Feature request: Contact active/inactive #4975

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opened 2026-02-20 16:27:15 -05:00 by deekerman · 1 comment

deekerman commented

2026-02-20 16:27:15 -05:00

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Originally created by @bunk3m on GitHub (Mar 15, 2023).

Contacts retire, are temporarily unemployed, die, etc. Those contacts should be retained for information purposes but should be made inactive so they don't receive marketing pieces etc. Deleting the contact doesn't always make sense since you may lose account history.

Some discussion about the issue is found below:
https://community.suitecrm.com/t/is-there-a-setting-to-make-retired-contacts-inactive/88422

Expected Behavior

If we find out that a contact has retired or moved on but can't find them, then the contact shouldn't be deleted. It should be made "inactive" until which time that it makes sense to either attach them to another account or delete (in the future). In the interim period, the contact shouldn't show up on call out lists, marketing emails etc. etc.

Actual Behavior

At the moment there is a way to make accounts inactive but not contacts.

Possible Fix

Add a selection field "active/inactive" in the contact edit detail. As a default the field should be "active". But when the contact has retired, etc., then you should be able to manually check status as "inactive".

Context

We have found a number of individuals who have retired, moved jobs, quit (can't find yet) and so one. That contact history shouldn't be lost as there is valuable information in the history. However, those contacts will continue to show up in marketing email lists, contact lists etc. even when it isn't appropriate. There isn't a way to exclude those except manually delete the contact from the email lists.

Your Environment

SuiteCRM Version used: 7.12.x

Originally created by @bunk3m on GitHub (Mar 15, 2023). Contacts retire, are temporarily unemployed, die, etc. Those contacts should be retained for information purposes but should be made inactive so they don't receive marketing pieces etc. Deleting the contact doesn't always make sense since you may lose account history. Some discussion about the issue is found below: [https://community.suitecrm.com/t/is-there-a-setting-to-make-retired-contacts-inactive/88422](url) #### Expected Behavior If we find out that a contact has retired or moved on but can't find them, then the contact shouldn't be deleted. It should be made "inactive" until which time that it makes sense to either attach them to another account or delete (in the future). In the interim period, the contact shouldn't show up on call out lists, marketing emails etc. etc. #### Actual Behavior At the moment there is a way to make accounts inactive but not contacts. #### Possible Fix Add a selection field "active/inactive" in the contact edit detail. As a default the field should be "active". But when the contact has retired, etc., then you should be able to manually check status as "inactive". #### Context We have found a number of individuals who have retired, moved jobs, quit (can't find yet) and so one. That contact history shouldn't be lost as there is valuable information in the history. However, those contacts will continue to show up in marketing email lists, contact lists etc. even when it isn't appropriate. There isn't a way to exclude those except manually delete the contact from the email lists. #### Your Environment  * SuiteCRM Version used: 7.12.x

deekerman added the

Type:Suggestion

Area: Module

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2026-02-20 16:27:15 -05:00

deekerman commented

2026-02-20 16:27:17 -05:00

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@chris001 commented on GitHub (Mar 15, 2023):

Great idea. What about having multiple choices for Inactive to provide other users and the CRM system with more detail, if any.. "moved on to another job/organization", "retired", "deceased", "on leave of absence", "on medical leave", "unknown".... because these have various different follow-up possibilities, and reactivation possibilities, if any.

@chris001 commented on GitHub (Mar 15, 2023): Great idea. What about having multiple choices for Inactive to provide other users and the CRM system with more detail, if any.. "moved on to another job/organization", "retired", "deceased", "on leave of absence", "on medical leave", "unknown".... because these have various different follow-up possibilities, and reactivation possibilities, if any.