Merge duplicate contacts

Contacts are considered duplicates when you have more than one contact with the same email address, phone number, and name, and there are no conflicting fields among them. If you end up with duplicate listings, merge them either automatically or manually. If you merge two or more contacts that are linked to different accounts, the resulting contact will still be linked to those accounts.

Note

Merging accounts is not available—you can only merge contacts.

Which contacts are flagged as duplicates

Contacts are considered duplicates when the completed fields all contain the same data. Even if one contact has fewer fields filled in, it will still be considered a duplicate as long as the existing data matches. In the example below, the two contacts are not flagged as duplicates because their data does not fully align:

In the example below, the two contacts would be flagged as duplicates because all their available data matches, even though the first has less.

How to best update contact information with additional imports

If you would like to update your contact information with a new import, follow these guidelines:

1. Export your existing contacts from the Contacts section. For detailed instructions, see this article .

2. Add any additional columns to your spreadsheet for info you’d like to include (e.g., DOB, Address, Phone 2, or Best Time to Call). Do not modify the existing columns.

3. Import your contacts as described in this article . Map fields exactly as you did before, plus add the new ones.

4. When you get to the linking-accounts step, do not select any fields if you don’t wish to link contacts to accounts.

5. Once the import is completed, go to the Contacts section. Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner, and select Merge duplicates.

If the new contacts are exactly the same as the old contacts—but with additional fields added—they will successfully merge.

How to merge duplicate contacts automatically

To merge all duplicates at once, go to Clients, open the Contacts tab, click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner, and select Merge duplicates. The button appears only when TaxDome detects duplicates (contacts are scanned for duplicates every hour).

To merge them one by one:

1. Go to Clients, open the Contacts tab, then click on a contact’s name in the list. If TaxDome finds a duplicate listing for a contact, a Duplicates section is displayed on the bottom of the right sliding window.

2. Click Merge contacts to the right of the duplicate’s name to merge it. All fields from a duplicate listing are copied to the main contact, and the extra one is deleted.

   

Warning

When merging this way, duplicates shouldn’t have conflicting fields or you’ll lose data.

How to merge duplicate contacts manually

If your contacts have conflicting fields, but you still consider them duplicates, merge them manually. To do this:

1. Go to Clients, open the Contacts tab, then select the checkboxes to the left of the contacts you want to merge.

2. Click Merge selected in the top menu.

3. You’ll see the fields for the person’s contact information. Carefully review each field by clicking on it and selecting the information you want to keep.

4. Click Save.

   Note:

• If the duplicates’ matching fields contain different data, select the data you want to keep for the resulting contact.

  For example: There are three contacts for the same person. In the First Name field, the first says “Mike”; the second, “Michael”; and the third, “M.” Select the first name you prefer for the resulting merged contact. Once you save it, the others are deleted.

• If any of the contacts are linked to one or more client accounts, the resulting contact is still linked. When merging contacts with different values in multiselect dropdown custom fields, you will be able to select which data should be kept: value for one of the accounts, or a union of all values.

• Once contacts have been merged, they cannot be unmerged. However, you can always create a new contact .

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