When Duplicate Checking has been configured in Enterprise, the application will check for duplicate accounts and contacts when creating new accounts and contacts. On the occasions when duplicate accounts or contacts are still entered, it is best practice to merge the two accounts or contacts.
Existing duplicate accounts and contacts can be identified using the Potential Duplicate Account tab on the Edit Account or Edit Contact window. From this window, any accounts which have been positively identified by a user as a duplicate account can be merged with the account/contact they are related to.
Users should proceed with caution when merging accounts or contacts as, once the accounts or contacts have been merged, it cannot be undone. Merging accounts or contacts should only be carried out by someone who is familiar with the account and contact information, and who fully understands the implications of the merge process.
Merging accounts takes time, depending on the volume of records associated with the Merge From account. It is important to leave the Merge Accounts window open until the merge process has been fully completed.
For more information about system configuration for duplicate checking, see Configure Duplicate Checking for Accounts and Contacts.
In this article:
- Check for duplicates when adding Accounts/Contacts
- Identify duplicates when reviewing Accounts/Contacts
- Merge duplicate Accounts/Contacts
- Audit Log Entry and Account Note
- Account/Contact Merge Security
Check for duplicates when adding Accounts/Contacts
Duplicate criteria when adding new Accounts
When adding a new account, the Possible Duplicates window displays if the new account meets one of the following criteria:
- Account name matches between the new and existing account.
- Email field matches between the new and existing account.
Duplicate criteria when adding new Contacts
When adding a new contact, the Possible Duplicates window displays if the new contact meets one of the following criteria:
- First name, last name, and company name fields all match between the new and existing contact.
- First name, last name, and postal code fields all match between the new and existing contact.
- Email field matches between the new and existing contact.
Options in the Possible Duplicates window
The Possible Duplicates window will prompt you to choose from the following options:
- Keep: choose this option to keep the new record you have entered and save it as its own account or contact.
- Select: choose this option to cancel adding a new account/contact, and instead edit the appropriate existing account or contact. Selecting an existing account or contact opens the Edit Account or Edit Contact screen so you can add any new or changed information.
Identify duplicates when reviewing Accounts/Contacts
It is Enterprise best practice to routinely audit your accounts and contact to ensure CRM records are kept updated. The Potential Duplicates tab can be used during the review process to identify any accounts or contacts which have similar names.
If the Potential Duplicates tab is not visible on your Edit Account or Edit Contact window, you or your System Administrator may need to add this to your layout.
Merge duplicate Accounts/Contacts
Once an account or contact has been identified as a duplicate, you can merge the accounts. See Account/Contact Merge Technical Details for more information of about the technical details of the merging process.
To merge two accounts or contacts:
- Navigate to the Accounts or Contacts page for the appropriate designation. For example, Accounts - Event Sales, Accounts - Registration, Contacts - Supplier, and so on.
- On the Accounts or Contacts page, find the account or contact that needs to be merged.
- Right-click and select Tools > Merge Accounts. The Merge Accounts window opens.
The account or contact selected as the Merge Into account record will remain on the Accounts page and the Merge From account's statuses will be made inactive (the account will be archived).
- In the Merge From Account section, ensure the account or contact you would like to inactivate is selected. If it is not the correct account or contact, click Cancel and start again.
- In the Merge Into Account section, select the account or contact you would like to keep active.
- Click OK. A request for confirmation that you would like to merge the accounts will show.
- Click OK. A red warning will show, stating that the merge processing time will depend on the volume of data that exists on the Merge From account/contact.
Once the merge is successfully completed, the Merge Into account/contact will be updated with any relevant information form the Merge From account/contact, and the Merge From account/contact will be archived (all statuses set to inactive). Archived accounts and contacts can be viewed and edited on the Orphaned Accounts page.
Audit Log Entry and Account Note
For security and auditing purposes, a successful account/contact merge will result in an entry being added to the Audit Log, and a note being added to the Merge Into account or contact. If an audit log entry is not created, you may need to activate the Account Merge record type on the Audit Log Configuration page. See Audit Log Tracking for more information.
Account/Contact Merge Security
Allow Merge Accounts Access
This Access Privilege is used to regulate which users can use the Merge Account feature on all the Account Master displays. Any user assigned to this privilege will be able to access the Merge Account feature while those users not assigned to the privilege will not be able to access the feature. If no users at all are assigned to this access privilege, it is considered inactive, and NO users have access to the Merge Account feature.
