1
Why Duplicates Happen
Duplicate contacts are common in any CRM. Understanding how they get created helps you prevent them and clean them up confidently.
- Manual entry with slight variations — A team member adds "Robert Smith" and later another adds "Bob Smith" — same person, different names.
- Multiple form fills with different contact info — A lead submits your website form with a personal email, then later fills out another form with a work email. Jtek creates two records because neither the email nor phone matched.
- CSV imports with name variations — An imported spreadsheet had "Jennifer Lopez" while a manually entered record has "Jen Lopez" — the duplicate detector missed it because it wasn't an exact match.
- Different phone formats — "5125550192" and "(512) 555-0192" are the same number but can sometimes result in two records if entered at different times.
- Multiple leads from different sources — A Facebook lead ad and a website form both capture the same person but at different times with different emails.
Tip: Run a duplicate check monthly — it takes less than 5 minutes and keeps your contact list clean, your reporting accurate, and your automations from messaging the same person twice.
2
Finding Duplicates
Jtek has a built-in duplicate detection tool that compares names, phone numbers, and emails across your entire contact list and flags likely matches for review.
- Go to Contacts in the left sidebar — Open your full contact list.
- Click the gear icon (Settings) at the top right of Contacts — This opens the Contacts Settings menu.
- Select "Merge Duplicates" — Jtek will scan your contacts and display a list of suggested duplicate pairs, ranked by likelihood of being the same person.
- Review the count of suggested duplicates — The tool shows you how many pairs it found. A small number is normal and healthy; a large number often indicates a problematic import or data source.
- Work through them one at a time — You don't have to process all at once. Dismiss pairs that are clearly different people; merge the ones that are confirmed duplicates.
3
Reviewing a Suggested Merge
Before merging, Jtek shows both records side by side so you can verify they're the same person and understand what data each record contains.
- The side-by-side view shows both records — Left column is one record, right column is the other. Fields that exist on one but not the other are highlighted.
- Check the contact details carefully — Confirm names, phone numbers, and emails. If the two records have clearly different phone numbers with no overlap, they may not be the same person — click "Not a Duplicate" to dismiss.
- Review the data each record has — One record might have a full address, notes, and pipeline history. The other might only have a name and email. This informs which one you set as primary.
- Check the activity history count — The record with more conversations, notes, and pipeline entries typically has more value and should be the primary.
Jtek
Contacts
Settings
RECORD A
Name
Jennifer Lopez
Phone
(512) 555-0192
Email
jen@gmail.com
3 notes · 2 conversations
RECORD B
Name
Jen Lopez
Phone
(512) 555-0192
Email
jlopez@work.com
0 notes · 1 conversation
Merge → Keep Record A
Not a Duplicate
4
Choosing the Primary Record
The primary record keeps its contact ID, URL, and history. All data from the secondary record is merged into it. This choice matters — pick it carefully.
- The primary record's ID and URL survive the merge — Any links, automation references, or pipeline entries pointing to the primary record's ID will continue to work after the merge.
- Choose the more complete record as primary — The one with more fields filled in, more notes, more conversations, and more pipeline history should typically be primary.
- Choose the older record when in doubt — The first record created is usually the "real" one; subsequent records are often the accidental duplicate.
- Missing fields are filled in from the secondary — If the primary record has no address but the secondary does, the address is added to the primary after merging. No data is lost.
- Tags from both records are combined — The merged contact will have all tags from both records, with no duplicates.
Tip: If you're unsure which record is primary, check which one has active pipeline opportunities — that record should be primary so pipeline data doesn't move.
Warning: Merges cannot be undone. Once you confirm, the secondary record is permanently deleted and its data is merged into the primary. Double-check both records before clicking Merge.
5
After the Merge
Once a merge is complete, the secondary record is gone and all its data is consolidated onto the primary contact. Here's what to expect.
- The secondary record is removed from your contact list — Searching for the secondary record's name will now surface the merged primary record instead.
- All conversations are consolidated — SMS threads, email threads, and call recordings from both records appear in the same activity feed on the primary contact.
- All notes are combined — Notes from the secondary record are added chronologically to the primary contact's activity feed.
- Pipeline opportunities are merged — Any pipeline entries from the secondary record are moved to the primary contact. You may see the same contact listed twice in the same pipeline stage briefly — review and remove the duplicate opportunity manually.
- Run the duplicate checker again after a week — New leads continue to come in. A quick weekly check keeps your list clean over time.