Recover deleted sales records with 4 retention checks

• Check the deletion type immediately. Permanent or GDPR-related deletions are not held in the recycle bin, according to HubSpot.
• Verify the recovery window. Items are permanently deleted and inaccessible after 30 days, meaning the clock starts at the moment of deletion according to Pipedrive.
• Confirm prior enablement. You can only restore records deleted after the retention setting is successfully enabled, so older deletions remain unrecoverable according to Microsoft.
• Expect relationship loss. When an account is deleted, association with any related deal or child account is lost permanently, even if the account itself returns according to Freshworks.

The first check distinguishes between a standard soft delete and a permanent removal. HubSpot documentation states that you can restore HubSpot-defined object records such as contacts, companies, emails, products, appointments, and custom objects up to 90 days after they were deleted, according to HubSpot. This establishes a specific time boundary for standard deletions within that platform. Freshworks documentation notes that the recycle bin stores all deleted records for a period of 90 days before deleting the data from the web application permanently, according to Freshworks. Both sources define a 90-day window for standard deletions, but the listed objects and system behaviors vary by vendor.

The second check confirms whether the recovery setting was active at the time of deletion. You must verify that the specific configuration was turned on before the record disappeared. If the setting was off, the record may be gone permanently regardless of the current window.

The third check identifies who has access to perform the restoration. Verify your own role and the roles of your team members before attempting any action.

The fourth check defines the scope of related data. You must separate the restoration of the main record from the recovery of its associated data points.

The table below lists the documented recovery windows and covered objects for the four publishers. Each row cites the specific source page where that rule is defined.

Compare your specific deletion date against these windows to determine if the record is still within the documented retention period.

Start by verifying if the retention setting was active before the deletion occurred. For Microsoft Dataverse, you can only restore records deleted after the Keep deleted Dataverse records setting is successfully enabled, according to Microsoft. If the setting was not active at the time of deletion, the record is not eligible for restoration through this mechanism. Once enabled, allow 30 minutes for the system to configure the setting, according to Microsoft.

For Pipedrive, the recovery window is fixed at 30 days. Admins can restore deleted items within 30 days after deletion, and the linked items will be restored as well, according to Pipedrive. This 30-day limit is a hard boundary; once that period passes, the standard restoration path described in this documentation is no longer available.

HubSpot allows you to filter deleted records by date, user, or workflow to find the records you want to restore, according to HubSpot.

The deleted records setting in Microsoft Dataverse only supports delete operations, not updates, according to Microsoft. This distinction matters when triaging missing data: if your concern is a changed close date or amount, see Close date change log: why the date moved. The recovery tool may not address that specific issue.

Before attempting any restoration, confirm the deletion date against the active window. For Microsoft, verify the setting was enabled before the deletion timestamp. For Pipedrive, check if the deletion occurred within the last 30 days. For HubSpot, use the date filter to see if the record appears in the recoverable list. If the record is outside the window or the setting was not enabled, document this immediately.

Locating a missing record requires specific access rights before any restoration attempt. In HubSpot's "Restore deleted records" tool, account access and "Add and edit users" permissions are required to use the restore records tool, according to HubSpot. Without these specific roles, the interface will not grant access to the recovery features. Verify your current user role in the admin settings before directing a team member to search for the item. If the user lacks the "Add and edit users" permission, the tool remains inaccessible regardless of whether the record exists in the system.

Once access is confirmed, the search scope is limited by the tool's display capacity. The restore records tool can only display and restore up to 10,000 records at a time, according to HubSpot. If your organization has deleted more than 10,000 records within the retention period, you must filter the search to narrow the results. Do not assume the entire history is visible in one view.

In Pipedrive, the "Restore data" page provides an overview of items deleted in the last 30 days and tools to manage them effectively, according to Pipedrive. This page serves as the central location for viewing recently deleted items. The tools on this page are designed to manage these items, so verify the exact entry before proceeding with any action.

Restoring a deleted record does not automatically restore every item linked to it. The scope of what comes back depends on the specific publisher and the type of record involved. Before assuming a missing deal or contact and its links can be recovered, you must distinguish between the parent record and its associated data.

In Pipedrive, deleting an item will delete other items linked to it. For example, if a deal is deleted, activities linked to that deal will be deleted, according to Pipedrive. You must treat the deletion as a cascade that removes the connection points along with the primary object.

Freshworks documents specific behaviors for Contacts, Accounts, and Deals, according to Freshworks. When a contact is restored, all related sales activities will be restored, according to Freshworks. However, the behavior differs for accounts. When an account is deleted, association with any related deal or child account is lost permanently, according to Freshworks. This distinction is critical for revenue leaders tracking pipeline integrity. If an account disappears, the link to the deals and child accounts does not return just because the account record is brought back.

These examples illustrate that the recovery window and the restoration tool handle the primary record, but they do not necessarily rebuild the complex web of relationships that existed before the deletion.

To triage this correctly, identify the type of record that is missing. If it is a contact in Freshworks, you can expect related sales activities to return with it. If it is an account, you must verify whether the deal and child account links are gone permanently. If it is a deal in Pipedrive, check whether the linked activities were also deleted. This separation between the record and its links is the fourth check in your recovery workflow. It ensures you do not report a recovered pipeline number that is missing critical context or connection points.

A manager is missing a deal. The deletion was a standard removal. The configured window is 30 days, and the deal was removed 10 days ago, so the date still falls inside that window. The retention setting was enabled 60 days before the deletion, so this deal was removed after the setting was on. The manager confirms access to the restore action before opening it. The deal had 4 linked activities. Where a deletion also removes linked items, those 4 activities leave with the deal, and a restore inside the 30 days can bring the linked items back with it. The manager writes down the deal, the day it disappeared, the 30-day window, the access check, and the 4 activities before changing anything. The note stays with the sales records and out of the forecast until the restore result is known.

Before touching the recovery tool, log the specific missing item and the date it disappeared. This log gives you a fixed reference point to compare against your configured recovery window and permission settings. Do not restore or delete anything until the details are written down. The goal is to know exactly what is missing and whether the timing falls inside the documented retention period.

Log the item, the date you noticed it was gone, the current status of your recovery window, whether you have the required access, and any related data that might be at risk. Keep this list separate from your forecast notes so you can track the triage without mixing it into pipeline numbers.

Keep the note with your other sales records. If you need to check how deal stages are defined before you restore a deal, see Open, won, and lost stage rules in 4 sales tools. If the missing record was a lost deal, review What 3 systems store on a lost deal: 6 fields to understand what data points are typically tracked.

How long can a deleted sales record remain recoverable?

For 30 days in Pipedrive. Pipedrive states that after 30 days, items are permanently deleted and cannot be accessed or restored, according to Pipedrive. Do not assume a universal timeframe applies across all platforms.

Can I restore a record deleted before retention was enabled?

No. Microsoft documentation specifies that you can only restore records deleted after the setting is successfully enabled, according to Microsoft. Deletions occurring before this configuration was active are not eligible for recovery under this rule. Check your implementation date against the deletion timestamp to determine eligibility.

Who is allowed to use the recovery tool?

Only a user who has the permissions named above for that tool. Consult your internal access control policies and the specific publisher's permission documentation to identify authorized users. Verify that the user account you are using has the necessary rights before attempting a restoration.

Will restoring an account also restore its deal relationships?

No. Restoring the account record itself does not automatically recreate these specific links. You may need to manually re-establish these connections after the restoration is complete.

Can I recover a permanent or GDPR-related deletion?

Use the deletion-type check above before you search the restore records tool.