Merging Duplicate Records

What it does

CRM → Find duplicates lists groups of records that look like the same person or business. You choose the record to keep and merge the others into it. Everything attached to the other record (invoices, deals, engagements, files, tasks and so on) is moved to the one you keep. The other record is archived, not deleted, and a snapshot is saved in the audit trail.

Who can merge

Merging is admin only, and the admin's role must also be allowed to delete contacts or clients (depending on what is being merged). Anyone whose role can read contacts or clients can view the lists. A non-admin who clicks Merge sees 'Only an admin can merge records.'

How duplicates are found

• Contacts tab: 'Same email' (case ignored), then 'Same name + phone' (digits only compared).
• Clients tab: 'Same domain', then 'Same name' (capitals and extra spaces ignored).
• Each group shows the records with their email, phone or domain and when they were added. Up to 200 groups per match type are shown.

Steps

• Open CRM → Find duplicates and choose the 'Contacts' or 'Clients' tab.
• In a group, tick the radio button beside the record to keep ('Choose the record to keep'). The oldest record is pre-selected.
• Click 'Merge selected'. Oris Work first runs a dry run and checks for conflicts.
• Read the confirmation, which says how many linked rows will move, then click 'Merge'.
• You see 'Records merged' and the group disappears from the list.

What happens to the fields

Blank fields on the record you keep are filled from the other record, and multiple emails and phones are combined. The kept record's own values are never overwritten. A merge cannot be undone from the screen, so check the winner before you confirm.

When a merge is blocked

If both records already have something that can exist only once, Oris Work stops with 'These records cannot be merged automatically' and names the item, for example 'portal accounts' (both contacts have a client-portal login) or 'client profiles'. Nothing is changed. Fix it first (for example remove one portal login), then merge again. Plain links such as group memberships that both records share are cleaned up for you.

Common problems

• 'No likely duplicate … found': nothing matches by the rules above. Duplicates with different spellings are not detected.
• Clients that are really two entities (father and son with the same name): do not merge. Put them in a client group instead.
• A new client form already warns about same-name or same-GSTIN duplicates; see 'Duplicate Warnings' to avoid creating them.