Merging Duplicates FAQs

You can merge duplicate records using the "Merge Duplicates" module, which helps you identify and merge duplicate contacts, companies, deals, and other object types in flexible and powerful ways.

First, you tell Insycle how to identify duplicates by setting match rules. 

Then, you set rules for determining the master record—the record into which all other duplicate records are merged.

And set rules for data retention.

Learn more: Merge Duplicate Contacts, Companies, and Other CRM Objects Module Overview: Merge Duplicates

There are two ways to ensure the records you are merging are indeed duplicates.

First, always run your deduplication templates in Preview Mode before running them in Update Mode. This produces a CSV file showing how your records would have been merged. Then you can ensure that your Merge Duplicates template is working as expected and not merging non-duplicate records together.

Additionally, to ensure a smooth merge, consider narrowing the matching settings in Step 1. Try the Exact Match Comparison Rule instead of Similar Match. Then make sure that you are using actual, uniquely identifying fields—first name, last name, email, and phone number are popular choices. The more tightly defined your filter is, the less likely you are to merge non-duplicate records.

Yes. You can use an existing list of duplicates to merge records in bulk using Insycle.

If you already have a list of known duplicates, such as an export from HubSpot's manage duplicates tool, you can upload a CSV file of duplicate record ID pairs directly into the Merge Duplicates module using the CSV tab in Step 1. Learn more about merging duplicates from a list you already have.

For more complex scenarios — such as designating master records or excluding specific records using custom attributes — you can use the Merge Duplicates module in combination with Magical Import. Learn how to choose which records to merge using a CSV. 

No, matching fields do not need to match exactly. The Similar Match Comparison Rule in Step 1 acts as a fuzzy match, looking for values that may be close but differ by only one character (e.g., a typo), and broadens the search.

This search behaves like when Google shows results for a slightly different term or says, “Did you mean...” For example, if an Email of “huey@coahulldu.co” is found, it could include records with the values “hueyy@coahulldu.co" or "hue.y@coahulldu.co” as a match.

You should be careful when using Similar Match as the looser criteria can incorrectly identify non-duplicates as duplicates. 

Review the Comparison Rule details for more guidance on using Similar Match.

To help you analyze and determine which records to merge, you can change the fields that appear in the preview under Step 2 of the Merge Duplicates module by clicking the gear button to adjust the layout.

On the Layout tab of the Advanced Settings popup, search for the fields in the right column, drag each one left to the Visible Fields column, then drag-and-drop them to arrange the columns.

The field will appear in Step 2 when viewing an expanded duplicate group.

And in the emailed CSV report.

Yes, you can exclude or keep specific records separate within a duplicate group, though the approach depends on whether you are working in Manual mode or Bulk mode.

Manual mode:

Under Step 2, expand the duplicate group by clicking the chevron at the right end of the group row. Then uncheck the checkbox next to any record you want to keep separate — only the checked records will be merged, and unchecked records will remain untouched in your CRM.

For example, if Insycle identifies a group of four duplicate contacts and you only want to merge three of them, uncheck the one you want to keep separate before proceeding.

Bulk mode: 

In Bulk mode (Step 3 set to Bulk), you can't deselect individual records. Instead, exclusions are handled through your Step 1 matching criteria and filters, which determine which records are considered duplicates in the first place. Options include:

• Filter by a unique field value in Step 1 to exclude it — Click the Filter button in Step 1 and select the field, such as Record ID, in the popup. Set the condition to "is not" [that record's ID] to prevent that specific record from appearing in the duplicate group. See the 'Use a filter to work with a subset of your data' Advanced How-To in the Bulk Merge Duplicate People, Companies article for details.

  

• Add a field to your matching criteria in Step 1 — If a field value distinguishes the record you want to exclude (such as object type, owner, or status), click the +Field button to add it as an additional matching criterion so that the record no longer qualifies as part of the duplicate group.

  

• Use a dedicated exclusion field — For ongoing exclusions across multiple templates, consider creating a custom field in your CRM (e.g., a checkbox labeled "Deduplication Exclude"). Flag records that should never be merged, then add a Step 1 filter for that field "is not true." Learn more in Customize How Duplicates Are Merged Using a CSV.

