> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.myclerkbook.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Data retention and deletion

> How long each category is kept, how to export it, and how to delete all of it.

## Exporting first

Deletion is permanent, so export before you delete anything you may want.

Portability is a right you hold on both plans, and it is honoured today: email
[legal@myclerkbook.com](mailto:legal@myclerkbook.com) and we will send you your
records as a plain CSV.

<Tip>
  An export is a plain CSV, readable by any spreadsheet and importable into any
  other tool. It is deliberately not a proprietary format, because a book you
  cannot take elsewhere is a book you do not really own.
</Tip>

## How long things are kept

| Category                    | Retained                                                       |
| --------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Your books and transactions | Until you delete them or close your account                    |
| Documents you upload        | Until you delete them or close your account                    |
| Account details             | Until you close your account                                   |
| Billing records             | As required by tax and accounting law, by our payment provider |
| Product analytics           | Aggregated, and not tied to your financial data                |

<Note>
  Billing records are the one category that outlives account closure, and that
  is a legal obligation on the payment provider rather than a choice. They
  record that a payment happened, not what is in your books.
</Note>

## Deleting a single record

Deleting a transaction, a group or a book removes it. There is no archive and
no recycle bin, so a deletion you did not mean is not recoverable from the
interface.

<Warning>
  **There is no undo.** If you are unsure, export first.
</Warning>

## Closing your account

Closing your account deletes **your account and everything in it** immediately
and permanently: your books, transactions, groups, widgets, insights and
uploaded documents. No soft delete, no archive, no retained copy waiting out a
grace period.

Analytics records sit with separate providers and are not covered by that
deletion. What we send them is listed in
[What we collect](/privacy-and-security/what-we-collect), and it carries no
session recordings and no IP addresses. To have those erased as well, email
[legal@myclerkbook.com](mailto:legal@myclerkbook.com) and we will submit the
request to each provider.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Export anything you want to keep">
    Once the account is gone, so is the ability to export from it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Cancel your subscription">
    Cancelling and closing are separate actions, and neither triggers the
    other. See
    [Managing your subscription](/plans-and-billing/managing-your-subscription).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm the deletion">
    You will be asked to type the confirmation word explicitly. There is no
    default-focused destructive button.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Your rights

Under POPIA and GDPR you can ask what is held about you, ask for it in a
portable form, ask for it to be corrected, and ask for it to be deleted.

The first three are answerable from the product itself. Your data is visible to
you and exportable at any time. For anything else, email
[legal@myclerkbook.com](mailto:legal@myclerkbook.com).

<Note>
  We would rather you never have to ask. Everything on this page is designed so
  that the answer to "what do you have on me" is something you can see for
  yourself rather than something you have to request.
</Note>

<Card title="Next: compliance" icon="arrow-right" href="/privacy-and-security/compliance">
  POPIA and GDPR posture, stated plainly.
</Card>