Matching Duplicates When a Field Is Sometimes Blank

CRM records that represent the same person or company don't always have every field filled in. A contact might be missing a phone number on one record but not another, even though the first name, last name, and email all match. Standard matching rules that require every field to have a value would skip these records entirely because the blank field would disqualify them.

Insycle's Empty Allowed in Any Record condition lets a matching field be blank on some records without preventing those records from being identified as duplicates. Rather than requiring every matching field to contain a value, this condition allows a specific field to be empty while still relying on your other matching fields to confirm the match.

Examples of When This Applies

• Contact records where a matching field, such as Phone Number or LinkedIn URL, is filled in for some records but left blank for others, even though the records represent the same person.
• Company records where a matching field, such as Company Domain, is missing on some records due to incomplete data entry or import, even though the records represent the same organization.

Setting Up the Empty Allowed in Any Record Condition

To configure this condition:

1. Navigate to Data Management > Merge Duplicates and select your database and object type.
2. In Step 1, on the Simple tab, configure your matching fields to identify potential duplicates.
3. Click the Conditions tab.
4. For the field where you expect blank values, set the Condition to Empty Allowed in Any Record.

Note: At least one field must always be set to Value Required in All Records. The required field serves as the reliable, unique identifier that confirms the records are genuine duplicates.

For example, to find duplicate contacts that may be missing a LinkedIn URL on some records:

• Field 1: First Name → Condition: Value Required in All Records
• Field 2: Last Name → Condition: Value Required in All Records
• Field 3: LinkedIn URL → Condition: Empty Allowed in Any Record

This surfaces duplicate contact groups where the name fields match exactly, while allowing the LinkedIn URL field to be blank on one or more records.

The image above shows the Conditions tab in Step 1 (Find Duplicates) of the Merge Duplicates module, with First Name and Last Name set to Value Required in All Records, and LinkedIn URL set to Empty Allowed in Any Record.

Additional Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

• Check out the Merging Duplicates FAQ for a complete list of questions about merging HubSpot duplicates.

Related Help Articles

• Finding Duplicates with a Blank Phone Number Field
• Setting the Criteria for Finding Duplicate Matches
• Merge Duplicates Troubleshooting
• Module Overview: Merge Duplicates