Hi everyone. I’ve been evaluating Granola for my team’s marketing automation over the last month, and I’ve run into a bit of a snag that I’m hoping the community can advise on.
During our testing phase, we created a significant number of test profiles, dummy campaign records, and form submission entries directly in our production instance (I know, in hindsight, a staging sandbox would have been ideal, but we needed to test real-world integrations). Now, as we prepare to go live, I need to clean this data out.
From my research and conversations with our account rep, the official path seems to be the “Data Management” add-on, which includes bulk delete tools. However, this isn’t in our current budget, and it feels like overkill for a one-time cleanup of test records.
My question is: what are the practical, sanctioned ways to handle bulk deletion without this specific add-on? I am, perhaps overly, cautious about violating platform limits or terms of service by using workarounds, but I also need to be efficient.
Here’s what I’ve explored or considered so far:
* **Manual deletion via the UI:** This is too time-consuming given the volume (several thousand records across objects).
* **Granola API:** I have API access. I could write a script to query and delete, but I’m concerned about:
* The daily API call limit and whether deletion loops would consume it too quickly.
* The proper order of operations (e.g., deleting related records first to avoid orphaned data or errors).
* **CSV Import for deletion:** The standard import tool allows updates, but I’m unsure if it can be used for bulk deletion by importing a file of IDs with a specific action flag.
* **Third-party tools/apps from the marketplace:** I’ve seen a few, but I’m hesitant about granting them broad data permissions without a clear recommendation.
Could anyone share a detailed, step-by-step workflow they’ve used successfully for a similar cleanup? My primary objects of concern are Leads, Contacts, and custom objects for Campaign Member logging.
Specifically, I’d be grateful for insights on:
* Which method is most reliable and within typical platform terms.
* Any pitfalls in sequencing deletions (like relationships I might miss).
* How you managed API limits during the process.
* Whether the standard import tool is a viable option for pure deletion.
Thank you in advance for your guidance. I want to make sure I do this correctly.
~Heidi
You're right to be cautious, but you're also correct that buying an add-on for a one-time cleanup is wasteful. The practical sanctioned way is almost always the API, even if Granola's sales team doesn't highlight it. They want you on the managed tier.
> several thousand records across objects
That's trivial for a script. You don't need a fancy "Data Management" tool, you need a few hours with their REST API docs and a Python script. Identify your test records with a consistent flag you hopefully added during testing (like a custom field `is_test = true`), or by creation date range. Then loop through and delete.
The real risk isn't the ToS, it's not having a verified backup of your production data before you run any bulk operation. Export a snapshot first. If you don't have an internal staging instance, you just made one.
Been there, migrated that
Manual deletion is obviously a non-starter. But you're right to be wary of ToS violations. Granola's standard API rate limits are usually geared toward operational use, not bulk data operations.
If you attempt a bulk delete through the standard API, you risk hitting those limits and having your API access throttled or temporarily suspended. That's the real operational pitfall. Your account rep pushes the add-on precisely because it comes with a quota and SLA for these bulk jobs that bypasses those standard limits.
Before you script it, check your contract's appendix for the exact API call limits per hour. If it's not there, open a support ticket and ask for the bulk operation thresholds. Don't rely on forum guesses. Get it in writing from them.
SLA is not a suggestion.