Duplicate Record Management in Shape CRM

Duplicate records are a normal part of working with CRM data.

A customer may fill out more than one form, respond to multiple campaigns, come through different lead providers, or return months later with a new opportunity. The challenge is deciding when two records truly represent the same active opportunity and when they should remain separate.

Shape’s Duplicate Management tools let administrators define that logic.

You can choose:

• Which record types should be checked
• Which fields determine whether records match
• Whether duplicates should merge automatically or be reviewed manually
• How recent an existing record must be to qualify as a duplicate
• Which record should remain after a merge
• Which assignment, source, tags, status, and field values should be kept
• Which additional conditions must be met before a merge occurs

This gives organizations much more control than simply saying, “If the email matches, merge it.”

Why Duplicate Management Matters

A clean CRM makes reporting, lead assignment, communication, and automation easier to manage.

Too many duplicate records can create problems such as:

• Multiple users working the same opportunity
• Repeated calls, texts, or emails to the same person
• Conflicting statuses or assignments
• Fragmented communication history
• Inaccurate lead counts
• Confusing marketing attribution
• Duplicate lead-provider charges that are difficult to investigate
• Multiple versions of the same customer record

At the same time, merging too aggressively can create a different problem.

A customer who submitted a lead three years ago and comes back today may not be a duplicate in the business sense. They may represent a completely new opportunity.

That is why Shape allows you to control both how records match and how far back the system should look.

Manual vs. Automatic Duplicate Reconciliation

Shape supports two primary duplicate workflows.

Automatic Reconciliation

Automatic reconciliation allows Shape to identify and merge duplicate records based on the rules configured by your administrator.

Automatic merging applies when supported records are created through automated lead entry, such as:

• Lead providers
• APIs
• Integrations
• Website submissions
• Other supported automated lead sources
• Imports when duplicate management is enabled during the import

The rule determines whether a match qualifies as a duplicate and how the resulting merge should behave.

Manual Reconciliation

Manual reconciliation allows users to review potential duplicates before deciding whether the records should be merged.

Manually created records do not automatically merge upon creation.

Potential duplicates can be reviewed through the applicable Duplicate Records reporting and reconciliation tools. The user can compare the records, choose which information should remain, and save the merge when ready.

Manual reconciliation is also useful when two records are intentionally kept separate even though they share identifying information.

Creating a Duplicate Management Rule

Navigate to Settings › Duplicate Management.

From there, administrators can create a new rule or edit an existing rule.

Each rule can be configured independently, which allows different duplicate strategies for different record types or business scenarios.

Why the Duplicate Timeframe Matters

The same person does not always represent the same opportunity.

Consider this example.

A lead enters Shape on January 1 and then submits the same form again on January 3.

That is very likely the same opportunity.

Now imagine the same person comes back two years later after their situation has changed.

Merging that new inquiry into an old closed record may hide a legitimate new sales opportunity.

The Checks Leads Created Within setting allows you to decide how your business should treat that difference.

Choosing the Right Duplicate Timeframe

There is no single timeframe that is correct for every organization.

Last 30 Days

A strong starting point for many businesses.

This helps catch repeat submissions that occur close together while allowing older customers to re-enter the pipeline as a new opportunity later.

Consider this when:

• Leads tend to convert relatively quickly
• Repeat submissions within a few weeks are usually duplicates
• Older inquiries should be treated as new opportunities
• Your team wants a cleaner separation between old and new sales cycles

Last 90 Days

Useful when your normal sales cycle is longer.

Consider this when:

• Prospects commonly remain active for several months
• Multiple submissions over a quarter are usually part of the same buying process
• You want to reduce duplicate opportunities without matching records indefinitely

All Time

Best when your organization prefers one persistent CRM record per person.

Consider this when:

• You want all future inquiries merged into the existing customer record
• Historical continuity is more important than creating a new sales opportunity
• Your workflow is built around a long-term customer record rather than separate opportunities

If you are unsure where to begin, 30 days is a practical starting point for many organizations.

Creating Duplicate Conditions

The Conditions section determines how Shape identifies matching records.

Administrators can choose fields such as:

• First Name
• Last Name
• Email
• Mobile Phone
• Work Phone
• Mailing Address
• Direct Line
• Other supported fields available in the system

You can also create more advanced groups using AND and OR logic.

Understanding AND and OR Logic

Duplicate conditions can be combined to create much more reliable matching than a single field alone.

