Overview

Duplicate accounts can be created in a few different ways.

One common scenario is when a customer logs in using a different email address or phone number than what’s already on file. In this case, the system may not recognize them and will generate a new account with its own Storefront Online Profile. Although the system attempts to detect and match potential duplicates through verification questions, it doesn’t always succeed.

Another way duplicates are created is when a customer books an activity for someone not already listed as a saved participant in their profile—such as booking a yoga class for a friend. In this case, the system creates a new customer record for that individual. To avoid this, customers can add friends and family under the Online Profile tab.

Duplicates are also automatically created when customers use Guest Checkout (if that option is enabled), and these must be manually resolved. Likewise, staff members may accidentally create duplicate accounts by manually adding a customer who already exists in the system.

Best Practices:

• Make Duplicate Resolution a Daily Task: Regularly reviewing and resolving duplicate accounts helps maintain clean data and ensures customers have access to their complete records.

• Address Duplicates During Guest Checkout: When Guest Checkout is used, resolve any duplicate entries while the customer is still present. This allows you to confirm and update contact information before saving changes.

Viewing System-Detected Duplicate Accounts

Go to the Customers module > Duplicates tab. Here the Status column will rank potential duplicates based on how much of the information matches.

Click Resolve to bring up the Resolve Potential Duplicates window.

Resolving the Duplicate or Creating a New Customer

• If this is not a duplicate, Mark as a New Customer with the checkbox at right in yellow
• Compare the customer in the heading to the suggested customers in the list. If you see a match, click Select and compare the customer info.
• Leave the checkboxes in the Action column checked to accept the new info and merge the customer records. This will update the selected info on the customer record and merge the accounts, keeping the newest info on the active account.

Duplicates Missed by the System

If you find a duplicate that is not shown in the Duplicates tab, you can resolve it by Transferring Records. See our article on record transfers for more info.