  

To exclude an entire duplicate group:

• In Step 2, click the X on a duplicate group row. The group will be added to the Exclusion List and will no longer appear in duplicate analysis or be included in merges, even when using different duplicate detection templates. To review and manage excluded groups, click the Exclusions button in the Step 2 header.

In cases where two different phone numbers and empty values from the duplicates are present, they will match as different duplicate groups. Insycle decides how to match the blank field automatically.

In this example (viewed in the Grid Edit module), Record 1 has the phone number 888-555-1200, Record 2 has no phone, and Records 3 and 4 have the phone number 888-555-1212.

When Insycle matches the duplicates, it will either create two duplicate groups:

• The first duplicate group could be made up of Records 1 and 2
• The second duplicate group could be made up of Records 3 and 4

Or it will match Records 2, 3, and 4 into a single duplicate group, while Record 1 remains on its own.

Insycle supports team review and approval of master records before merging duplicates in the Merge Duplicates module, through three methods:

1. Approve masters manually in a CSV. Your team can review candidate duplicate groups, mark the correct master record for each in a CSV file, and then use that CSV within the Merge Duplicates module to bulk deduplicate into those approved masters. See the Customize How Duplicates Are Merged Using a CSV article for the full setup process.

2. Review a Preview Mode report before merging. Run the Merge Duplicates module in Preview Mode to generate a CSV report that covers the entire merge operation, down to individual duplicate groups, without updating your live data. Your team can review and approve this report, then run Merge Duplicates in Update Mode to apply the approved changes.

3. Select masters manually within Insycle. In the Merge Duplicates module, team members can review each duplicate group and manually select its master record under Step 3 by choosing Manual mode. See the Merging Duplicates Individually article for more detail.

   

   The image above shows Step 3 of the Merge Duplicates module with Manual mode selected, illustrating the option to choose a master record for each duplicate group.

If the Message column of the CSV report displays this error:

Change rules in Step 3 'Master Selection'. Failed to pick master record because multiple records (X) meet the selection criteria. In 'Master Selection', change, add, or reorder the rules such that only one record matches (if cannot determine master based on field values, use 'Record ID is lowest' as the last rule).

None of the records meet more of the rules than the others do.

There are a couple of things you can try to resolve this:

1. On the Master tab in Step 3, experiment with reordering or adding additional fields that are likely to have unique values.
2. At the bottom of the Master tab in Step 3, ensure By Priority is selected, not Absolute.
   With By Priority, your master record only has to match one rule. Using Absolute, your master record would have to meet all of the rule criteria. In most cases, it is best to select By Priority.
   If By Priority was used, then none of the records in the duplicate group meet any of the criteria on the list more than the others. In this case, you'll need to experiment, reordering or adding additional rules for fields likely to have unique values.
3. As a last resort, you can add a rule on the Master tab in Step 3 that says Record ID is lowest, or Create Date is earliest.

Currently, neither HubSpot nor Salesforce provides an automated way to prioritize active owners during the merge process. You'd need to verify owner status manually for each merge operation.

However, Insycle's Merge Duplicates module includes an option to prioritize an active owner. 

First, you could add a Master rule under Step 3 to tell Insycle to select the record from each group with an active owner as the master record.

Add a rule with the following parameters:

• Field: Record owner
• Condition: active user

Second, you could create a Field rule to retain the owner who is an active user.

Add a rule with the following parameters:

• Field: Owner
• Criteria: From record where value
• Condition: active user

You can merge up to 100 duplicate records into a single master record.

By default, Insycle skips any duplicate group containing more than 5 records. If you have duplicate groups with more than 5 records, you may want to adjust the Exclusions setting at the bottom of the Master tab in Step 3. The Skip duplicate groups with more than X records per group setting can be increased up to 100 records per group to ensure all duplicates in large groups are processed.

This default limit is a precaution to prevent duplicate matching criteria that are too broad in Step 1 from accidentally merging many non-duplicate records. If you plan to set this number higher, it is a good idea to run Preview Mode first to ensure your deduplication template is operating as you intend.

The Merge API setting in Step 3 of the Merge Duplicates module is available only for HubSpot and Salesforce accounts and determines whether Insycle uses your CRM's built-in merge logic or Insycle's custom merge logic when consolidating duplicate records. There are two options: Native and Synthetic.

