Merging Duplicate Records

When the system identifies duplicate applicants, you can merge them into a single consolidated record. The merge process combines data from both records and preserves history, ensuring nothing is lost.

Merge Preview

Before merging, the system provides a preview so you can review what will happen:

1. Open the applicant's detail page for the record flagged as a duplicate.
2. Click the Merge option in the duplicate notification panel.
3. The Merge Preview screen loads, showing:
   • Target record (the primary record that will be kept)
   • Source record (the duplicate that will be merged into the target)
   • A side-by-side comparison of both records' data
   • Counts of related data that will be transferred:
     • Notes
     • Activities
     • Files/attachments

TIP

By default, the target record is the original applicant (the one referenced by duplicate_of_lead_id). The source is the record that was flagged as a duplicate.

Performing a Merge

1. Review the merge preview carefully.
2. Verify that the target record (the one to keep) is correct.
3. Check the warnings panel for any issues:
   • You cannot merge a lead into itself.
   • Both leads must belong to the same school.
4. If everything looks correct, click Merge.
5. The system performs the merge in a single transaction:
   • All notes from the source are transferred to the target.
   • All activities from the source are transferred to the target.
   • All files from the source are transferred to the target.
   • Stage history entries from the source are preserved on the target.
   • The source record is soft-deleted.
   • Any other leads that referenced the source as their duplicate are updated to clear the stale reference.

WARNING

Merging is a one-way operation. While the source record is soft-deleted (not permanently removed), restoring a merge requires manual database intervention. Review the preview carefully before proceeding.

What Gets Merged

Data Type	Behavior
Notes	All notes from the source are moved to the target lead.
Activities	All scheduled and completed activities are transferred.
Files	All uploaded files and documents are moved to the target.
Stage history	Stage change history from both records is preserved.
Form submission data	The target's form data is kept. Source form data is preserved in the source's archived record.
Status	The target's current status is retained.
Parent/family links	Family relationships from both records are consolidated.

What Happens to the Source Record

After a successful merge:

• The source lead is soft-deleted (marked with deleted_at).
• Any leads that had duplicate_of_lead_id pointing to the source are updated to clear this reference and have their is_potential_duplicate flag reset.
• An audit log entry is created recording the merge action, including both the target and source lead IDs.

Audit Trail

Every merge operation is logged in the audit trail with:

• Action type: merge
• Entity: lead
• Target ID: the ID of the surviving record
• Details: includes the source lead ID and related counts (notes, activities, files transferred)

You can view merge history in Settings > Audit Log.

When Not to Merge

WARNING

Do not merge records that represent different children, even if they share a parent email. This is common with siblings applying to the same school. Instead, use the Dismiss option to clear the duplicate flag, and use Family Linking to properly connect sibling records through their shared parent.

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