Settings & Customization

Duplicate Record Management in Shape Software

Shape Software
  • February 8, 2022
  • 5 min read
  • How Does Shape Manage Duplicate Records?

    Maintaining accurate data builds the trust of your team and helps you work toward complying with various data protection and privacy regulations. Shape gives you tools for managing duplicates one at a time manually or automatically to track and eliminate duplicate records.

     

    Configure duplicate management rules to detect duplicates. Run different duplicate rules for different scenarios by customizing the logic used to identify duplicates.

    Where can I find duplicates in my system?

    To find duplicate merged records, filter for the “Merged” tag. When a record is merged (this includes both manual and automatic reconciliation), the system applies a “Merged” tag to the record automatically indicating that it was a merged record. You can do this on list and contact reporting. 

    Duplicate Flagged Records Report:
    https://secure.setshape.com/duplicate-contacts-report

    If a record was merged by mistake, whether automatically or manually. You can restore the record via
    Reports > Deleted Records.

    You can use the Action dropdown to restore or permanently delete from the system.

    Manual Reconciliation VS Automatic Reconciliation

    Duplicates can be automatically merged by the system based on the rules set up in the Duplicate Management Settings page. Only records posted into your system automatically can be merged using automation in Shape. Records that are manually created will have to use the Manual Reconciliation method detailed below.

    Manual Reconciliation Method

    If there is a duplicate record detected, there will be a warning icon in the list view, indicating that there is a potential duplicate lead. When you click on the warning icon, you have the option to “Compare” with the other duplicate(s) detected or simply delete the record entirely. You can also find duplicates in the “Reports” dropdown under “Duplicate Records.”  

    No data will be permanently merged until you press “Save Record” at the bottom of the screen. Upon saving, the desired duplicate will be merged with the information selected and the unwanted duplicate will be deleted. If you’d like to delete the unwanted record without merging data, scroll to the bottom of the compare duplicates page and press “Delete Record.” Open the records by scrolling down to the bottom of the page and pressing “Open Record Details” to open the records in a new tab.

    Automatic Reconciliation Method

    If you decide that you do not need to manually confirm or deny every identified duplicate, you can automate the reconciliation and merging of duplicate records automatically. When a program uses automatic reconciliation, duplicate records will be automatically merge based on the criteria that you define in the settings page.

    Creating a Duplicate Management Rule

    First click Settings in the top gradient navigation bar then “Duplicate Management” under “Sales & Marketing Automation.”

    Duplicate Management: https://secure.setshape.com/duplicate-lead-manage

    Use the “Create New Rule” button at the top of the page to create a new duplication rule. You can also utilize the “Action” dropdown to delete or edit an existing rule.

    You will see two checkboxes at the top of the page. You will want to check the appropriate box for the rule that you are creating.

    Creating Duplicate Condition Criteria

    Defining what is considered a duplicate for that rule is done in the “Conditions” section.

     

    Add groups that compare rule combinations. In the example below, the system will check First Name, Last Name and Phone OR First Name, Last Name, and Email to identify a duplicate. Therefore, if full name and a form of contact method are duplicated within the system, those records will be considered a duplicate.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    This is most commonly due to the Purpose field being a part of your duplication rules. Automatic merging will take place at the time of creation and the purpose field is not filled in at the time the record in created due that question coming later.

    Shape does not, by default, merge records on import. However there is a toggle on the 3rd step of the import that can be toggled ON to apply duplicate management to your import.

    Shape can only delete records one of two ways. Either they were deleted by a user with Admin permissions or they were deleted through a duplicate merge.

    Only users with the Admin role are able to delete records out of your system. Users, Managers, and directors cannot be given this permission in Shape.

    No, if you manually add a record, it will not automatically be merged upon entry. Automatic reconciliation is meant for automated lead entry.

    Keywords: duplicate, manual reconciliation, automatic reconciliation, conditions, manual, automatic, delete, restore, dupe merge, dupe, criteria

    Still need help? Contact Shape experts!