How to merge duplicate leads in Leadnote

Duplicate leads waste effort and split a conversation across several records. Leadnote finds them for you: open Merge Duplicate Leads, review each group, choose the master record and click Merge Group. The copies are merged into the master, and their comments, attachments and follow-ups move across.

Open the screen

In the sidebar, open Leads & Customers and choose Data Clean Up. You can also use Merge Duplicate Leads from the Hub or the favourites menu. The page loads, shows "Searching for duplicate records..." and then lists duplicate groups.

If your data is clean you will see "No Duplicate Leads Found".

What counts as a duplicate

A group forms when records share any of these:

1. The same email ID.
2. The same contact number in Mobile, Telephone (Direct) or Telephone (Office). Numbers are compared by their last 10 digits and ignore spaces, plus signs and dashes, so a number with and without the country code is the same number.
3. Both of the above.
4. The same lead name and organisation name.

The group heading tells you which rule matched, for example "Duplicate Group 3: Email (2 leads)". Records are linked through any shared value, so a chain of records ends up in one group. Only active leads you can see are scanned: archived and deleted leads are left out. If a duplicate you expect is missing, see why duplicate leads appear.

Narrow the search

Under Filter Options you can restrict the scan to a list, a lead source or a customer group. The menus read "All Lists", "All Lead Sources" and "All Customer Groups" with a count. Reset Filters clears them.

Review one group

Each group is a table with the columns Master, Name, Phone Number (M/D/O), Lead Score, List and Added On. One record carries a MASTER pill and the others carry DUPLICATE.

1. Leadnote proposes the record with the highest lead score as master. To pick another, choose Use [name] as master.
2. Read "Master record: [name]. The records below will be merged into it and then deleted."
3. Open Details that will be added to the master. A table shows each field, the master's value now and the value after the merge. Empty fields on the master are filled from the duplicates, best score first. Fields the master already has are never overwritten. If nothing is missing you will see "The master already has every detail the duplicates carry".
4. Read Moved to the master: the activity entries, pending follow-ups, attachments, comments and related leads that will travel with the merge.
5. Click Merge Group.

Merge many groups at once

1. Tick Select All Groups in this page, or tick the groups one by one.
2. A summary shows the number of groups, the leads in them and how many duplicate records will be merged and deleted.
3. Click Merge and Delete All Selected Duplicate Groups (N) and confirm.
4. A progress panel shows "Merge Operation in Progress" with a percentage and the group being processed. You can click Cancel Operation, but groups that are already processed cannot be undone.

Finally you get a message such as "5 duplicate records merged", or a note about groups that could not be merged and why.

Merge from a single lead

You can also merge from the lead you are looking at.

1. Open the lead and go to its Related Leads area. The Duplicate Leads list shows other records that match.
2. Click Merge next to a duplicate.
3. In the Merge duplicate lead window, choose Keep as master record for the one you want to keep. The table shows each field, Master now and After merge.
4. Click Merge and delete duplicate. The duplicate is moved to Deleted Leads and "Comments, attachments and follow-ups are moved across".

On the same screen Add related lead links two records that are related but not duplicates, for example colleagues at one company.

Prevent new duplicates

• When you type an email or mobile number on the add form, Leadnote warns you with Possible duplicate before you save. See add a lead.
• When you import a file, choose how duplicates are handled: skip them, update the existing lead, or add them anyway. See import leads.
• Forms, webhooks and the API do not create a lead when its email or mobile number already belongs to one, as long as the Automatic duplicate check is on.
• Keep one list per source and ask your team to search before they add a lead. See search and filter leads.

Good to know

• Merged copies keep an audit trail. Open the master lead's System logs tab to see the merge. See lead activity history.
• Locked leads can only be merged by an admin.
• Only records you are allowed to see can be merged. With list based access rights on, members cannot merge leads from lists they cannot reach.