---
id: KB-TL-012
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/trackline/closing-a-case-that-is-going-nowhere
idioma: en
categoria: trackline
subcategoria: seguimiento
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-TL-008, KB-CF-005, KB-TL-017]
citadoPor: [KB-TD-017]
enLaApp: https://app.codecontract.io/trackline
---

# Closing a case that is going nowhere

_When to stop chasing, how to close it, and why leaving it open is worse._

**Responde a:** cancel a case · the supplier is never going to deliver · close an incomplete process · clean up old processes

Some cases will never close: the supplier no longer works with you, the project fell through, the person changed jobs. Leaving them open just in case has a concrete cost: the list fills with noise and stops being looked at.

**En corto**

- A list half full of dead cases stops being useful at all.
- Closing does not delete: what was delivered stays, with the reason.
- Closing with a reason beats letting it rot.

## When to close

| Situation | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| The supplier no longer works with you | Close as not applicable |
| The project was cancelled | Close stating the reason |
| Three months stalled with no reply | One last attempt by phone; failing that, close |
| Something is missing you know they will never provide | Decide whether it really blocks; if not, unmark it and close |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> Closing an incomplete case is a decision, and it is recorded as one with its reason. That beats leaving it open: a year from now, "closed because the supplier ceased trading" makes sense; an open, dead case does not.

## What is kept

Everything delivered stays, with its dates. Closing is not deleting; it is ceasing to wait.

> [!NOTE]
> Reviewing quarterly whatever has been stalled over two months, and closing what is going nowhere, keeps the list at a size someone will actually look at.

**Can it be reopened?**

Yes, if the supplier reappears.

**Is the third party notified?**

You can, and it is usually right to if something had been asked of them.

**Does it count as a breach in a report?**

Closed-with-reason is distinguished from simply incomplete.

## Ejemplos

**A list holds 140 open cases and nobody looks at it any more.**

- Filters those stalled over two months
- Closes 60 with their reasons
- Phones the 12 that are genuinely live

→ 68 real cases remain and the list becomes a working tool again.

**A file has been open for months without moving.**

- Closes it, stating the reason

→ The open list becomes true again.

**It is left open in case the supplier comes back.**

- Closes it and reopens if they return

→ The metrics stop being contaminated.

**It is closed with no record of why.**

- Notes the reason for closing

→ Months later the decision can be explained.

**The supplier comes back after it was closed.**

- Reopens the file with its history

→ Nothing already delivered is lost.

**Nobody knows when to stop chasing.**

- Sets a closing criterion by reminders or elapsed time

→ The decision stops being taken case by case.