Duplicate Management in Shape
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Duplicate Management in Shape
A clean database matters, especially when you’re working leads every day and need to trust the information in front of you. Shape’s duplicate management tools help you keep your records accurate without having to monitor everything manually. This video breaks down how duplicate rules work, how they’re configured, and how to merge records on your own.
Why Duplicate Management Matters
Duplicate leads can cause mixed communication, skewed reporting, and extra follow-up work. Shape gives you the flexibility to decide which situations should automatically merge, which ones should only be flagged, and how data should be handled when two records overlap. The goal is simple: clean, reliable lead data that your team can actually work with.
Automatic Duplicate Rules
Inside Settings, you’ll find Duplicate Management where you can create rules that control what gets merged and how. Each rule has a few key parts:
Rule status
You can turn rules on or off. If a rule is off, Shape will not use it.
Manual vs automatic reconciliation
Some teams prefer to flag duplicates and review them manually, while most choose automatic reconciliation so records merge without intervention.
Record types included
Shape gives you full control here. For example, you may want borrower records (leads, applications, loans) to merge automatically, but not merge referral partners or agents. This ensures B2B contacts aren’t accidentally combined with consumer records.
Optional advanced filters
You can include or exclude certain sources or only merge records that match specific conditions. Most teams leave these off unless they have a specialized workflow.
Status changes after a merge
If you want Shape to assign a specific status when duplicates are combined, you can configure that here. Some teams use this to flag re-engaged leads or repeated inquiries.
Timeframe settings
Most people merge duplicates regardless of age, but you can set a timeframe. For example, you might merge leads created in the last 30 days but treat older leads as new opportunities.
Duplicate Match Conditions
This is where you define what “counts” as a duplicate.
Common setups include:
- Email matches
- Mobile phone matches
- Last name + mobile phone
- Last name + email
Email and mobile phone are the strongest unique identifiers, but you can customize the logic depending on your business needs.
Merge Settings
When duplicates are found, Shape needs to know which record should take priority.
You can choose to:
- Merge the new record into the pre-existing one (most teams choose this to preserve history)
- Merge the new one if you treat new inquiries as fresh opportunities
You also control:
- Whether to keep the existing assigned user or run distribution rules
- Which source should be saved (usually the original source)
- How tags should behave (overwrite or append)
- Whether Shape fills in blank values only or overwrites specific fields
This level of control lets you protect high-value data while still keeping your database organized.
Manually Merging Duplicates
Even with rules in place, you may occasionally want to handle a situation manually.
Inside any contact record, scroll to the bottom and click Check for Duplicates. Shape will show you any records that match your duplicate criteria.
From there you can:
- Choose which record should be the primary
- Move individual fields from one record to another
- Delete an extra record
- Save and reconcile everything with one click
Shape automatically reloads the merged record so you can verify the details right away.
Reporting on Duplicates
Shape includes built-in reports that show:
- All automatic merges
- Potential duplicates
- How often duplicates occur
- Which lead sources generate the most duplicates
These help you understand your data quality and test whether your rules need to be adjusted.
