Archiving and bringing someone back

There is no delete button for a customer. When you're finished with one — the job ended, the lead went nowhere, the account closed — you archive them, and everything they ever did stays exactly where it is.

Merging is different from archiving. When you tell CLEO that a website visitor is someone you already have, it keeps the history together on the record you already had, and the visitor's separate record goes. Enquiries from your website explains when CLEO asks.

Doing it

On their record, open Details and go to the archiving section at the end — it's also in the More menu at the top, as Archive this customer.

On a lead or plain customer record, CLEO states what it will do — Hide them from active work. Nothing is deleted; their history stays. — and asks once: Archive this customer? Their history stays. Then: Customer archived. Their history remains available.

On a client's record the section is Archive, with the same promise spelled out: Nothing is deleted; their work, requests, appointments and history stay, and you can bring them back any time. CLEO confirms with Archived. Their history stays here.

You can also ask CLEO — "archive Orchard Lane" — and confirm the prepared change.

What stays

All of it. Their history, notes, appointments past and future, work, requests, payments, follow-ups already recorded — untouched and readable.

An archived record opens normally. It's labelled at the top: Everything below is kept. Bring them back from Details. You can read every tab.

What stops

An archived customer is out of the paths that start new activity:

• New work is refused — That customer is archived; reactivate them before starting work.
• New requests and new appointments don't offer them; they're not in the pickers.
• New payments can't be recorded against them: their history is kept, and CLEO asks you to bring them back before recording a new payment.
• The Add menu on their own record is gone, and each panel says Archived. Bring them back to act on this record.

They also drop out of the working customer list into an Archived view of its own, and CLEO stops counting them among the people who need you.

Bringing them back

The same place, the other way. On a lead or customer record the section becomes Reactivate this customer — Bring them back to the active list. — with Reactivate. On a client's record it reads Bring them back, and CLEO confirms with Active again.

Everything resumes at once: they're back in your lists, you can book, log, create and record against them again, and CLEO counts them once more.

Asking CLEO works here too — "bring Orchard Lane back" — with the same Confirm.

When to use it

• A lead you've already closed as lost or not a real opportunity, and don't want in your way.
• A client whose work is finished, with no more expected.
• A duplicate record, once you've kept the one with the history.
• Anyone whose records you must keep but whose name you don't want in today's lists.

And when not to: don't archive someone you're still deciding about. Record the outcome on the lead instead, so the reason is part of their story.

That's the full circle: someone arrives, gets a record, the record fills up, and eventually rests. You never have to throw anything away to keep your screens clear.