Would deleting an item or a variant affect previous reports or sales?

[Josh]

I'm afraid of removing any item or variants in the item list. 

[Andrew de Freitas]

No it won't. Previous sales are stored in a database that records the details independent of the item list.

I have also just tested it on my test system and can confirm that deleting an item from the list will not affect the receipts or sales information.

[tharwat_group]

No it wont

[Hanna]

Yes, it is true. Once the sales are already made and delete the item afterwards, it won't affect any reports.