Identify & manage duplicate contacts

1. Potential duplicate alert on contact record

A potential duplicate is identified when at least one phone number and/or email address is detected on more than one contact record

On contact record:

• On the middle panel, an exclamation mark is displayed beside Status

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• Hovering over the exclamation mark displays more information

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2. View details of potential duplicate(s)

The Merges/Duplicates button displays the number of potential duplicates the contact currently has, click the button to display more details

On contact record:

• Click Merges/Duplicates

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• The Merges & Duplicates screen shows details of all active duplicates for the contact

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• A list of the duplicates is shown showing basic contact details

• Double-click an entry to view the associated contact record

• If the contact has the potential duplicate alert set to ignore, the Ignore column will show as Yes and the associated Ignore Reason is displayed to the right
  For more information on ignoring a duplicate, see step 3

• To the left of the contact:

  • where a tick box is shown (as shown above), it is possible to merge the contact
    The ability to merge contact records is dependent on configuration, see section below titled:
    Merge duplicate contacts (where configured)

  • where a grey cross is shown, the contact is invalid for merging and the Invalid Reason is displayed to the right of the grid (shown below)

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3. Mark duplicate a legitimate duplicate / ignore duplicate contact

When a contact, or multiple contacts, have been flagged as potential duplicate(s), an option to ignore the duplicate(s) may be available - choosing to ignore duplicate contact(s) prevents the contact record from being flagged as a duplicate

Ignoring duplicate contact(s) can be done individually or in bulk - both methods are covered below

Ignore duplicate contacts in bulk

When more than one duplicate has been flagged that you wish to mark as ‘ignored’, it is recommended to carry out this process in bulk

From the Merges/Duplicates screen:

• Click Ignore Duplicates tab
  The current contact is indicated by an asterisk (*) and is automatically ticked

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• Ensure all contacts that you wish to ignore are selected (on left) and click Ignore button (top right)

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• Enter the reason for ignoring the duplicated contacts, click Accept

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• The ignored duplicates are now marked as ignored with the Ignore Reason also displayed

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Ignore duplicate contacts individually

On contact record:

• Right-click exclamation mark and select Ignore duplicate contact

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• Enter the reason to ignore the duplicate contact and click Accept

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• The exclamation mark is displayed grey - hovering over it displays the duplicate reason

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• This information is logged in the contact Activity Feed and also the contact Journal, Miscellaneous section

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4. Remove ignored duplicate

When a potential duplicate has been set to ignore (as outlined in section 3), this can be removed

On contact record:

• Right-click exclamation mark and select Re-evaluate duplicate(s)

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• Click Yes

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• The duplicate alert is displayed (as before), plus the Activity Feed and Journal is updated to reflect the change

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1. Access potential duplicates

On contact record:

• Click Merges/Duplicates

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• The Merges & Duplicates screen is displayed (shown in the next step)
  This screen shows details of all active duplicates for the selected contact

  • Double click an entry to view the contact

  • Add button (top left) allows a non-detected contact to be added to the screen manually

2. Merge contact(s) with the current contact

From Merges & Duplicates screen:

• Tick the box to the left of required contact(s) to be merged with the current contact

• Click Merge (top right)

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• Click Yes to proceed with the merge

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• Click OK

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• The merge information is logged in the contact Activity Feed and also the contact Journal, Detail Change section

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3. Merge history

The History tab of the Merges & Duplicates screen shows details of any merged-in contacts to the currently selected contact

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1. Access previously merged contact record(s)

On contact record:

• Click Merges/Duplicates

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2. Restore contact records

From Merges & Duplicates screen:

• Click History tab (top left)
  This screen shows details of all archived contacts that have been merged with the selected contact
  Double click an entry to view the archived contact

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• Tick the box to the left of the contact record(s) to restore and click Restore (top right)

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• Click Yes to proceed with the restore

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• Click OK

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• The restored contact will continue to be shown on the History tab with an arrow icon to the left to indicate that the record has been restored

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• This information is logged in the contact Activity Feed and also the contact Journal, Detail Change section

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Merging cannot be carried out when the contact:

• is marked as a legitimate duplicate

• is a landlord and has:

  • a current or arranging tenancy

  • any transactions

  • a finished tenancy with outstanding post tenancy checks

  • a property with outstanding works orders

• is a tenant with:

  • a current or an arranging tenancy

  • any transactions

• is a lettings applicant with:

  • an arranging tenancy

  • a pending offer

• is a guarantor with a current or arranging tenancy 

• is a sales applicant with a pending or accepted offer
  However, a sales applicant can be merged after the property status is set to Exchanged or Completed

• is a vendor with:

  • a sales property that has outstanding sales invoices

  • any transactions

  • a sales property that has any of the following statuses: For Sale, Under Offer, Reserved or Exchanged

• has one or more referrals that conflict with an existing referral

• is a leaseholder with any transactions

• has an offer with any transactions

Restoring a previously merged contact is not possible if any of the activities listed below have taken place since the contacts were merged

The activities in question that will prevent the contact merge from being restored are listed and apply when the contact:

• is a landlord and has:

  • a current or arranging tenancy

  • any transactions

  • a finished tenancy with outstanding post tenancy checks

  • a property with outstanding works orders

• is a lettings applicant and has:

  • an arranging tenancy

  • a pending offer

• is a guarantor with a current or arranging tenancy

• is a sales applicant with a pending or accepted offer
  However, a sales applicant can be restored after the property status is set to Exchanged or Completed

• is a vendor and has:

  • a sales property that has outstanding sales invoices 

  • any transactions 

  • a sales property that has any of the following statuses: For Sale, Under Offer, Reserved or Exchanged

• has one or more referrals that conflict with an existing referral

• is a leaseholder with any transactions

• has an offer with any transactions

What information is moved to the main contact record?

Once merged, the following information from the merged-in contact will be visible on the main contact record: ID Check information, notes/journal entries and roles (i.e. applicant, vendor, tenancy, etc.)

I need to merge two contact records with two different Key Contacts - who becomes the Key Contact once merged?

The Key Contact for the contact where the merge was performed will be kept
e.g. if contact A was used to initiate the merge, then contact A’s Key Contact will be retained, although the merged-in contact will be archived and the Key Contact name retained in the archive

I want to merge two contacts but they have different names - what happens to the two names?

The name for the contact that the merge was performed on will be used
e.g. if contact A was used to initiate the merge, then contact A’s name will be used, although the merged-in contact will be archived and their name retained in the archive

If I merge two contacts - do all the journal entries from the merged-in contact get pulled across too?

Most notes/journal entries are pulled across from the merged-in contact to the contact being used to initiate the merge

Can I merge contacts that belong to other offices?

Yes, if your system security permits it - for example, if a company has no security restrictions around accessing or merging other offices records, then the user will get access to merge all contacts that are available to be merged

Can I report on contacts that have been merged?

Not through Power Reports but you are able to find main/merged contacts through notes in the Activity Feed or the History tab of the Merges & Duplicates screen, as seen in section above titled: Restore previously duplicated contacts (where configured)