For example:

First Name AND Last Name AND Mobile Phone
OR
First Name AND Last Name AND Email

With this logic, Shape can identify the records as duplicates if either complete condition group matches.

This is useful because contact data is not always complete.

One submission may have the correct phone number but a different email, while another may have the same email but a different phone format.

Phone and Email Normalization

Shape normalizes applicable contact information when evaluating duplicate conditions.

For example, phone numbers formatted differently can still be evaluated as the same underlying number.

This helps reduce false negatives caused only by formatting differences.

Advanced Conditions

Duplicate rules can include additional conditions beyond the fields used for direct record matching.

These allow you to control when a matching record should or should not be merged.

For example, you may want duplicate behavior to differ based on:

• Status
• Lead Source
• Record Type
• Other supported CRM fields

This allows one organization to automatically merge certain duplicates while requiring manual review or separate handling in other scenarios.

Example: Excluding Certain Lead Sources

Suppose you want most incoming duplicates to merge automatically, but records from a particular lead provider should remain separate.

You can use advanced conditions to build that logic into the rule rather than relying only on name, phone, or email matching.

Mortgage Loan Number Logic

Mortgage systems include an additional safeguard around loan numbers.

When evaluating records:

• If both records have loan numbers and the loan numbers are different, Shape does not merge them.
• If the loan numbers match, the normal duplicate rule can determine whether the records merge.
• If both loan numbers are blank, the normal duplicate rule applies.
• If one record has a loan number and the other is blank, the normal duplicate rule applies.

This helps avoid merging two separate loan opportunities simply because the borrower information matches.

What Happens When Records Merge?

When duplicates are merged, Shape consolidates important record information such as notes, communication data, and activity history.

For automatic reconciliation, administrators can also control how the data from the two records should be combined.

Choosing Which Record to Keep

Automatic Merge Settings allow you to determine which record remains after the merge.

You can choose to:

• Merge the new record into the pre-existing record
• Merge the pre-existing record into the new record

This decision determines the base record that remains after consolidation.

User Assignment

Automatic merge settings can control how assignment is handled.

For example, your rule can be configured to reassign the merged record or retain the applicable existing assignment based on your desired workflow.

This is especially important when an incoming duplicate is associated with a different user than the existing record.

Choosing Which Lead Source to Keep

You can determine whether the resulting record should retain the:

• Existing Source
• New Source

This decision can have a significant impact on marketing attribution.

Some organizations want to preserve the original acquisition source.

Others want the record’s current Lead Source to reflect the newest inquiry.

Shape also retains additional source history that can be reviewed through duplicate reporting, which helps preserve context even when the current source changes.

Change Status Upon Merge

Duplicate rules can also determine whether the record’s status should change when a merge occurs.

This can be useful when a new opportunity should move an older record back into an active workflow.

For example, a returning lead may need to move from an older closed or inactive status into a new working status after the merge.

Tags

Administrators can determine how tags from the records should be handled.

Depending on your configuration, tag behavior can include options such as:

• Overwrite
• Add

Choose the behavior that best preserves the segmentation and workflow information your organization needs.

Hide Notes and Contact Logs on Merge

Shape also provides an option to hide applicable notes and contact logs during the merge process.

Use this setting based on how your organization wants historical information presented after records are combined.

Field Merge Preferences

Automatic duplicate rules give administrators control over how individual field values are handled.

Available options include:

Just Fill in Blank Fields — Shape keeps existing populated values and only uses the incoming record to fill fields that are currently blank. This is a conservative option when you want to protect existing CRM data.

Fill in Blank Fields, but Overwrite Selected Fields — Shape fills blank values and allows specific fields to be overwritten by the incoming record. This is useful when most existing data should remain, but certain fields should always reflect the newest submission.

Overwrite All Fields — Shape uses the incoming record’s values to replace the applicable existing field data. This may be useful in workflows where the latest submission should be considered the most accurate source of information.

Choosing a Merge Strategy

Think about what a new duplicate submission means to your business.

If it usually represents a repeat form submission from the same active opportunity, preserving the existing record may make the most sense.

If the newer submission contains more current information or represents a renewed sales opportunity, you may want selected fields, status, assignment, or Lead Source to update.

There is no universal merge strategy.

The important thing is to intentionally configure the rule around your workflow rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all duplicate policy.

