Your Deduplication Routine

Deduplication isn't a one-time project. Forms, imports and integrations keep adding records, so a short routine keeps your CRM from filling up again. In Dedupely, most of the work runs on its own with Auto Match and Auto Merge. Your routine is about checking what they found, clearing your review queues, and adjusting your searches as your data changes. This playbook gives you a checklist for each week, each month, each quarter, and after every big import.

Every week (15–30 minutes)

• ☐ Read your Duplicate Report. It's emailed weekly by default. Check whether your number of duplicates is going up or down. See Notifications.
• ☐ Act on Auto Match emails. Everyone in the account gets them, so agree who handles each search. Open each search that notified you, and merge, reject, or send matches to Manual Review.
• ☐ Clear the Manual Review tab on each search, with the people who need to decide. See Manual Review.
• ☐ Check each Auto Merge dashboard. Look at Recent Auto Merges and Attention Needed, and hover over any merge with an Error status to see why.

Every month (about an hour)

• ☐ Check the Excluded tab on your main searches. A growing number of large matches means a search has become too broad. See Excluded Matches.
• ☐ Spot-check Merge History. Open a few recent merges and confirm the right values won. See Merge History.
• ☐ Check your record count in Billing & Usage (Admins). Up to 10% over your limit, you have 10 days to upgrade or turn objects off. After that, your account becomes read-only, and merging and Auto Merge stop. See Billing & Usage.
• ☐ Look for patterns in rejections. If you keep rejecting the same kind of match, fix the search instead. See Avoiding False Matches.
• ☐ Move proven searches up. A search on Auto Match that you've stopped rejecting matches from is ready for Auto Merge.

Every quarter (about an hour)

• ☐ Review your Merge Rules. New fields, new teams or a new process can change which values should win. See Merge Rules.
• ☐ Review your Safety Settings for each object. See Merge Safety.
• ☐ Check your objects in CRM Settings. Turn on objects you haven't deduped yet, or turn off ones you no longer need.
• ☐ Tidy up your Duplicate Searches. Delete old test clones and give each search a clear name, like "Contacts · Web forms · Exact email".
• ☐ Review the Audit Log (Admins) for unexpected changes to searches, rules or users. See Audit Log.
• ☐ Look for new sources of duplicates: new forms, integrations or tools added this quarter.

After every big import or new integration

• ☐ Dedupe the list before importing it. See Dedupe a List Before You Import It.
• ☐ Scan your main searches after the import, and merge the new matches.
• ☐ Watch a new integration for 2–4 weeks, with a search on the data it sends and Auto Match on, before you turn on Auto Merge for it.

Who does what

See Working as a Team in Dedupely.

Example routine

A marketing ops manager at a SaaS company with HubSpot:

• Monday, 20 minutes: reads the Duplicate Report, works through two Auto Match emails, and checks the web forms Auto Merge dashboard.
• Thursday, 10 minutes: clears Manual Review with the sales team lead.
• First Monday of the month: checks the Excluded tab and 10 random merges in Merge History, and confirms the record count with the Admin.
• After each webinar: dedupes the registration list as a CSV before importing it, then scans the contacts search.

Common mistakes

• Ignoring Auto Match emails. Matches pile up, and the backlog comes back.
• Letting Manual Review grow. Matches there are never merged automatically. Set a weekly time to clear it.
• Not checking Auto Merge errors. An error usually points to something in your CRM, like a missing permission or a read-only field, that someone needs to fix.
• Going over the record limit without noticing. After the 10-day grace period, your account becomes read-only, and Auto Merge stops.
• Never revisiting Merge Rules. Rules set for last year's process can keep the wrong values today.

FAQs about a deduplication routine

• How often should I dedupe my CRM? Check weekly, adjust monthly, review quarterly. With Auto Merge on your tested searches, most new duplicates are merged without you.
• How do I know if duplicates are going down? Your Duplicate Report shows your duplicates across your connected CRMs, weekly or monthly.
• Can I get the Duplicate Report monthly instead of weekly? Yes. Change it in My Account → Notifications.
• Does Dedupely tell me when new duplicates appear? Yes, with Auto Match. Everyone in the account is emailed when a search reaches the number of matches you set.
• What if I'm over my record limit? Up to 10% over, everything keeps working for 10 days. After that, or if you're more than 10% over, your account is read-only until an Admin upgrades or turns off objects in CRM Settings.