Merging Duplicate Customers

From time to time, a user may notice that multiple Customer records exist in Acctivate and QuickBooks that should be a single Customer record. This article will show how to merge two Customer records into a single record using QuickBooks.

In the screenshot below, notice the two open Customer windows. One shows the Customer "Smith" the other shows "Smith Photography." In this example, we are assuming that both of these Customer records should represent a single Customer in Acctivate and QuickBooks.

Merge the duplicate customer into the customer you want to keep. 

1. Determine which Customer Name is correct and will continue to be in use. In the example, let's assume that Smith Photography has transactions under it and Smith was a duplicate customer created by mistake.
2. In order to merge Customers in QuickBooks, log into the QuickBooks file in Single User Mode.
3. Once in Single User Mode, open the Customer record you want to continue to use (Smith Photography); copy the Customer Name to your clipboard (CTRL + C).
4. With the correct Customer Name saved on your clipboard, close that Customer window and open up the Customer that is using the duplicate Customer Name (i.e., Smith). Paste the correct Customer Name into the Customer Name field to replace the incorrect name (Smith), then click OK. QuickBooks will populate a warning that indicates that the Customer Name already exists and that the records will be merged. Assuming this is correct, click Yes to merge the two Customer Records in QuickBooks.
   
5. On the next sync, Acctivate will note that the customer 'Smith' is no longer in QuickBooks and will also remove Smith from Acctivate.

Information That will Merge

• Transactions
• Customer Product Prices
• Customer Contracts
• Contacts
• Ship To Locations
  • NOTE: Ship To Locations will only merge if multiple Ship To locations exist for both customer accounts.

Acctivate Version prior to 11.2

In Acctivate versions prior to 11.2, Acctivate uses prior transactions to determine which customers should be merged. Therefore, it is recommended the customer with transactions, be merged into the customer without transactions.

1. Determine which Customer Name should continue to be used, and which should not. In the example, let's assume that Smith Photography has prior transactions, and Smith does not.
2. In order to merge Customers in QuickBooks, log into the QuickBooks file in Single User Mode.
3. Once in Single User Mode, open the Customer record which has no prior transactions (Smith) and copy the Customer Name to your clipboard (CTRL + C).
4. With the Customer Name saved on your clipboard, close that Customer window and open up the Customer that has prior transactions (Smith Photography). Paste the Customer Name on your clipboard (i.e., Smith) into the Customer Name field to replace the previous name, then click OK. QuickBooks will populate a warning that indicates that the Customer Name already exists and that the records will be merged. Assuming this is correct, click Yes to merge the two Customer Records in QuickBooks.
5. Once the Customer records are merged in QuickBooks, while still logged into the QuickBooks file in Single User Mode, run a sync in Acctivate. The sync should merge the two Customer records and transactions to match QuickBooks. If the duplicate Customer record is re-created in QuickBooks after the sync, follow the steps in this help article.

*It's important to note that if either of the two Customer records have existing transactions that are older than the defined Closing Date in QuickBooks, a Password must be entered to merge the Customers in QuickBooks. Further, in order for the changes to take effect in Acctivate, the Closing Date should be removed or set to the day before the oldest transaction for either Customer record before syncing. Once the Customers are merged in Acctivate, set the Closing Date back and sync again to re-set the Closing Date in Acctivate.