Multiple Duplicate Rules

You can create multiple Duplicate Management Rules.

This allows you to use different matching criteria and merge behavior for different scenarios.

For example:

Recent Leads

• Automatic reconciliation
• Last 30 Days
• Match on name plus phone or email

Referral Partners

• Manual reconciliation
• Match on name plus contact information

Purchased Leads

• Automatic reconciliation
• Additional Lead Source conditions

This gives administrators much more flexibility than trying to force every record type through one rule.

Duplicate Management on Imports

Duplicate management is not applied to imports by default.

During the import process, you can enable duplicate management using the applicable toggle.

When enabled, Shape uses your existing Duplicate Management Rules and settings when evaluating the imported records.

This is especially important when importing large databases because enabling the wrong duplicate behavior can change how many new records are actually created.

Review your duplicate rules before applying them to a major import.

Manually Created Records

Records created manually in Shape do not automatically merge at the time they are created.

If a manually created record matches another record, use the manual duplicate reconciliation process to review and merge the records if appropriate.

Finding Duplicate Records

Shape provides several ways to identify and review duplicate activity.

Duplicate Records Report

Use the applicable Duplicate Records report to review records flagged for manual reconciliation.

From there, users can compare the records and decide whether to merge or keep them separate.

Merged Tag

Whenever records are merged, Shape automatically applies the Merged tag.

This applies to both manual and automatic reconciliation.

You can filter supported list pages and reports for the Merged tag to identify records that have gone through a duplicate merge.

Duplicate Merge Insights Report

For deeper analysis, use the Duplicate Merge Insights Report.

This report helps managers understand how many duplicates are being merged and provides source history for those records.

It can be especially useful for organizations purchasing leads from multiple providers.

Original Lead Source, Previous Source, and Current Source

The Duplicate Merge Insights Report can show:

• Original Lead Source
• Previous Source
• Current Source

These fields provide additional context when the same person enters Shape multiple times.

Original Lead Source — The source associated with the customer’s first known opportunity. Shape also retains Original Lead Source on the record itself.

Previous Source — The source associated with the record before its current source. This becomes particularly useful when the same customer has been merged multiple times.

Current Source — The Lead Source currently associated with the record. Depending on your automatic merge settings, this may be updated when a newer opportunity enters Shape.

Example: Tracking Duplicate Lead Sources

Imagine a customer originally enters through Google PPC. Later, the same person arrives through Lead Provider A. Then they re-enter again through Website.

Your source history may show:

Original Lead Source: Google PPC
Previous Source: Lead Provider A
Current Source: Website

That tells you much more than only looking at the current Lead Source.

Why Duplicate Insights Matter for Purchased Leads

If your organization buys leads, duplicate reporting can help identify patterns such as:

• Multiple vendors sending the same prospects
• A purchased lead already existing in your CRM
• One provider repeatedly sending the same customer
• Existing website leads being resold through a third-party provider
• High duplicate volume from a particular source

The report does not automatically determine whether the lead provider is responsible for a problem, but it gives your team more information to investigate vendor overlap, lead quality, and duplicate billing concerns.

Restoring a Record That Was Merged by Mistake

When a duplicate merge removes a record, the deleted record can be found through Reports › Deleted Records.

Deleted records remain restorable for 7 days.

From the Deleted Records Report, authorized users can restore the record or permanently delete it.

This applies to records removed through both manual and automatic duplicate merges.

Best Practices for Duplicate Management

Start With a Clear Business Definition of “Duplicate”

Don’t start with the fields.

Start with the business question: when do we want two submissions to represent one opportunity?

The answer should drive your timeframe, matching fields, and merge behavior.

Use the Timeframe to Separate Repeat Submissions From New Opportunities

A matching record from yesterday is very different from a matching record from five years ago.

Use Checks Leads Created Within to make that distinction intentionally.

Avoid Matching on One Weak Field

A first name or mailing address alone may not be enough to reliably identify two records as the same person.

Use combinations of identifying fields where practical.

Keep Rules Understandable

Complex logic can be useful, but every additional condition makes troubleshooting harder.

Start with the simplest rule that solves the problem and add complexity only when necessary.

Think Carefully About Lead Source

If marketing attribution matters to your organization, decide whether a newer duplicate should overwrite the current Lead Source.

Use Duplicate Merge Insights to understand the source history behind merged records.

