The Duplicate Contact Report helps identify and resolve duplicate contacts in your Swivel database.
Maintaining clean contact records improves reporting accuracy, segmentation, automation performance, and overall confidence in your data.
Use this report to:
Identify duplicate contacts
Merge duplicate records
Review potential duplicates after imports
Improve data quality and reporting accuracy
Maintain a clean CRM database
🚨 Important: Once duplicate contacts are merged, the action cannot be undone. Carefully review all records before completing a merge.
What Are Duplicate Contacts?
Duplicate contacts occur when the same person exists multiple times within Swivel.
Duplicates are commonly created by:
Data imports
Manual data entry
Third-party integrations
Variations in spelling or formatting
Missing or incomplete contact information
Examples include:
John Smith and Jon Smith
John Smith and John A. Smith
Multiple records with different phone numbers or email addresses
Why Duplicate Contacts Matter
Duplicate contacts can make it difficult to trust your data and accurately manage client relationships.
Unresolved duplicates may result in:
Multiple records for the same client
Duplicate emails, text messages, or mailings
Inaccurate reporting and dashboard metrics
Incomplete client histories spread across multiple records
Segmentation and automation issues
Additional time spent searching for the correct contact record
Maintaining clean contact data helps ensure reports, automations, campaigns, and client interactions are based on accurate information.
How Swivel Identifies Duplicates
The Duplicate Contact Report evaluates contacts using:
Name
Email Address
Phone Number
Address
🔍 Tip: Potential matches are displayed for review before any action is taken.
Using the Duplicate Contact Report
Navigate to Reports > Duplicate Contact Report.
Review the potential duplicate records.
Compare the information presented for each contact.
Determine whether the records represent the same individual.
Use the Merge option when appropriate.
📌 Note: The Duplicate Contact Report is available to Owner, Manager, Agent and Staff user roles.
How to Merge Duplicate Contacts
Open the Duplicate Contact Report.
Review the flagged records carefully.
Select Merge.
Choose the contact record you want to retain as the primary record.
Confirm the merge.
The secondary contact will be archived and the associated data will be consolidated into the selected primary contact.
📌 Note: Historical notes, activities, products, and related information remain associated with the surviving contact record.
Managing Duplicates During Imports
Swivel automatically evaluates imported records for potential duplicates based on:
Full Name
Email Address
Phone Number
Address
To review duplicate records after an import:
Navigate to Reports > Imports Report.
Open the desired import.
Select the Duplicates tab.
Expand the duplicate record to compare imported data with the existing contact.
Available Options for Imported Records
📌 Note: The options below are only available when reviewing potential duplicates identified during a contact import. These options are accessed from the Imports Report > Duplicates tab and are not available from the Duplicate Contact Report.
When reviewing imported contacts, you can choose how Swivel should handle the imported record:
Use Existing Contact
Select Use Existing Contact when the imported record represents a contact that already exists in Swivel.
This option merges the imported information into the existing contact record, helping maintain a single, complete contact history while preventing duplicate records.
Create New Contact
Select Create New Contact when the imported record represents a different individual or should remain as a separate contact.
This option creates a new contact record and does not merge any information with an existing contact.
🔍 Tip: If contacts were imported from an event, selecting Use Existing Contact will automatically associate the existing contact with the event while preventing duplicate records from being created.
Best Practices
Maintaining clean data is an ongoing process.
We recommend:
Reviewing the Duplicate Contact Report regularly
Resolving duplicate records immediately after imports
Establishing naming conventions for institutions, products, and categories
Reviewing Product Report data for duplicate values
Verifying imported records before launching campaigns or automations
Checking for existing contacts before creating new records manually
🔍 Tip: Duplicate contacts are one of the most common causes of reporting inconsistencies, segmentation issues, and duplicate communications. Regular review of this report helps maintain data accuracy.
FAQs
What happens when I merge duplicate contacts?
The selected primary contact remains active while the secondary contact is archived.
Associated data is consolidated into the primary record.
Can a merged contact be restored?
No. Merges cannot currently be undone. Always review records carefully before confirming a merge.
Why does Swivel think these contacts are duplicates?
Swivel evaluates contacts using name, email address, phone number, and address information. Potential matches are surfaced for review, but users should always verify the records before merging.
Should I review duplicates after every import?
Yes. Reviewing duplicates immediately after imports helps maintain data quality and prevents issues with reporting, segmentation, and automations.
Does the Duplicate Contact Report identify duplicate products?
No. The Duplicate Contact Report focuses on contact records.
To identify duplicate product values, use the Product Report and other data cleanup tools.
Why don't I see a contact I believe is a duplicate?
The Duplicate Contact Report identifies potential duplicates based on name, email address, phone number, and address. Contacts that do not share sufficient matching criteria may not be flagged automatically.