Product documentation

Merge Tool Guide

Use the Contact Merge Tool to combine duplicate contact records into a single contact. This keeps CRM data accurate for reporting and day-to-day workflows, and…

Use the Contact Merge Tool to combine duplicate contact records into a single contact. This keeps CRM data accurate for reporting and day-to-day workflows, and it’s often required because contacts with related financial or booking records can’t be deleted.

In this article:

Step 1: Open the merge tool

From Potential Contact Duplicates

  • Go to the Control Panel and, under CRM, select Potential Contact Duplicates.
  • Each row shows a potential duplicate pair and the reason for the match. Use pagination if the list spans several pages.
  • Select a row, then click Merge. You can also open either contact record from here.

From a contact record

  • A contact that shares its primary email address with another shows a duplicates warning.
  • Click Merge next to the warning, then Merge beside the duplicate to combine it with. The contact you started from is merged into the one you choose.

Step 2: Check which contact ID is kept

A merge keeps one contact ID and removes the other. Everything on the removed contact moves to the kept one, but the removed ID no longer exists, so links, bookmarks and integrations that use it stop working.

  • The Merged column heading shows which ID is kept. To keep the other one, click Keep ID: … instead.
  • If the removed contact is staff on any events, a warning shows how many events will be updated when the assignments move. Each update fires any Event Updated webhooks you have set up, so if the other contact has fewer assignments, keep its ID instead.
  • If both contacts are registered on the same event or learning path, a warning explains that the removed contact’s registration is cancelled. The affected events and learning paths are listed further down.

Step 3: Review the merge screen

  • The two outer columns are the contacts, and the middle Merged column is the result. Select a name at the top of a column to open that contact.
  • Fields that differ are highlighted. A value that only one contact has is selected automatically. Where both have different values, choose which to keep.

Step 4: Complete the merge

  • Work through the highlighted fields and pick the value to keep.
  • Scroll down to review the tasks, bookings and events that will move.
  • Click Merge in the top-right. If the merge cancels any registrations or updates any events, a confirmation lists them before continuing.

Good to know

  • Merged duplicates no longer appear in the Potential Contact Duplicates list.
  • A merge never creates a new contact ID. From Potential Contact Duplicates the newer ID is kept by default. From a contact record, the duplicate you chose keeps its ID. Either way, you can switch this on the merge screen.
  • The values you pick in the Merged column are kept whichever ID you keep. The ID decides which record survives, not whose details are used.