How to Use the Potential Duplicates Tab in Horilla CRM
Keeping CRM data clean and organized is essential for maintaining accurate customer information and efficient business operations. Duplicate records can create confusion, affect reporting accuracy, and lead to repeated follow-ups or duplicate communication with customers.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Even though Horilla CRM includes Matching Rules and Duplicate Rules to prevent duplicates during record creation, duplicate records may still appear in the system. This can happen when records were created before duplicate rules were configured, users bypass duplicate warnings, data is imported from external sources, or multiple users create similar records independently.
To help manage this issue, Horilla CRM provides the Potential Duplicates tab. This CRM feature allows users to identify, review, and merge duplicate records directly from the record detail page without switching screens.
The Potential Duplicates tab offers a guided process for comparing records, choosing the correct field values, selecting a master record, and safely merging duplicates. Regular use of this feature helps maintain a clean, reliable, and accurate CRM database.
This guide explains how to use the Potential Duplicates tab step by step.
What Is the Potential Duplicates Tab?
The Potential Duplicates tab is automatically available on record detail pages when a Duplicate Rule is active.
It helps you:
- View all potential duplicate records for the current record
- Open and inspect matched records
- Merge up to three records in a guided flow
- Clean duplicate data without leaving the record page
Before You Begin
The tab appears only when:
- A Matching Rule exists for the module
- A Duplicate Rule is active and linked to that Matching Rule
If the tab is not visible, set up duplicate rules first.
Open a Record Detail Page
- Go to the required module (Leads, Contacts, Accounts, etc.)
- Open list view
- Click a record name to open the detail page
- Locate the tab bar in record detail view
- Click Potential Duplicates
- The system loads matching records
If no duplicates exist, the list will be empty.
Inspect a Matched Record
Before merging:
- Click record name or first field
- A detail modal opens
- Review full record data
- Compare with the current record
Always confirm before merging to avoid incorrect data loss.
Select Records to Merge
- Select records using checkboxes
- Maximum 3 records per merge. If more exist, merge in batches
- Click Merge Selected
- Compare view opens
- Records appear side by side
Choose Master Record
The Master Record is the final record that will remain.
Select based on:
- Most complete information
- Highest number of related records (activities, notes, etc.)
- Most actively used record
Only one master record can be selected.
Select Field Values
Each field is displayed row by row.
- Compare values across records
- Select the preferred value using radio buttons
- Review every field carefully
Review Merge Summary
- Click Next
- Merge summary opens
The summary shows:
- Selected master record
- Final field values
Verify carefully before proceeding.
Complete Merge
- Click Merge
System actions:
- Master record is updated
- Duplicate records are deleted
- The success message is shown
- Redirect happens if required
What Happens After the Merge
After merging:
- The Potential Duplicates tab refreshes automatically
- Remaining duplicates stay visible
- You can continue merging in batches
- Deleted records cannot be recovered
Important: Related data (activities, notes, emails) from deleted records will also be removed.
Best Practices
- Check Potential Duplicates after imports
- Always inspect records before merging
- Choose the master based on data completeness
- Merge in batches of 3 records
- Ignore false matches if not actual duplicates
- Perform regular cleanup for high-volume modules
The Potential Duplicates tab in Horilla CRM provides a simple and effective way to manage duplicate records directly from the record detail page.
Instead of manually searching for duplicates across modules, users can identify, inspect, compare, and merge records within a guided workflow. This improves efficiency and reduces the risk of maintaining inconsistent customer data.
Regular use of the Potential Duplicates feature helps organizations:
- Maintain a clean CRM database
- Improve reporting accuracy
- Reduce duplicate communication
- Enhance customer management
- Increase overall CRM reliability
By combining duplicate detection with a structured merge process, Horilla CRM makes duplicate management easier, faster, and more reliable for everyday CRM operations.
