Cutoff is the start date from which the retention period for a record begins. When cutoff is initiated from a time-based criterion, records and folders designated for cutoff are automatically marked as cutoff with no user intervention.

When cutoff is initiated by a manual event, the Cutoff action for the item immediately becomes available. The user can then either manually cut off the item by clicking on the Cutoff action or wait until the background cron job later identifies the item as due for cutoff and then automatically applies cutoff. As we'll see later in this chapter, the background cron job runs, by default, every 15 minutes:

Once the item is cutoff, an action to manually undo the cutoff becomes available. When a folder is cutoff, it is also closed to any new filings. Items that are cutoff are marked with a small status icon that shows a filled red circle enclosing a white horizontal bar.