Duplicate detection during imports helps keep your Tribe data clean and reliable by preventing the creation of duplicate records. This feature is useful when you import large datasets or data from another system where duplicates may already exist. You might use it when importing organisations or contacts and want control over how Tribe checks for existing records. By following this guide, you will understand how duplicate detection works and how to adjust the settings for your imports.
Table Of Contents
What Does Duplicate Detection Do?
Which Fields Can Be Used For Duplicate Detection?
How Do I Adjust Duplicate Detection Settings During An Import?
What Does Duplicate Detection Do?
Duplicate detection checks whether the data you are importing already exists in Tribe. When importing organisations, Tribe performs a standard check based on the Organisation Name and the Relation Type. If an organisation already exists with the same name and relation type, it will not be created again.
If the organisation exists with a different relation type, Tribe updates the existing organisation by adding the new relation type instead of creating a duplicate record.
No standard duplicate detection is applied automatically when importing people.
Which Fields Can Be Used For Duplicate Detection?
You decide which fields Tribe uses to check for duplicates during an import. Duplicate detection can be set on a single field or a combination of fields. Using unique data gives the most reliable results.
For contacts, an Email Address is often a good choice because it is usually unique. For organisations, a combination of fields such as Organisation Name, Postcode, and House Number provides a more accurate check than using the organisation name alone.
If your import file comes from another system and contains a unique ID, that ID can also be used for duplicate detection.
How Do I Adjust Duplicate Detection Settings During An Import?
Duplicate detection settings are part of the advanced import configuration.
Open your import definition and click the Dot Menu for the column you want to configure.
Select Advanced.
Scroll to the bottom and open Duplicate Detection Of Organisation (Relationship) or Duplicate Detection Of Contact (Relationship), depending on your import.
Review the default field combination shown.
Click the Plus Icon to add additional fields to the duplicate check.
Select the relevant fields from the menu, such as Organisation Name, Postcode, House Number, or Email Address.
Save your changes and continue with the import.
Note: Using too many non-unique fields may reduce the accuracy of duplicate detection. Choose fields that clearly identify a record.
Quick Summary
Duplicate detection helps prevent duplicate records when importing data into Tribe. You can define which fields or combinations of fields Tribe uses to identify existing organisations or contacts. Adjusting these settings during an import allows you to control how strictly duplicates are checked and keeps your data consistent.