Duplicate clients
FieldQuo has no merge tool. This is where duplicates come from, what the product already does to avoid them when converting leads and importing past jobs, and how to spot and tidy the ones you have.
Two records for the same person is the ordinary state of a customer list that has been through a CSV import and a year of leads. FieldQuo does not stop you creating a second “J. Smith”, and it cannot merge two records into one afterwards. What it does is match carefully in the two places records get created without a person typing them — lead conversion and past-job import — and give you a search that finds the duplicates so you can stop using one of them.
Overview
A client is only ever created by five things: the New Client form, the quote builder's new-client form, the CSV importer, converting a lead, and importing past jobs. The first three create whatever you give them. The last two look for an existing client first, by different rules, because a wrong match is worse than a duplicate — a quote attached to the wrong homeowner is something nobody notices until the invoice goes out.
There is no merge
There is no button to combine two client records, and no delete button on a record. A client who has any quote or invoice can never be deleted, so a duplicate with history stays. The practical answer is to choose one record, keep using it, and leave the other to fall out of use — its documents remain reachable from the Clients list.
Do not “fix” a duplicate by re-creating documents on the other record. Every quote, job and invoice keeps the client it was written for, and moving them is not possible from the screen.
Where duplicates come from
- The CSV import creates a client for every row that has a name. It does not check whether the name, email or phone already exists, so importing the same file twice doubles the list. Rows without a name, or with an undeliverable email, are skipped and counted.
- Typing a client in the quote builder while the same person already exists under a slightly different spelling. The picker's search is your defence — search before you add.
- A repeat enquiry with a new email or phone. Lead conversion matches on email first, then phone; a client who enquires from a new address and a new number with no match becomes a second record.
- Business versus person. “Beaulieu Renovations” created as a company and “Marc Beaulieu” created as a homeowner are two records by design — one is the business, one is the person.
What FieldQuo does to avoid them
| Where | How it matches |
|---|---|
| Converting a lead to a quote | The lead's email is normalised and looked up first; then the phone. A hit reuses that client. Only with neither does it create a new record. See Convert a lead to a quote. |
| Importing past jobs | Each row is matched on the client name alone, exactly but ignoring case, and the preview says “existing client” before anything is written. A different email on the row does not stop a name match. Two identical names on file resolve to the older record. See Import past jobs. |
| The monthly review in Messages | A Facebook or Instagram conversation is linked to a client only on an exact email or phone, or a name that also agrees on the address. A name alone is never linked, and a tie is reported rather than picked. See The monthly review. |
| Importing clients from a CSV | No matching. Every named row becomes a client — see above. |
How to spot and tidy duplicates
- On Clients, search by phone number first, then by email: those are the two details a person had to give you, and two cards for one number is a duplicate for certain. Search by surname last — two “Tremblay” cards in one city are often two households.
- Open both records. The card footers tell you which one has the history — “3 quotes · 1 invoice” against “0 quotes · 0 invoices”.
- Keep the record with the history. Copy anything useful from the other — a note, the country, the language — into it with Edit.
- On the record you are retiring, put “DUPLICATE — use the other record” at the start of Notes, and stop selecting it in the quote builder. If it has no documents at all, ask support to remove it.
Before a CSV import, search for a few names from the file. If they are already there, trim the file to the new rows only — the importer will not do it for you.
Frequently asked questions
Will FieldQuo warn me when I add a client who already exists?
No. Neither the New Client form nor the quote builder checks for an existing name, email or phone. Search first.
Can support merge two records for me?
There is no merge in the product, for support either. Support can remove a record that has no quotes and no invoices; a record with documents stays.
Does importing a CSV twice create duplicates?
Yes, one full set. The importer creates every named row and does not match against existing clients.
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