Automatically detect and merge duplicate contacts

Springly automatically checks whether a new contact already exists in your Community at the time of creation. If a duplicate is detected, no new contact is created — the information entered updates the existing record instead. This check applies to administrators managing the nonprofit's contact database.

Where does the duplicate contact check apply?

The duplicate check is triggered at four points of account creation on your Springly platform:

• from the admin interface, under Community > Contacts, using the Add button;
• from your platform's sign-up page;
• in a membership or donation form, when the person joins or donates themselves;
• when an administrator manually adds a participant in a membership or donation form.

The duplicate check also applies when importing an Excel contact file into the Community.

What checks does Springly perform to detect a duplicate?

Duplicate detection is based on two levels of comparison between the new contact and existing contacts:

1. the new contact's first name and last name;
2. then their email address and/or zip code.

When both levels match, Springly considers it the same person and treats the entry as a duplicate.

What happens when a duplicate contact is detected?

No new contact is created. The existing record is updated according to three rules.

• Empty fields in the new contact don't overwrite existing data. Camille Martin (camille.martin@example.org) is a contact in My Nonprofit 123 with a profile photo. You accidentally create a contact for Camille Martin with the same email address but no photo. The existing profile photo is kept.
• New information replaces old information. Camille Martin's mailing address is 6 rue Beauregard, 75002 Paris. The new contact lists 34 rue du Sentier, 75002 Paris. The record now shows 34 rue du Sentier, 75002 Paris.
• New information fills in missing fields. Camille Martin's mailing address is not on file. The new contact lists 34 rue du Sentier, 75002 Paris. That address is added to the existing record.

After the entry is saved, the Community still contains only one record for that person, enriched with the most recent information.

Why doesn't creating an account on the website trigger a merge?

When a visitor creates an account from your website, the contact created is never automatically merged with an existing contact. This is the only case where automatic duplicate merging does not apply.

This exception protects your contacts against identity theft. Automatic merging links two contacts based on three pieces of information:

• first name;
• last name;
• zip code.

If someone knows these three details about one of your members and creates an account in their name, their email address gets linked to the existing member's record. They would then have access to that person's membership and donation history. The exception prevents this scenario.

Accounts created from the website therefore appear as separate contacts, to be manually merged after verification.