Soft delete, archive and restore

PropLink prefers reversible actions over destructive ones. Most records can be archived (hidden from lists, kept in the database) and restored (returned to lists) without losing any history. Permanent deletion exists, but it is a separate, explicit action gated behind a separate permission and recorded in the audit log.

Why this matters

Property management deals in long-term records with legal weight, service charge accounts must be available to a leaseholder for six years, building safety records must be kept for the life of the building, audit history for arrears recovery must withstand a First-tier Tribunal. Allowing a single misclick to wipe a record permanently is not appropriate.

The three states

Active

The default. The record appears in lists, search, reports and exports.

Archived (soft-deleted)

The record is hidden from default lists but kept in the database with a deletion timestamp. References to it from other records still resolve. You can find it by toggling "Show archived" on most list pages, or via search.

Permanently deleted

The record is physically removed from the database. Only certain record types support this. The action requires a dedicated permission and is recorded in the audit log with the deleting user, the time and the reason.

What you can archive

Almost everything: sites, units, contacts, vendors, invoices (draft only), credit notes (draft only), tickets, work orders, issues, maintenance events, service agreements, files, ledger accounts (only if no transactions posted), users, roles, templates, workflows.

Records you cannot archive once they are approved or posted:

• Approved invoices and receipts.
• Posted journals.
• Reconciled bank lines.
• Closed work orders that have associated bills.

These are immutable for audit reasons. To "remove" them you either reverse them (issue a compensating entry) or void them (mark them void, keeping the original entry).

How archive looks in the UI

Most list pages have a Show archived toggle at the top. With it on, archived records appear with a faint strikethrough and a small Archived badge. The detail page for an archived record adds a banner at the top:

This record is archived. It does not appear in default lists or reports.

The banner has a Restore button if you have the permission.

How restore works

1. Find the archived record, toggle Show archived on the relevant list, or search for it directly.
2. Open the record.
3. Click Restore in the banner.
4. PropLink confirms, removes the deletion timestamp and restores the record to the lists.

Restoring does not undo any actions that happened in between archive and restore. If a unit was archived for six months and a leaseholder was reassigned to another unit during that time, restoring the original unit does not undo the reassignment.

How permanent deletion works

For the record types that support it:

1. The record must already be archived.
2. The deleting user needs the Force delete permission for that domain.
3. On the archived record, Permanently delete appears as a secondary action under a confirmation prompt.
4. PropLink asks for a reason, writes the action to the audit log and removes the record.

Permanent deletion is rare and almost always associated with GDPR data-subject requests. See GDPR and data subject requests.

Bulk archive and restore

On most list pages you can select multiple rows and pick Archive selected or Restore selected from the bulk actions menu. The same permission rules apply per record.