How do I merge duplicate accounts?

This article will help explain how to merge customer accounts.

Within Community, your Organisation will have the ability to Merge duplicate Customer accounts that have been registered with your MCS system. This will place all Transactions onto a selected “Master” account from amongst the accounts selected in the Merge.

There are two methods to search for and Merge accounts: Duplicates and Data Cleanse. Duplicates allow you to view and Merge accounts that have been returned in the search result. Data Cleanse allow you to go to a specific person, and search based on their details.

Go into Administration -> Community -> People

Enter a name or email address, and search. The [Options] button provides a more specific search function, where you can search for first names, last names, etc.

Once you've done this, click on Options -> Duplicate. You will need to scroll down on the options menu to see this.

The following screen will appear, where you can select the accounts you want to Merge. Click [Next] to continue.

You now need to select the "Master Record". All transactions from the selected duplicate accounts will be transferred over to this "Master Record". Click [Next] to continue.

You will be brought to the confirmation page, where you'll need to enter a Batch Name. This will allow for further scrutiny and viewing of the Merge before it takes place. Click on [Finish].

 In order to validate this merge request, the batches that you create need to be processed. This is done via Administration -> Data -> Custodian. 

From here, you can view all Batches that have been submitted, and those currently pending for review.

You can view Batch details before making a decision by clicking on the View Icon. 

This will provide you with the audit history of the Batch. You can also view Batches by their current Status, if required.

Click on [Investigate] to proceed. You'll be given three options:

1. Save - This allows you to make further changes before Merging accounts.

2. Reject - This removes the Batch from the list, and cancels the Merge.

3. Merge - This will Merge the accounts specified.

Select the relevant data to be applied to the Master Record. This data is gathered from the selected Customer records. Go through each tab to choose the data that needs to be transferred. Click on [Merge] to finish.

Additional Information

An additional report that displays all Merged Batches is currently under development. This will allow you to see the audit history of any Merge activities.

You can only Merge accounts that are registered with your Organisation.

Batches are processed on a scheduled basis, usually overnight.

Appropriate Access Roles need to be allocated against Admin User accounts in order for them to use Merge and Data Cleanse features.