Native merge uses your CRM's built-in merge logic, following your CRM's standard rules for consolidating fields, associations, and activities. Synthetic merge uses Insycle's custom merge logic, giving you more control over field retention and master selection, and it's the only option available for object types without native merge support in your CRM.

Choosing Native merge doesn't lock you into your CRM's default field behavior. You can use Native merge for its speed and compatibility while still applying Insycle's custom field retention rules. 

Learn more about the differences between the two options, including HubSpot- and Salesforce-specific behavior, in Native vs. Custom Merge: Two Ways to Combine Records in HubSpot and Salesforce.

The image below shows Step 3. Merge Logic of the Merge Duplicates module, set to Bulk mode with the Merge API set to Native on the Method tab.

The image below shows Step 3. Merge Logic of the Merge Duplicates module, set to Manual mode with the Merge API set to Native.

There is no need to create rules for every field in your CRM - Insycle automatically handles fields without specific rules using a "fill in the blanks" approach. If you don't specify any rule, the master values will be preserved. When a value is empty in the master, it picks a non-empty value from the most recently updated duplicate. 

For example, if the master record's Industry field is empty but another record in the duplicate group has an Industry value, that value will automatically be copied to the master record. This means you only need to create custom retention rules for the handful of fields that require special handling, rather than for all your fields.

HubSpot and Salesforce users can override this by disabling the Blank Fields autofill setting on the Method tab of Step 3.

Insycle lets you select which field data to retain in the master record on a field-by-field basis, rather than accepting the master record's values as a whole. In the Merge Duplicates module, use the Fields tab in Step 3 to review each field's conflicting values across duplicate records and choose which value to keep in the merged result. See Keeping the Right Data When Records Merge for the full walkthrough.

The image above shows the Fields tab in Step 3 of the Merge Duplicates module, with field-by-field selection for values like Owner, Phone, and Lifecycle Stage across duplicate records.

In the Merge Duplicates module, merged records retain the value from the master record by default. If you want to keep a specific value from a read-only field that isn't on the master record, you have two options:

1. Copy to a writable custom field: In your CRM, create a custom field to copy the read-only field's value into. Then run a Copy operation in the Transform Data module before performing the merge. Finally, set up Merge Duplicates rules on the Fields tab of Step 3 to retain the value of that custom field that meets your criteria.

   

   The image above shows the Copy: Value operation in Step 2 of the Transform Data module, copying the value of a read-only email field into a writable backup field.

2. Use master selection rules: Set the master selection rules on the Master tab of Step 3 to retain the record with the read-only value you want to keep. This guarantees the correct record becomes the master without trying to change the read-only field itself.

   

   The image above shows the Master tab in Step 3 of the Merge Duplicates module, with master selection rules configured to prioritize records based on their email values.

Note: Use the first option when you need to preserve the read-only value regardless of which record becomes the master. Use the second option when it's acceptable to control which record is chosen as the master instead.

When merging HubSpot contact records in the Merge Duplicates module using the “From master record (even empty)” field retention rule in Step 2 on the Fields tab, HubSpot's property history might show that Insycle set the value to “empty.”

Important: This does not mean data was lost. The “From master record (even empty)” criterion is designed to keep the master record's field blank rather than automatically filling it with a value from a duplicate — so the “empty” entry in HubSpot's history reflects that intentional behavior, not a deletion. You can confirm the master record's value was already empty before the merge by reviewing the Activity Tracker report in Insycle.

Insycle displays 50 records on the module screen as a preview; this is not the full list. Insycle can process thousands of duplicate groups in a single operation. You could potentially deduplicate your entire database in a single step. 

When using the Preview in Step 4, select the "All" option under When > Run Now to view all records in the Preview CSV report. When you run the operation in Update mode, all records will automatically be included.

All plans include unlimited usage, unlimited users, and unlimited operations. During the free trial, there is a cap of 500 records updated, cleansed, or merged. See the pricing page for more details.

When you initiate a merge operation in Insycle, you will see the estimated time to complete. If you notice that the operation is taking longer than expected, there are several factors to consider:

• If you are using a synthetic merge, this will take longer to run than a native merge.
• Complex processes, like merges and associations, can take a while. This is because each backend task—from updating associations to changing properties—contributes to the total processing time. For instance, when merging three deals into one, 20-40 operations may be required to update and reparent all related activities from the duplicates into the master.
• Throughput is measured across all operations; when multiple operations run in parallel, they increase processing load and slow each other down. To optimize processing time, run only one operation at a time.

