Client Actions
Duplicate, delete, and perform other actions on client records
Overview
The Clients page provides several action buttons for each client record, allowing you to view, edit, duplicate, or delete client information. These actions are accessible from both table and card views through color-coded action buttons.
Each action is designed with safeguards to prevent accidental data loss. Destructive operations like deletion require confirmation, while duplication operations automatically create copies with modified names to avoid confusion.
Available Actions
Action Button Locations
Action buttons appear in different locations depending on your view mode:
- Actions column on the far right (sticky, always visible when scrolling)
- Four action buttons displayed in a row
- Buttons scale slightly on hover for visual feedback
- Action buttons in the top-right corner of each card
- Only View and Edit buttons shown (to save space)
- Additional actions available through the View modal
Color-Coded Action System
Each action button uses a distinct color to make it easy to identify its function and intent:
- View (Blue): Eye icon - Non-destructive, informational action
- Edit (Yellow): Pencil icon - Modification action
- Duplicate (Green): Copy icon - Creation action
- Delete (Red): Trash icon - Destructive action requiring confirmation
Accessibility: All action buttons include hover tooltips showing the action name for additional clarity.
View Client Details
How to View
Click the blue eye icon to open the View Client modal, which displays all information about the client in a read-only format.
- Complete contact information (name, email, phone, company)
- Communication preferences (messaging platform, language)
- Full address details
- All tags
- Statistics (orders, revenue, average order value)
- Notes
Tip: From the View modal, you can quickly switch to editing by clicking the "Edit" button at the bottom. This is faster than closing the view modal and clicking the edit button separately.
Edit Client Information
How to Edit
Click the yellow pencil icon to open the Edit Client modal with all current information pre-filled and ready to modify.
- All contact information fields
- Communication preferences
- Address (with autocomplete support)
- Tags
- Notes
Note: Statistics (orders, revenue) cannot be manually edited as they are automatically calculated from order data.
After Saving Edits
When you save changes to a client:
- Changes are immediately saved to the database
- Success message confirms the update
- Client's updatedAt timestamp is refreshed
- Client moves to the top of the client list
- Activity log entry is created
Duplicate Client Records
How to Duplicate
Click the green copy icon to create a duplicate of the client with all information copied to a new record. This action happens immediately without requiring confirmation.
Common Use Cases:
- Creating separate records for multiple contacts at the same company
- Setting up similar clients with slight variations
- Creating template clients with common settings or tags
- Backing up a client before making major changes
What Gets Duplicated
When you duplicate a client, almost all information is copied to the new record:
- Email address
- Phone number
- Company name
- Messaging platform preference
- Preferred language
- All tags
- Complete address information
- Notes
- Name: Automatically appended with " (Copy)" to distinguish it
- createdAt: Set to current timestamp
- updatedAt: Set to current timestamp
- Total orders - Starts at 0
- Completed orders - Starts at 0
- Total revenue - Starts at 0
- Average order value - Not set (no orders yet)
- Last order date - Not set
Note: The duplicated client is completely independent from the original. Orders are NOT shared or linked between the original and duplicate client records.
After Duplication
After clicking the duplicate button:
- New client record is created immediately
- Success message confirms duplication
- New client appears at the top of the list (most recently created)
- Activity log entry records the duplication
- You can now edit the duplicate to make necessary changes
Tip: After duplicating, immediately edit the new client to update the name and any other fields that should be different. This prevents confusion when both the original and duplicate appear in searches.
Example Duplication Workflow
Here's a practical example of when and how to use duplication:
- You have "Sarah Johnson - Acme Corp" with company address and tags
- You need to add "Mike Smith - Acme Corp" as a separate contact
- Click duplicate on Sarah's record
- New client created: "Sarah Johnson - Acme Corp (Copy)"
- Edit the duplicate: Change name to "Mike Smith - Acme Corp"
- Update email and phone to Mike's contact info
- Keep company, address, and tags (already correct)
- Save - Now you have two separate contacts for the same company
Delete Client Records
How to Delete
Click the red trash icon to initiate the deletion process. Unlike other actions, deletion requires confirmation to prevent accidental data loss.
- Click the red trash icon
- Confirmation modal appears with client name
- Warning message: "This action cannot be undone"
- Click "Delete" button to confirm (or "Cancel" to abort)
- Client is permanently deleted
What Gets Deleted
When you delete a client, the client record and all associated information is permanently removed:
- All contact information (name, email, phone, company)
- Address information
- Tags and notes
- Statistics (order counts and revenue data)
- Creation and update timestamps
- Activity log entry is created recording the deletion
Important: Deleting a client does NOT delete their orders. Orders remain in the system but will show the client as unassigned or display a client ID that no longer exists.
Warning: This action is permanent and cannot be undone. There is no "recover deleted clients" feature. Make sure you truly want to delete the client before confirming.
When to Delete vs Archive
Consider these alternatives before deleting a client:
Alternative: Use Tags Instead of Deleting
- Add an "Inactive" or "Archived" tag instead of deleting
- Preserves order history and statistics
- Can be reactivated later by removing the tag
- Search for "Inactive" to see archived clients
- Duplicate client created by mistake
- Test client used during setup
- Client has no orders and was never actually a customer
- Incorrect client information that can't be corrected
- Client is no longer active but has order history
- Client hasn't ordered recently but might return
- You want to "clean up" your client list (use tags instead)
Activity History and Logging
Automatic Activity Logging
All client actions are automatically logged to your activity history, creating an audit trail of changes:
- Client Created: When adding a new client
- Client Updated: When editing client information
- Client Duplicated: When duplicating a client (logs both original and new client)
- Client Deleted: When deleting a client (includes deleted client name)
Tip: View your complete activity history in the Activity section of the dashboard to track all client-related changes over time.
Best Practices
View Before Editing: Use the view action to review current information before opening the edit modal. This helps you understand what needs to be changed without risking accidental modifications.
Rename After Duplicating: Immediately edit duplicated clients to update the name and remove " (Copy)" suffix. This prevents confusion when searching for clients.
Use Tags Instead of Deleting: For clients with order history, add an "Inactive" tag rather than deleting. This preserves valuable data while keeping your active client list clean.
Double-Check Before Deleting: Always verify you're deleting the correct client. The confirmation modal shows the client name - read it carefully before clicking Delete.
Consider Impact on Orders: Before deleting a client with orders, understand that those orders will lose their client association. If you need to preserve the connection, use tags to mark the client as inactive instead.