Comments
24 comments
Can you clarify what info (if any) is overwritten or lost of the Merge Into account when merged (or what Merge From account info cannot be transferred e.g. events, payments, service orders)?
-1 upvotes
Ricardo, take a look at this article and its' attached table and let me know if that doesn't cover what you're looking for. https://supportcenter.ungerboeck.com/hc/en-us/articles/215595448
Thank you!
--Carrie
0 upvotes
Anyone have any tips/best practices for merging duplicate accounts?
Our Sales team added a duplicate client account last month for an event happening this week (1/12-13/2017). I merged the accounts in our Test database and it went smoothly. Everything looks correct.
Would it be better to wait until after the event has been settled by our Fiscal team? Or is it better to do it now? I would wait until the end of the day after everyone has left to merge the accounts since users are still adding information to the event.
0 upvotes
Hi Jill,
(a bit late I know...) The one-up account merge process is fairly solid so you should be fine to do it whenever. The sooner the better I would have thought.
0 upvotes
It's pretty solid, but if you ever make a mistake your life will likely be hell. It's rather irreversible;
-The account can be restored (as long as you haven't purged it)
-It's likely you'll never know which of the "objects" (relationships, diary entries, orders, opportunities, notes, issues etc) were originally linked to the merger/mergee
Many of us found this out the hard way.
Good luck!
0 upvotes
Jill, my apologies at the late reply!
I reached out to our consulting team, and Lee and Sean are correct - the process is solid and you should be fine. One note from the team, however: We'd recommend taking note of any phone number or address discrepancies to make sure that the final retained account record has the most current info.
If I receive any other feedback, I'll update my response.
Thanks!
--Carrie
0 upvotes
Looking for an article that explains the v19 Account merge process rather then the one-up.
It appears it is more of a bulk process?
0 upvotes
Hi Rebecca,
The Account Merge process is a one-up process in both v19 and v20. Although there are slight changes in how you select the account, the process is overall pretty similar between the two versions.
Thanks,
Maggie
0 upvotes
Thanks Maggie,
Is there a way of identifying possible duplicates in V20, similar to how it does in V19?
0 upvotes
Hi Rebecca,
Are you talking about the Account Merge (v19) utility?
When using the 'by Date Range' and 'by Account Search' options you can identify potential duplicates in a bulk fashion.
0 upvotes
Hi Sean,
Yep, that's the functionality I was looking for in V20?
0 upvotes
Looks to be amongst the last few things to be converted from v19 to v20. Would be nice to have a final push and have these all completed.
0 upvotes
We are in the process on cleaning up our Accounts which have multiple duplicates. I just want to confirm, when I merge accounts, will all the data (orders, events, payments, etc) all follow into the 1 account I merge them into?
0 upvotes
Hi Joey,
Fields that can only have one value get 'replaced' (eg, Market Segment) and all other data is 'moved' from the duplicate (Products and Services, Orders, Communication Types etc.
1 upvotes
Followed the instructions, but when I select tools, I don't have the merge option.
0 upvotes
Hi Joey,
Can you let me know what current version of Ungerboeck you are on? I have looked at all versions and the Merge Accounts action is there and functioning as intended.
Thanks,
Ryan
0 upvotes
Just realized I have 30.96D for production and 30.97A in test and I can't get it in either.
0 upvotes
Hi Joey,
Sorry for the delay. I was checking on a few different things. I would assume you have an action restriction on the Merge Accounts action. You can use the Role Access screen from the Main Menu and filter to this action to see if there is a Deny on any of the roles assigned to your user.
Thanks,
Maggie
0 upvotes
Thank you all good now.
0 upvotes
A user doesn't have the option for "Merge Accounts" when she searches main menu. How can I add this for her? She has access to merge accounts.
0 upvotes
Hi Michelle,
I checked with our Product Management team and Merge Accounts off the main menu is tied to admin features. You will want to check if she has admin features.
I hope this helps.
Thanks,
Ryan
0 upvotes
Hi Ryan,
Do you know which Admin Feature? This user has the majority of them.
Thanks!
0 upvotes
Michelle,
This would be System Administration feature.
0 upvotes
We've merged a few duplicated accounts and now when we import contacts that previously had an OLD Account number it's Failing to import because the old Account # is gone. We have no way of changing the account number from the contact, why won't the system use the Merged account number to add the contact info on an Import??
0 upvotes
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