Duplicate Contact Match Types

The Duplicate Contacts page lists contacts that look like the same supporter entered more than once. Each row carries a match label (Email Match, Shared Email or Partial Match) that tells you how strong the evidence is and what you should do next. This article explains each label, with extra detail on Shared Email, which is the one most often misread.

Finding the Duplicate Contacts page

Go to Contacts, open the Actions menu and choose Manage Duplicates. The page shows every contact in your organization that matched at least one other contact.

Contacts are listed in groups. Every row has a Group number, and rows with the same number were matched to each other. A heavier line separates one group from the next. The strongest matches (Email Match) are listed first.

How contacts are compared

Before comparing, BetterUnite ignores differences that do not change who the person is:

Email addresses are compared without regard to capital letters or extra spaces, so Jane@Example.org and jane@example.org are the same address.
Both email fields are checked, Email and Email 2. A contact's second address can match another contact's first address.
Phone numbers are compared by their digits only, so (303) 555-0100 and 303.555.0100 are the same number. Cell, home and work phones are all checked.
Names are compared without regard to capital letters or extra spaces.

These are the same rules BetterUnite uses at checkout, registration and signup to decide whether a supporter already has a contact record. That means the page flags the records that checkout would treat as one person.

When a contact has a second email address, the Email column shows it underneath the first one, marked (email 2), so you can see which address caused the match.

The three match types

Match type	What matched	What it usually means	What to do
Email Match	The same email address, and the same first and last name (or one of the records has no name).	One person entered twice.	Merge the contacts.
Shared Email	The same email address, but the contacts are individuals with different names.	Usually two people who share one inbox, such as a couple or a family. Sometimes one person under two names.	Check before merging. Most of the time, do not merge.
Partial Match	No email address in common, but the same first and last name, sometimes with the same phone number. For organizations and foundations, the same organization name.	Possibly the same person, possibly two different people with the same name.	Review both records before merging. A matching phone number makes it more likely to be one person.

Email Match

Two records share an email address and nothing about the names says they are different people. For example, "Jane Doe, jane@example.org" and "Jane Doe, JANE@example.org", or "Jane Doe" and a record with no name at all on jane@example.org. These are almost always safe to merge.

Shared Email

Two or more records share an email address, but the names on them are different. For example, "John Doe" and "Jane Doe", both using family@example.org.

A shared address is not proof of a duplicate. Spouses, partners, parents and children, or a donor and their assistant often use one inbox. Merging those records would combine two people's giving history, event registrations and communication preferences into one contact, and that cannot be separated again afterward. That is why these rows are labeled separately instead of being counted as an Email Match.

Partial Match

The records have no email address in common, but the names match. For example, "Sam Lee, (303) 555-0100" and "sam lee, 303.555.0100". A common name on its own is weak evidence, so open both records and compare the mailing address, phone and giving history before you decide.

What to do with a Shared Email group

Decide whether it is one person or several. Compare the names, then open each record (click the name) and look at the mailing address, phone numbers and giving history.
If it is one person under two names, such as a nickname (Bill and William), a maiden name, or a typo (Jon and John), select both rows and click Merge Contacts, the same as you would for an Email Match.
If they are different people, do not merge. Instead, do one of the following:
- If you have a personal email address for one of them, enter it on that contact. Once the addresses are different, the pair no longer matches.
- If they really do share one inbox, open one of the contacts, click Edit, go to the Duplicate Warnings tab and turn on Exclude from duplicate checks. That contact will stop appearing on the Duplicate Contacts page.

Exclude from duplicate checks removes that contact from all duplicate checks, not just this pair. If a true duplicate of that person is created later, it will not be flagged. Use it only for contacts you have reviewed.

Why it is worth resolving Shared Email groups

When a supporter gives, registers or signs up with an email address that belongs to more than one contact, BetterUnite picks the contact whose name matches the one entered. If the name matches neither record (for example, a third family member gives using the shared address), the activity is attached to one of the existing records. Giving each person their own address keeps gifts and registrations on the right contact.

Merging contacts

On the Duplicate Contacts page, check the boxes for the two contacts you want to combine. Pick them from the same group.
Click Merge Contacts.
In the merge window, compare the two records, including their email addresses, and under Select Contact to Keep choose the record that should remain.
Click Merge Contacts and confirm.

Merge two contacts at a time. For a group of three, merge two, then merge the result with the third.

Exporting and scheduling the list

Click Export to download the list, or Schedule Delivery to have it emailed on a regular schedule (Schedule Delivery requires the CRM Premier plan). The file includes the Group number, both email addresses and the match type for each contact, so you can sort by group and work through the list outside BetterUnite.