How to clean up your configuration
Updated
by
Leigh Hutchens
Over time, your Quinyx environment may accumulate outdated shift types, inactive employees, or legacy cost centers. Cleaning up this data ensures your system remains easy to navigate and prevents errors in scheduling and reporting.
Managing historical data: delete, inactivate, and archive
Depending on the item, you have three primary ways to manage unused data: Delete, Inactivate, or Archive.
Understanding your options
Choosing the right action depends on whether you need to keep historical records for compliance or reporting.
Delete
Warning: Deleting an item is permanent. When an item is deleted, all associated data (such as agreements, schedules, and historical records) is removed from the system and cannot be retrieved.
- Best for: Items created by mistake that have never been used.
- Limitation: Many items cannot be deleted if they have historical data attached to them.
Inactivate
Inactivating an item removes it from current view and future planning without deleting the history.
- Best for: Shift types or employees that are no longer active but require historical record-keeping.
- Effect: Users cannot select the item for future schedules, but all past data remains available in reports.
Archive
Archiving functions similarly to inactivation and is used for specific organizational structures like cost centers and base schedules.
- Best for: Organizational cleanup of units or long-term schedules.
- Effect: Historical data is preserved, but the item is hidden from active dropdowns and menus.
For base schedules, shift types, cost centers, and projects you can use either the archive function or untick the “Active” box to inactivate the item.
Best practices for restricted items
Some items in Quinyx cannot be inactivated or archived due to system dependencies. If you cannot remove an item that has been used historically, we recommend a "soft-hide" approach:
- Rename the item: Prefix the name with
XX_DO_NOT_USE_[Original Name]. - Why this works: This pushes the item to the bottom of alphabetical lists and clearly signals to other managers that the item is retired. Always keep the original name in the string to ensure you can identify it for historical reporting.
Data management capabilities by item
Use the table below to determine which action is available for specific system items.
Item | Recommended action | Can be deleted? |
Absence types | N/A | Yes, if no historical records exist. |
Agreement templates | Rename to | Yes, if not being used. |
Base schedules | Archive | Drafts can be deleted; active ones should be archived. |
Cost centers | Archive | Yes, if no longer tied to active data. |
Districts | Disable or move units | Yes, after units are moved to another district. |
Mobile and staff portal permissions | Yes, if not being used | |
Overtime methods | Yes, if not being used | |
People | Inactivate or make passive to keep history | Yes. Note that all historical data will be removed. See special note below. |
Projects | Archive | Yes, if no longer tied to active data. |
Roles | N/A | Yes, if not currently assigned to any users. |
Sections | Archive | Yes, but may impact historical reports. |
Shift types | Inactivate | Yes, if never used. |
Time Trackers | Remove associations | Yes, if not linked to templates/salary types. |
Units | Archive | Yes, but all associated data will be lost. |
Skills | Delete | Yes, can be deleted without a system warning. |
Special note on ending employment
When you end an employment (inactivate a user):
- The system keeps all historical data.
- Any future shifts assigned to that user are automatically unassigned.
- You can reactivate the user later if they return to the company.
If you choose to Delete a user instead, all historical data associated with that employee is purged from the system permanently.
