer