You should keep customer data only for as long as you genuinely need it. Holding on to everything forever is not allowed. It is not good practice either.
Sensible defaults, which you can adjust
- Customer contact details, around three years from their last appointment
- Health or other sensitive notes, around one year from their last appointment
- Appointment records, around seven years, as they tie into your finances
- Invoices and payment records, seven years, which HMRC requires
- Audit logs, around three years
Why these periods
Financial records have to be kept for tax purposes. Contact details are kept long enough to welcome a returning customer, but not indefinitely. Sensitive data is kept for the shortest sensible time.
How Youzse helps
Youzse keeps an eye on retention for you and flags records that have passed their period, so you are not holding data you should have let go. You can set your own periods to match how you work.
A good habit
Review your retention settings now and then and when you import, leave behind data you no longer need rather than carrying it over.
Common questions
How long should I keep customer data?
As long as you need it for the purpose, plus any legal obligation. Tax records have their own required period.
Can I keep everything forever just in case?
No. Keeping personal data with no purpose is exactly what retention rules exist to prevent.
Does Youzse set sensible defaults?
Yes. They are there to be reviewed against how your business actually works.