Duplicate contacts can occur when a donor enters different information with a new transaction, or if their information is imported multiple times with information that doesn't match. Contact matching through our automatic data check is based on matching primary emails or primary phone numbers, regardless of contact names. Secondary contact information is not scanned. Additionally, duplicates may arise if transactions are imported without consistent identifiers such as primary email, phone number, or Contact ID, creating new entries with differing data.
You can merge individual contacts based on duplicates automatically suggested by our system, or you can manually merge contacts of your choice. You can also easily swap primary and secondary information.
You cannot currently merge duplicate company contacts. Please merge duplicates before converting individuals to companies. Otherwise, you must convert them back to individuals to complete a merge.
Detected duplicates đ¤
Our system automatically scans your logged contacts for duplicates multiple times a day. (If the system detects duplicates, you'll see a corresponding number appear in your Contacts page, under the Data Hygiene and Duplicates tab.
Go to the Contacts page located in the left-hand sidebar menu.
Click the Data Hygiene and Duplicates tab. If nothing appears here, our system hasn't detected any duplicates. If you'd still like to merge contacts, you can do so manually.
While full data hygiene tools are available exclusively with Givebutter Plus, all users can still detect and merge duplicate contacts. To unlock advanced data checks for email, phone number, and address validity, a Givebutter Plus subscription is required.
In the list that populates, compare Contact #1 to Contact #2.
Choose the contact information you want to make primary by clicking the star icon.
Click Merge. The contact you selected will become the primary contact information, and any additional information (email, phone, address) will be added as secondary. In this example, the extra address has been added to the primary contact:
If you accidentally select the wrong primary contact, don't worry! You can always swap the primary information afterward. The only information that is deleted entirely is the secondary contact's name.
If you want these contacts to remain separate, click Ignore, and you won't be prompted again for this set of detected duplicates.
Manually merging âď¸
Go to the Contacts page located in the left-hand sidebar menu.
Use the search bar to search for the secondary contact.
Click on the name of the contact you'd like to merge to open up their contact page. It doesn't need to be the primary or secondary contact â fields can be prioritized individually later on.
Click on the three dots [...] in the upper right corner of the contact, and choose Merge Contact.
In the pop-up window, search for the name of the contact you'd like to merge with and click Next.
All data entry fields are separated and can be configured individually so you can pick and choose which information to keep. Indicate which set of data you want to keep for all available fields, regardless of whether or not a contact is marked as the Current contact or the Duplicate contact.
Click Merge at the bottom of the list to combine these two contacts, with your selections preserved.
Donations, activity history, and notes are always combined automatically. Only the secondary contact's name is removed.
Editing primary info đ
If you accidentally prioritize the incorrect contact information when merging two contacts, you can easily swap these.
In the contact's Details sidebar, locate the information that needs swapping. Click on the pencil icon on the right side.
Check the box for Make primary and click away to save your changes.
FAQ đ¤
I want to import contacts, but I'm afraid it will create duplicates!
When you import contacts, matching is based on first and last name plus primary email or primary phone number. Automatic duplicate detection matches on primary email or phone only, regardless of name. Secondary contact information is not scanned. If you import a contact with the same full name but completely different contact information, a new contact will be created. To reduce the risk of duplicates during imports, ensure all records include accurate and consistent primary email or phone numbers. Missing or mismatched identifiers can result in the creation of unnecessary new contacts.
If you import a contact with the same full name, and either the primary email or primary phone number matches, no duplicate will be created. Any additional information will be added to the existing contact. If you have Jennifer Smith (with work email), and import Jen Smith (with personal email), this will create two separate contacts, as it doesn't meet the matching criteria.
How often does the system check for duplicates?
Givebutter detects potential duplicates and runs contact validation multiple times a day. Please note that duplicate detection is not instantaneous.
Can I merge duplicate company contacts?
You can merge duplicate individual contacts, but you cannot currently merge duplicate company contacts. Please merge duplicates before converting individual contacts to companies. Otherwise, you must convert them back to individuals to complete a merge. Please add a vote to the feature request for merging duplicate company contacts if you'd like to see this option in the future.