How to Use Deleted Items in Invoice Genie

Learn how to use the Deleted Items screen in Invoice Genie to review, restore, or permanentl

Accidentally deleted an invoice, estimate, or client? Invoice Genie keeps every deleted item in a recoverable trash bin so administrators can review, restore, or permanently remove them. This tutorial walks you through the Deleted Items screen — from filtering and searching to restoring records and emptying the trash.

🔒 Administrator Only — The Deleted Items screen is restricted to users with the Administrator role. Other roles (Manager, Crew Member, Accountant) cannot access this feature. The server enforces this — a 403 error is returned for non-admin requests.

1 — Opening Deleted Items

  1. Tap your profile icon (top-right of the Home screen) to open the Settings menu.
  2. Scroll to the Analytics & History section.
  3. Tap 🗑️ Deleted Items.

The screen opens with a summary bar at the top, followed by a list of every soft-deleted record in your organization.

2 — Understanding the Summary Cards

At the top of the screen you’ll see four horizontally-scrollable stat cards:

Card Icon Shows
Total 📋 Total count of all deleted items across every type
Invoices 📄 Number of deleted invoices only
Estimates 📝 Number of deleted estimates only
Clients 👤 Number of deleted client records only

Tap any card to filter the list. The selected card gets a highlighted border. For example, tapping Invoices hides estimates and clients, showing only deleted invoices. Tap Total to return to the unfiltered view. Counts always reflect the true database totals, not just the current page.

3 — Reading the Deleted Items List

Each row in the list shows:

Element Example Description
Type icon 📄 Invoice Visual badge showing the record type (Invoice, Estimate, or Client)
Display name Invoice #INV-00040 The document number or client name — localized to your language
Amount / Email $258.76 Invoice/estimate total in your currency. For clients, the email is shown instead
Deleted by Deleted by: kleysulo The username of the team member who deleted the item
Timestamp 2/13/26, 3:17 AM Date and time the item was deleted
Chevron > Tap the row to open the full detail view

4 — Toolbar Buttons

The top-right toolbar has three icons:

🗑️ Clear All (Red Trash Icon)

Tap this to see a context menu with up to three options:

  • Clear All Invoices (N) — permanently deletes every soft-deleted invoice
  • Clear All Estimates (N) — permanently deletes every soft-deleted estimate
  • Clear All Clients (N) — permanently deletes every soft-deleted client

Options only appear for types that actually have deleted items (if the count is zero, that option is hidden). Each option shows its confirmation alert before proceeding. The icon is grayed out when the trash is completely empty.

⚠️ Irreversible — Clearing all items permanently removes them from the database. There is no way to recover them after confirmation.

🔍 Search

Toggles the search bar. Type to instantly filter the current list by document name (e.g. “INV-00040”) or email address (for clients). Search is local — it filters the items already loaded on the current page.

🔄 Refresh

Re-fetches the list from the server to pick up any changes made by other team members. You can also pull down on the list to refresh.

5 — Restoring a Deleted Item

There are two ways to restore an item:

Option A: Swipe to Restore

  1. Swipe the item row from right to left.
  2. A green Restore button appears.
  3. Tap it — the item is immediately restored to your active documents.

Option B: From the Detail View

  1. Tap the item row to open its detail view.
  2. Review the full document details (client name, line items, amounts, dates).
  3. Tap the “Restore [Type]” button at the bottom.

After restoration, you’ll see a success message: “The item has been restored successfully.” The item reappears in your active invoices, estimates, or clients list and is recorded in Edit History.

6 — Permanently Deleting a Single Item

There are two ways to permanently delete one item:

Option A: Swipe to Delete

  1. Swipe the item row from left to right.
  2. A red Delete Forever button appears.
  3. Tap it, then confirm in the dialog: “Are you sure? This action cannot be undone.”

Option B: From the Detail View

  1. Tap the item row to open its detail view.
  2. Tap the red “Delete Forever” button at the bottom.
  3. Confirm in the dialog.
🚨 Permanent — Unlike regular deletion (which moves items to trash), “Delete Forever” truly removes the record from the database. It cannot be recovered by anyone afterward.

7 — The Detail View

Tapping any row opens a full detail screen with:

  • Red “Deleted” banner at the top confirming the item’s status
  • Document info card — type icon, document number, client name, total amount, status (Pending, Paid, Overdue, etc.), date, and due date
  • Deletion info — who deleted it and when
  • Line items (for invoices and estimates) — each line shows the description, quantity × unit price, and line total
  • Restore button — green/primary colored, full width
  • Delete Forever button — red, full width

This lets you inspect the full document before deciding whether to restore or permanently remove it.

8 — Pagination

The list displays 20 items per page. When there are more than 20 deleted items, a pagination bar appears at the bottom:

  • Previous (◀) — go to the previous page (disabled on page 1)
  • “Page X of Y” — current position
  • Next (▶) — go to the next page (disabled on the last page)

Pagination is server-side, so each page loads quickly regardless of how many deleted items you have.

9 — Retention Policy

Deleted items are kept indefinitely — there is no automatic expiration or time limit. Items remain in the trash until an administrator explicitly restores or permanently deletes them.

This means you can safely recover a document that was deleted weeks or even months ago, as long as nobody has permanently removed it.

Quick Reference

Action How Reversible?
Filter by type Tap a summary card (Total / Invoices / Estimates / Clients) N/A
Search Tap 🔍 → type name or email N/A
Restore one item Swipe right-to-left → Restore ✅ Yes — item returns to active list
Permanently delete one Swipe left-to-right → Delete Forever ❌ No
Permanently delete all of a type Tap 🗑️ → “Clear All [Type]” ❌ No
View full details Tap any row → detail view N/A
Refresh Tap 🔄 or pull down N/A

Tips

  • Check before clearing — Use the detail view to inspect line items and amounts before permanently deleting. Once cleared, the data is gone.
  • Use filters first — If you have dozens of deleted items, tap the Invoices or Clients card to narrow the list before searching.
  • Audit trail — Both restores and permanent deletions are recorded in Edit History, so you’ll always know who took action and when.
  • No auto-purge — Items stay in the trash forever until you act on them, so there’s no rush to make a decision.

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