Manage recurring duplicates from CRM integrations

Teams that manage multiple brands or business entities often rely on several tools to keep data flowing: Marketing platforms, sales dashboards, niche business systems, and lead sources are all connected to the CRM. These systems push records into HubSpot, but they rarely align in structure or completeness.

Over time, this leads to recurring duplication: Records are added through integrations, form submissions, or imports; they look different to the CRM, but refer to the same people or companies. The duplicates accumulate quietly, then surface during reporting, outreach, or system audits.

This guide provides a repeatable system for managing those duplicates, by outlining how to identify integration patterns, configure deduplication logic based on field structure, and apply automation without losing control.

Integration duplicates come from structural differences

One system might send a full name and company email, another might send a personal email and a phone number, a customer might submit a form with new information that was not previously stored. Each of these creates a new record in the CRM if no matching logic connects them.

Even when the source is the same customer, the field content varies just enough to bypass default matching.

Understanding the structure of each integration, what fields it sends, how it formats names, how often it syncs, is the first step. Deduplication cannot be effective unless it reflects how data actually enters the system.

Match logic must align with each integration’s output

Using one rule for all duplicates does not work when records come from different systems: Default matching by email often fails when the same person uses different addresses, phone numbers and names might be present in one record but missing or differently formatted in another.

To build effective deduplication logic, configure rules based on the patterns of each integration. For example:

• Use first name, last name, and phone when email is inconsistent
• Create separate logic for personal and business email domains
• Apply Similar matching for platforms that abbreviate or truncate names

You may need multiple saved searches, which we call Search Pads, each tied to a specific integration or data flow. This avoids over-merging and ensures each rule reflects the source system's behavior.

Deduplicating existing records

Once duplicates have been identified, the next decision is how to merge them. This step let's you choose how much control you want over each merge and how scalable your deduplication process can be.

Different merging methods serve different needs:

• Manual merging gives full visibility when context matters
• Custom merging lets you choose which values to keep for each duplicate match, record by record
• Bulk merging allows you to merge in batches of hundreds or thousands of records, based on your saves match logic
• Automated merging merges continuously in the background, without manual review

Each method can be paired with merge rules that define how field-level conflicts are handled. These rules let you decide which values win  and how to treat empty or conflicting fields. You can merge without rules, or apply them selectively to maintain consistency across records.

Automating deduplication based on proven logic

Once your searches match duplicates accurately, it can be automated. This allows your match and merge logic to run continuously as new data enters the CRM.

Automation runs on a schedule: When new records are created by imports or integrations, they are matched against your configured logic and, if they meet the criteria, they are automatically merged according to your rules.

Each automation is tied to a specific saved search, which ensures that deduplication only applies to the record patterns and match options you’ve already tested. You can choose which searches to automate and which to keep manual based on how predictable the data is.

Use automation when the logic is stable and the results are consistent. This makes it possible to keep the CRM aligned without repeating manual review.

Maintaining deduplication over time

Data structures change, new integrations are added, and existing tools update how they send or format records. To keep deduplication effective, the logic needs regular review.

Each month, review your saved searches and automations. Look for changes in match volume, unexpected behavior, or new duplicate types, and adjust rules as needed to keep pace with the structure of your inputs.

The main goal is to maintain CRM usability by aligning your logic with how the data behaves.

How this looks in practice

To manage integration duplicates in a CRM connected to multiple systems:

• Identify how each integration structures and formats records
• Build match logic that reflects those differences
• Run scans and preview matches to test before merging
• Automate only after confirming stability in match logic
• Review deduplication flows monthly to adapt to system changes

This process gives CRM managers a way to stay ahead of a recurring problem. As long as systems send inconsistent records, duplicates will keep appearing. The solution is not just to deduplicate, but to match your logic to the structure of your inputs.

Dedupely supports this by allowing you to create field-based searches, configure multiple match options, preview results, define merge rules, merge in bulk, and automate on your terms. It gives you the tools to apply this system at scale, while staying in control of what gets merged.