Deleting Customer Profiles – Managing Customer Lists

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Delete, Restore, and Permanently Remove Customers

OctopusPro gives you full control over your customer database, including the ability to: delete (archive / soft delete) customers, view deleted customers, restore (recover / undelete) customer profiles, and permanently delete (hard delete) customers when required.

Important: OctopusPro prevents deleting customer profiles if they still have related records (e.g., bookings, invoices, quotes, inquiries). You’ll need to remove related items first to maintain clean data and avoid orphan records.

Table of contents

Soft delete vs permanent delete

  • Soft delete (Archive): Removes the customer from All Customers and search results, but keeps their data in your system under Deleted Customers. This is ideal when you may need to reference history or restore the customer later.
  • Permanent delete (Hard delete): Completely removes the customer and associated data. This action is irreversible.
Note: Permanent deletion is only available from the Deleted Customers archive. Customers must be soft-deleted (archived) first, then you can permanently delete them from Customers > Deleted Customers.

Delete (archive) a customer

You can soft delete (archive) a customer from either the customer profile or the customer list.

Option A: Delete from the customer profile

  1. Go to Customers > All Customers.
  2. Open the customer and click View customer profile.
  3. Click Actions (top-right) and select Delete.
Delete customer from customer profile page
  1. Confirm by clicking Delete.
Confirm delete this customer

Option B: Delete from the customer list

  1. Go to Customers > All Customers.
  2. Find the customer row, click Actions, then select Delete.
  3. Confirm by clicking Delete.
Delete from customer list
Confirm delete customer from list

If OctopusPro won’t let you delete a customer, it usually means there are linked records still attached to the profile. Remove those records first.

  1. Open the customer profile.
  2. Go to the Activity section/tabs.
  3. Open each linked section (e.g., Bookings, Invoices, Quotes, Inquiries).
  4. Click Show all and delete the items listed.
Customer activity tabs showing related items and Show all

Delete multiple customers

  1. Go to Customers > All Customers.
  2. Select customers using the checkboxes.
  3. Open the bulk actions dropdown (top-left) and choose Delete.
  4. Confirm the action (button label may appear as Delete all forever in the popup).
Bulk delete multiple customers from customer list

Delete all customers (eligible customers only)

The Delete all button on the All Customers page is designed to remove customers that have no linked items (such as inquiries, quotes, bookings, or invoices).

  1. Go to Customers > All Customers.
  2. Click Delete all (top-right).
  3. Confirm the popup.
Delete all button on All Customers page
Confirm delete all customers popup

View deleted customers

When a customer is deleted (soft deleted), they move to Customers > Deleted Customers. This keeps your active list clean while allowing access to historical records.

  1. Go to Customers > Deleted Customers.
  2. Use the search bar if needed.
  3. Click the customer name (or use Actions > View customer profile) to review details.
Deleted Customers list
View deleted customer details from list

Restore (recover / undelete) deleted customers

Restoring a customer returns their profile to its previous state, including stored data. Once restored, the customer moves back to All Customers.

Restore a single customer

  1. Go to Customers > Deleted Customers.
  2. Find the customer (or search).
  3. Click Actions and choose Recover.
  4. Confirm by clicking Restore.
Recover a deleted customer from Actions menu
Confirm restore these customers popup

Restore multiple customers (bulk) from the Deleted Customers archive

  1. Go to Customers > Deleted Customers.
  2. Select multiple customers using the checkboxes.
  3. Use the master checkbox in the table header (top-left), click the dropdown arrow, then choose Undelete.
  4. Confirm by clicking Restore.
Bulk restore (Undelete) from Deleted Customers list
Confirm restore selected customers popup

Permanently delete customers (Delete Forever)

Warning: Permanent deletion is irreversible. Once removed, the customer cannot be restored.

Permanently delete a single customer

  1. Go to Customers > Deleted Customers.
  2. Find the customer and click Actions.
  3. Select Delete Forever.
  4. Confirm the popup.
Delete Forever from Deleted Customers list
Confirm delete these customers popup

Permanently delete multiple customers (bulk delete forever)

  1. Go to Customers > Deleted Customers.
  2. Select multiple customers using the checkboxes.
  3. Use the master checkbox in the table header (top-left), click the dropdown arrow, then choose Delete Permanently (or Delete Forever depending on your account).
  4. Confirm the popup to permanently delete the selected customers.
Bulk actions dropdown: Undelete or Delete forever

Permanently delete all customers in Deleted Customers

If you need to permanently remove all customers currently in the deleted list, click Delete all forever on the Deleted Customers page and confirm.

Delete all forever button on Deleted Customers page

What gets removed after permanent deletion

When a customer is permanently deleted, OctopusPro typically removes:

  • Customer profile details (name, contact info, and custom fields)
  • Saved addresses / locations
  • Saved payment methods
  • Customer dependents/assets/properties (e.g., children, pets, vehicles)
  • Profile photos
  • History log and interaction records
  • Documents and attachments stored on the customer profile
  • Communication logs (SMS, emails, and discussions/messages)
  • Billing cycle-related details (where applicable)

Impact on accounting sync (QuickBooks/Xero)

If you permanently delete a customer in OctopusPro, that customer will no longer sync with accounting integrations. Any future changes or transactions won’t update for that deleted customer. Review your accounting platform’s retention rules before performing irreversible deletions.

Permissions & access control

The ability to delete or permanently delete customers is controlled by role-based permissions. Only users with the appropriate permissions can perform these actions.

Review your role settings under Settings > Company Settings > Users > Roles and enable/disable deletion permissions as needed.

FAQ & troubleshooting

Why can’t I delete a customer?

Most commonly, the customer has linked records (e.g., bookings, invoices, quotes, inquiries). Remove linked items first from the customer’s Activity section, then try again.

Can I schedule new appointments for a deleted customer?

No — deleted/archived customers are removed from All Customers and search results, which prevents booking new appointments. Restore the customer first if you need to schedule new work.

Can I restore a permanently deleted customer?

No — permanent deletion is irreversible. If you may need the customer later, use soft delete (archive) instead.

Should I delete or merge duplicates?

If the issue is duplicate customer profiles, merging duplicates is usually safer than deleting, because it preserves history and linked records.

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