There are two main ways to monitor the progress of a long-running operation:

Option One: Periodically check the Activity Tracker

The operation will appear in the Activity Tracker once it is complete.

Option Two: Periodically refresh the template for the operation

Open the template for the operation. Under Step 1, click the Find button.  As the merge continues, you should see the number of duplicate records gradually decrease in the Record Viewer, which indicates the process is actively working through them.

Look at the number of results in the Record Viewer.

Wait a few minutes and refresh the page. You should see the number of results decrease as Insycle processes the operation.

Yes, Insycle resolves numerous deduplication issues that arise when HubSpot and Salesforce are syncing, regardless of which system you're deduplicating in. See the Deduplicate HubSpot and Salesforce While Keeping the Sync Active article to learn more.

Yes, you can merge Salesforce accounts and HubSpot companies without breaking the Sync between the two platforms by using Insycle's Merge Duplicates module. Deduplicate in Salesforce first, then deduplicate in HubSpot using the Salesforce Account ID field to match the master record, all while the Sync stays active. This isn't supported directly within the HubSpot application — merging companies there while the Sync is active won't work. To learn more, see Deduplicate HubSpot Companies and Salesforce Accounts.

Yes. Insycle can merge duplicate contacts even if one record is enrolled in a sequence, even though HubSpot's native merge tool does not support this scenario.

In HubSpot, the merge option is disabled if one of the duplicate contacts is enrolled in a sequence.

Insycle bypasses this restriction and successfully merges the records. After the merge is complete, the master record remains enrolled in the sequence and continues through any active processes without interruption. This ensures your sequence engagement is preserved while maintaining clean, deduplicated data.

By default, when two contacts are merged in HubSpot, Workflows will not enroll merged contacts. However, merged contacts can enroll in the future if re-enrollment is enabled and they meet the enrollment triggers. 

In contact-based workflows, you can manage the enrollment of merged contacts, remove contacts that no longer meet enrollment criteria, and prevent enrollment of contacts in specific lists. To learn more, see HubSpot's workflow documentation.

Yes, if your HubSpot objects have attachments, the attachment will be merged into the master record. Note that there may be a short delay before the attachment appears in the merged record.

The discrepancy in duplicate numbers between HubSpot and Insycle is due to their fundamentally different approaches to identifying duplicates.

HubSpot's approach:

• Uses AI models for duplicate detection
• May consider a broader range of factors and patterns
• Results can be less predictable and may change over time as the AI model evolves

Insycle's approach:

• Uses a defined, deterministic method
• Based on specific rules and criteria set by the user
• Using templates, results are consistent and reproducible

Because of these different methodologies, the numbers will never be exactly the same between the two systems. However, you can make this difference work for you by using both systems together to create a more comprehensive duplicate detection strategy.

To better understand and leverage these differences:

• Explore the properties of the duplicates found by each system
• Look for patterns in the discrepancies
• Experiment with your Insycle template settings to see how they affect the results

Learn more about Why Duplicate Counts Differ Between HubSpot and Insycle and the best scenarios to use the unique features of each or use both systems together.

Yes, Insycle can analyze leads and contacts together and deduplicate across those object types. See the Deduplicate Across Salesforce Leads and Contacts article to learn more.

Yes, Insycle offers an Intercom Inbox app. To learn more, check out this article: Deduplicate in Intercom Inbox with the Insycle App.

When merging Intercom leads with leads or users with users:

• Open conversations: Duplicate contacts will be detached from open conversations, and the master contact will be attached to those conversations.
• Closed conversations: Closed conversations cannot be transferred directly in Intercom. Instead, they are preserved as notes in the master contact record — one note per closed conversation. The original conversations are not moved or re-created as conversations in the master record. (Notes are searchable in Intercom.)

When merging leads with users, Insycle uses the underlying Intercom merge API, so conversations will be merged according to those rules.

Yes, Insycle can deduplicate across leads and users simultaneously. Please check out this article to learn more: Deduplicate Across Intercom Users and Leads.