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Overview

Duplicate detection looks through your CRM for records that seem to be the same contact or account, then either queues them for you to check or merges them for you. You control two things:
  • How Reevo decides two records match: which fields to compare, and how strictly.
  • What Reevo does about it: hold the match for your approval, or merge it automatically.
When a duplicate is confirmed, Reevo merges it the same way you would by hand: one record survives and the others are archived into it. See Merging Records for what a merge does to your data.

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At a glance

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Duplicate detection vs. unique fields

These are two separate features on the same settings page, and they solve opposite problems: Most teams use both: unique fields to stop the obvious cases at the door, duplicate detection to catch the messier ones that get through.

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Before you start

Only admins can set this up. If you aren’t an admin, you won’t see the Data integrity page. Contacts and Accounts are configured separately. Switch between them at the top of the panel. Each keeps its own on/off setting, its own rules, and its own policy, so turning detection on for Contacts does nothing for Accounts.

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How detection runs

Detection works in the background rather than the moment you save a record. It runs two ways:
Because this runs in the background, a duplicate you just created won’t show up straight away. Click Run now if you don’t want to wait. If you need something blocked the instant someone saves it, use a unique field instead.

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Status and counts

The card at the top of each object’s settings shows whether detection is on, when it last ran, and two counts:
  • X auto-merged: records Reevo merged for you. Click to see what was merged.
  • X pending review: matches waiting on you. Click to open the review queue.
Turning detection off stops future checks and stops new records being flagged. Anything already in your review queue stays there.

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Search rules

Search rules decide when two records count as duplicates. Reevo treats them as match any rule:
  • Two records are duplicates if they satisfy any one of your rules.
  • A rule is only satisfied when every field in it matches.
So more rules means more records get flagged, and more fields inside a single rule means fewer. There are 4 things to set up:

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1. Choose what Reevo does with a match

The first rule is required, and it decides what happens when a duplicate is found: New organizations start on Manual review, so nothing gets merged without you until you decide otherwise.

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2. Build your rules

Add one or more rules describing which combinations of fields mean “this is the same record”. For example, a Contacts rule of Display name and Primary email only flags two contacts when both their name and their email match. Add a second rule, say Display name and LinkedIn URL, to widen the net without loosening either rule.
You need at least one field in a rule before you can save.

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3. Pick exact or fuzzy for each field

Some fields let you choose how strictly to compare. Others are always exact. Before comparing anything, Reevo tidies values up:
  • Text is lowercased and trimmed, so Acme, Inc. can match acme inc.
  • Emails ignore anything after a plus sign, so jane+sales@acme.com matches jane@acme.com. On Gmail addresses only, dots in the name are ignored too.
  • Phone numbers compare on digits, ignoring a leading US or Canadian country code.
  • Web addresses drop http://, www., anything after a question mark, and any trailing slash.
For Email domain and Official website, fuzzy matching compares the company name part and ignores the ending, so acme.com and acme.net count as a match. Set those fields to exact if you work with companies that use several unrelated domains.
After Reevo gathers likely matches, it checks each pair more carefully before deciding. That second check is why detection runs in the background rather than instantly, and it happens whichever match type you pick. Fuzzy only widens which pairs get looked at in the first place.

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4. Choose your fields

Contacts Accounts
Fields labelled Recommended for accuracy give the most reliable results. Pair a name field with something identifying, such as email, domain, or LinkedIn URL. Matching on a name alone will flag unrelated people who happen to share one.

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Preview before you commit

The Example matches section below your rules shows what would happen to sample pairs under the policy you’ve picked, labelled with that policy’s name. Check it before saving, especially if you’re moving to a policy that merges on its own.

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Review and merge duplicates

What happens next depends on your policy. Waiting for you. Every match under Manual review, and the less certain ones under Mixed review. Open the queue from the pending review count, then approve or dismiss each one. Approving runs a normal merge. Merged for you. Exact matches under Mixed review, and most matches under Minimal review.
Reevo only merges on its own when a group is clear-cut. It can merge up to 11 records together in one go. Anything larger than that, and any group where more than one record has its own activity history, always goes to your review queue instead.

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Which record survives

When Reevo merges by itself, it keeps whichever record it judges more established, working down this list until one wins:
  1. The one with more activity on it.
  2. Then the one linked to more other records.
  3. Then the one updated most recently.
Every other record in the group is archived into it, exactly as in a manual merge.

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Save your settings

Your changes are held until you save. A footer appears showing your current Contacts and Accounts policies alongside an Unsaved changes marker.
  • Save changes applies everything.
  • Cancel throws away your changes.
You can’t save while a rule has no fields in it, or while a rule uses phone number on its own.
Saving also affects matches already in your review queue. Reevo re-checks everything waiting there against your new settings. If you’ve switched to a policy that merges more on its own, matches that now qualify can be merged straight away instead of waiting for you. Merges archive the losing record and can’t be reversed, so work through or clear your review queue before moving to Mixed review or Minimal review.

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Troubleshooting / FAQs

Only admins. The Data integrity page is hidden from everyone else. Ask an admin in your organization to change the rules or the policy.
Duplicate detection finds records that are probably the same, using flexible rules across several fields, then reviews or merges them. It cleans up duplicates you already have. Unique fields block a duplicate value on one specific field the moment someone saves, which stops new ones being created. Detection runs in the background about once an hour; unique fields act instantly. Most teams use both.
Detection runs in the background roughly once an hour, not as you save. Click Run now to check straight away. If you need instant blocking on a particular field, use a unique field instead.
Exact only matches values that are identical once Reevo tidies up formatting like capitals and spacing. Fuzzy also matches close ones, so “Acme, Inc.” and “acme inc”, or a nickname and a full name, still count. Either way Reevo checks each likely pair more carefully before deciding, so fuzzy widens what gets considered rather than lowering the final bar.
Phone numbers get shared, most obviously a company main line, so matching on phone alone flags people who aren’t duplicates at all. Pair it with something else, such as display name or email.
Only if you choose Mixed review or Minimal review. Manual review never merges by itself. Even on the automatic policies Reevo only merges clear-cut groups, and at most 11 records at a time. Anything larger, or any group where more than one record has its own activity, comes to your review queue.
The one with more activity on it. If that’s tied, the one linked to more other records. If that’s tied too, the one updated most recently. Every other record in the group is archived into it, just like a manual merge.
Yes. They have separate on/off settings, separate rules, and separate policies. Switch between them at the top of the panel.
Future checks stop and new records won’t be flagged, but anything already in the queue stays. Turn detection back on to resume.
Yes. Saving re-checks them against your new settings, and matches that now qualify for automatic merging can be merged right away. Clear or work through your queue before switching to a policy that merges more on its own.
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