Review Import Settings

Before importing a large database, confirm whether Duplicate Management should be enabled.

Don’t assume the import should use the same behavior as automated real-time leads.

Monitor Duplicate Trends

Use the Merged tag and Duplicate Merge Insights Report to periodically review duplicate activity.

A sudden increase in duplicates may be a reason to look at:

• Lead-provider behavior
• Integrations
• Website forms
• Source mapping
• Duplicate rules
• New marketing campaigns

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is a Duplicate Record in Shape?+

A duplicate is a record that meets the criteria defined by one of your Duplicate Management Rules.

Your organization determines which field combinations and additional conditions qualify as a duplicate.

Does Shape Automatically Merge All Duplicate Records?+

No.

Duplicate rules can use either automatic or manual reconciliation.

Automatic rules merge qualifying automated records based on your configuration, while manual rules require user review.

What Does Checks Leads Created Within Mean?+

This setting determines how old an existing matching lead can be and still qualify for automatic duplicate merging.

The available options are Last 30 Days, Last 90 Days, and All Time.

What Is the Default Duplicate Timeframe?+

New Shape systems default to Last 30 Days.

Existing systems remain on All Time unless an administrator changes the setting.

What Happens if a Matching Lead Is Older Than My Timeframe?+

If the existing matching lead falls outside the timeframe for the automatic duplicate rule, Shape does not merge it through that rule.

The new lead can remain a separate opportunity.

Can Different Duplicate Rules Use Different Timeframes?+

Yes.

Checks Leads Created Within is configured per rule.

Can I Have More Than One Duplicate Rule?+

Yes.

Multiple rules can be used for different record types, workflows, or matching scenarios.

Can Shape Match Duplicates Using More Than One Field?+

Yes.

You can create advanced duplicate conditions using AND and OR logic.

For example:

First Name + Last Name + Phone
OR
First Name + Last Name + Email

Does Shape Apply Duplicate Management to Imports?+

Not by default.

You can enable duplicate management during the import process. When enabled, Shape uses your applicable duplicate rules.

Do Manually Created Records Automatically Merge?+

No.

Manually created records use the manual reconciliation workflow rather than automatic reconciliation at creation.

Can I Control Which Record Is Kept?+

Yes.

Automatic merge settings allow you to determine whether the new record or pre-existing record should remain after the merge.

Can I Control Which Field Values Are Overwritten?+

Yes.

Field Merge Preferences allow you to fill blank fields only, overwrite selected fields, or overwrite applicable fields based on the rule configuration.

Can I Control Which Lead Source Is Kept?+

Yes.

Automatic merge rules can determine whether the resulting record keeps the existing source or the new source.

What Happens if Mortgage Records Have Different Loan Numbers?+

If both records contain loan numbers and those loan numbers are different, Shape will not merge them.

If the loan numbers match, are both blank, or only one is populated, the normal duplicate rule determines whether the records merge.

Does Shape Keep Source History After Duplicate Merges?+

Yes.

Shape can retain Original Lead Source and additional source history that can be reviewed through the Duplicate Merge Insights Report.

How Can I Find Records That Have Been Merged?+

Filter supported list pages or reports for the Merged tag.

Shape automatically applies this tag when records are merged.

Can I Restore a Record That Was Merged by Mistake?+

Yes.

Deleted records can be restored through the Deleted Records Report for up to 7 days after deletion.

Can I Prevent Records From a Specific Source From Automatically Merging?+

Yes.

Use advanced conditions in your duplicate rule to include or exclude applicable Lead Sources or other supported field values.

If I Merge Two Referral Partners, Are Their Referrals Combined?+

Yes.

When duplicate Referral Partner records are merged, their linked Referral Tracking information is consolidated onto the remaining record.

Build Duplicate Rules Around Your Actual Sales Cycle

Duplicate management works best when it reflects how your organization defines an opportunity.

For some businesses, two submissions from the same person within a few days are clearly duplicates, while a new inquiry six months later should become a fresh sales opportunity.

For others, one long-term customer record is more important than separating individual opportunities.

Shape gives you control over both approaches.

Use the duplicate timeframe to decide how far back Shape should look, use condition groups to define what a real match looks like, and use merge preferences to determine what information should remain.

Then monitor the results through the Merged tag and Duplicate Merge Insights Report.

That gives you a cleaner CRM without automatically treating every returning customer as the same old lead.