Close CRM Deduplication Guide

Dedupely connects to Close CRM to find and merge duplicate Leads, Contacts and Opportunities, including the ones Close CRM can't merge on its own. It works with every Close CRM plan.

Close CRM terms: in Close, a Lead is a company or account, and Contacts are the people under it. Where other articles in this knowledge base say "company", that's a Lead in Close.

Supported Close CRM objects

Added August 25, 2026

You can dedupe these Close CRM objects:

• Leads
• Contacts
• Opportunities

You can't merge records across different object types.

Common Close CRM duplicate issues

• The same company arrives as two Leads. Forms, imports and integrations create a second Lead instead of attaching to the existing one, so the account's call history is split.
• The same person appears twice under one Lead. A Contact added by a rep and one created by an integration sit side by side, and Close CRM can't combine them.
• Duplicate people under duplicate Leads. Merging only the Contacts leaves the Leads split. Merging the Leads is usually the right fix.
• Opportunities logged twice. A duplicated deal inflates your pipeline and throws off your forecast.
• Limited native detection. Close CRM matches on exact values and has no duplicate detection in its interface, so a nickname, typo or different email domain gets through.

How Close CRM's native merge works

Added September 4, 2026

Each object merges differently in Close CRM:

• Leads have a native merge. Dedupely picks the primary Lead, the duplicate is merged into it, and the primary keeps the other Lead's history.
• Contacts have no native merge. Close CRM's API doesn't offer one, so Dedupely copies the field values onto the Contact you keep, moves its Opportunities, Notes, Calls and Emails across, and then removes the duplicate. Tasks and Meetings can't be moved, because Close CRM doesn't allow their contact to be changed. Contacts under different Leads can't be merged: merge the Leads first.
• Opportunities have nothing to reassign. Close CRM activities belong to a Lead or a Contact, never an Opportunity, so Dedupely copies the field values onto the Opportunity you keep and removes the duplicate. Attachments on the duplicate don't move.

How to dedupe Close CRM records, step by step

1. Start with Leads, not Contacts. When duplicate people sit under duplicate Leads, merging the Leads brings their Contacts together in one step. Starting with Contacts leaves you with two Leads and more work.
2. Find where duplicates come from. Forms, imports and integrations each create different patterns, so each needs its own matching.
3. Build one Duplicate Search per scenario. A strict search for high-confidence matches (e.g. Exact Email) and a looser one for cases that need a person to check (e.g. Similar Name at the same company).
4. Check a merge before you automate it. Run the strict search, merge a small batch, and confirm in Merge History that the right values won.
5. Set your Merge Rules. Once you know what your duplicates look like, set field-by-field rules for which values survive. See Merge Rules.
6. Automate the strict searches. Turn on Auto Merge for the searches you've tested, and use Auto Match on the looser ones so you're notified to review them.

What happens next

After each merge in Close CRM:

• Lead merges: the primary Lead survives with the other Lead's history and Contacts.
• Contact merges: the Contact you keep has the combined values and the duplicate's Opportunities, Notes, Calls and Emails. The duplicate is removed. Its Tasks and Meetings aren't moved.
• Every merge is logged in Merge History.

Close's own merges can't be undone. Most Dedupely merges can be undone within 30 days from Merge History (see Undo a Merge), but treat every merge as permanent. For older merges, download your Merge History and use it to restore the original values in Close CRM.

Troubleshooting

I can't connect Close CRM, or merges fail. Your Close CRM user might not have permission to edit and delete that object. Ask your Close CRM admin to update your role, then reconnect.

Meetings or tasks are missing from the Contact I kept. That's a Close CRM limitation: meetings and tasks can't be moved to another Contact. Opportunities, Notes, Calls and Emails move over.

A Contact merge was refused. The Contacts are under different Leads. Merge the Leads first, which brings their Contacts together.

I merged the Contacts but still have two Leads. Merge the Leads instead. When duplicate people sit under duplicate Leads, a Lead merge combines both in one step.

The wrong values survived a merge. Check your Primary Record rule and add field-level rules in Merge Rules. Preview a few matches before your next bulk merge.

FAQs about Close CRM deduplication

• Do I need a specific Close CRM plan to use Dedupely? No. Dedupely works with every Close CRM plan.
• Do I need a Close CRM admin account? No. You need permission to edit and delete the objects you want to dedupe. The connection uses your own permissions.
• Can Close CRM find duplicates on its own? No. Close CRM has no duplicate detection in its interface.
• How is Dedupely's matching different? Dedupely matches on any field, with Exact, Similar, Fuzzy, Similar Words (Any Order) or Domain Root, to find all your duplicates.
• Why can Dedupely merge Contacts when Close CRM can't? Dedupely is a dedicated deduplication tool, and does what a contact merge would: it copies the field values onto the Contact you keep, moves the Opportunities, Notes, Calls and Emails across, and then removes the duplicate.
• Can I match Leads on their company domain? Yes. Domain Root compares websites by their root, ignoring www, .com and country variants.
• Close CRM support offered to merge my duplicates. How is this different? Close CRM support runs a free, one-time deduplication from a CSV, using a single rule for every duplicate (keep the oldest, the most recently updated, or the highest-priority status). It's a good way to clear a backlog, but it doesn't keep your database clean over time and it isn't field-level.
• Is anything merged automatically when I connect Close CRM? No. Connecting and syncing never merges, edits or deletes a record.
• Can I undo a merge? Yes, within 30 days for most merges, from Merge History. Undo is for records that weren't duplicates, so treat every merge as permanent. See Undo a Merge.