When you're performing various functions in Cliniko, you'll notice that sometimes youll see the option to "archive" something, and other times you'll be presented with the facility to "delete". 

We'll explain how these two things work!

So, why the two options?

DELETE means that whatever it is will be 100% gone. It will not be recoverable. If you see anything with a Delete button, know that by pressing it and confirming the action, it will be gone for good. This option is only available on a handful of things, and will only be available to administrators (and in some cases, power receptionists). When deleting something, you will always need to be sure that you definitely want to delete it, because once it's gone, it's gone (there won't be a way to restore it).

ARCHIVE means that whatever it is will be "removed", but will not be 100% gone. If you see anything with an Archive button, it means it can be recovered. Currently, only someone on the Cliniko team can assist in recovering an accidentally-archived item (i.e. an appointment). If you archive something, for all intents and purposes, it's "gone" from view and will not impact your account—for instance, if you archive an invoice, this invoice goes away and will not be included in your reports. (But if it was archived accidentally, you can reach out to the Cliniko team, and we can help get it back for you.)

For example, you can archive an invoice:

Or you can archive an appointment:

But you can delete a patient (only after the person has been archived, of course!):

Plus, deleting a patient (for example) also requires some extra layers of confirmation:

As mentioned, the "delete" function will only be available on a handful of items, and is primarily only available to Administrators.
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If you've created something in error and need to remove it, "archiving" it will be the way to go, as this will effectively remove it from your account! 

If you'd like to see a record of what has been archived, you can export any of your data and tick the box to include archived records:

The spreadsheet will include a record of what was archived, and any associated information—such as when it was archived.

If you need to restore something that has been archived, please let us know, and we can assist! We can be reached via the little "chat" bubble in the lower-right. 💬