Need to clean up your records or bring old ones back? With bulk actions, you can now archive or unarchive multiple patients, billable items, products, and contacts all at once. This helps keep your account organised without the hassle of updating each record individually.
In this guide, we'll cover:
How bulk archiving works
Cliniko lets you perform bulk updates to patients, contacts, billable items, and products via data imports. This includes changing these records' active or archived status all at once.
To do this, you’ll upload a spreadsheet (in CSV format) on the data imports page. This spreadsheet should list the records you want to update, along with a column that specifies whether they should be archived.
The process matches what you have in your spreadsheet to the records on your account. The matching is done using unique identifiers (the Cliniko ID). If the identifier in your import file matches one in Cliniko, the record will be updated with your changes.
Getting your data ready
You’ll need a CSV file that includes each record's Cliniko ID. The easiest way is to start with an export from Cliniko, which contains these IDs automatically.
Run the export for the record type you're working with (patients, contacts, products, or billable items). Head to Settings → Data & docs → Data exports to get this:
Here's more info on exporting your data.
After downloading the spreadsheet, make a copy and do your edits there. If something goes wrong, you’ll still have the untouched original, which you can re-import if you’re not happy with your changes.
In the resulting spreadsheet, remove any columns you don’t plan on updating so this makes things easier to manage. The only column that must stay is column A which contains the Cliniko ID. You can also keep the names of the record if you like, as this will help you recognise which records you’re updating. Delete any rows for records you don’t want to change.
If your export included archived records, you’ll see a column called Archived At.
This contains the date a record was archived. We recommend removing this column to avoid accidentally matching it to a field during import.
Next, add a new column that you’ll use to control whether records are archived or unarchived. For clarity, we suggest naming this column Archive record.
Enter Archive in that column for any record you want to archive.
Leave the cell blank for any record you don't want to archive or you want to unarchive.
A blank cell will leave a record that is active as is.
If the record was archived, the blank cell will change their status to active.
To avoid accidental changes, include only the records you intend to change in your CSV.
Save the spreadsheet and make sure it's in the CSV format.
Archiving your records in bulk via data imports
Now that you've got your spreadsheet ready, you can upload this to Cliniko.
1. Head to Settings → Data & docs → Data imports. Select the relevant import type and hit Import:
2. Select your CSV file to upload and click Next - Match information:
3. Select Update existing record* (the record is dependent on the import type you selected) which will update the records you already have rather than create new records. Cliniko will automatically detect the relevant ID column. Double-check the correct column is selected:
4. Tick enable next to the Archive record field. Remember to also select Archived as the import into:
Only tick the fields you actually want to update (e.g. Archived). If you tick other fields, those will be updated too.
5. When you're ready, you can click on Next - Import and finish. Your import will begin immediately. For small spreadsheets, this will only take seconds.
Updating is permanent. There’s no “undo” button. If you delete a data import, this will not affect the updated information. To restore old data, you’d need to upload a new CSV with the previous information.
When the import finishes, visit the relevant record page and spot-check a few items to ensure everything is in order. The records you archived should no longer appear on your active list. Those you unarchived should reappear!
Remember, completed updates cannot be undone. Any blank archived fields will make archived records active again. If you have any questions at all, reach out to support. We’re happy to help! 😄