Record Merge

Overview

The Record Merge utility consolidates the contents of a "source" record into a "target" record to create a single, merged record. The user is then given the option of deleting the source record.

The utility is especially useful when duplicate records are discovered in SmartOffice, e.g., when the Duplicate Records feature is used. However, the utility can also be used to merge records that are not duplicates but are otherwise redundant.

Record Merge uses a special record-matching algorithm to analyze the source and target records. If the source record contains information that is not in the target record, that data is moved into the appropriate fields of the target record. If the source and the target contain different information in the same fields, the data in the target record remains unaltered unless the user specifies otherwise.

Requirements

To use record merge features, a user must have the following user rights:

• Merge Contacts – Button
• Advisor Merge – Button (if the user wants to merge advisor records)

The user must also have Add, Modify and Delete permissions for the record types he or she wants to merge. See User Accounts - Permissions Content Link.

Types of Records that Can Be Merged

The following types of records can be merged:

• Contacts
• Businesses
• Advisors
• Agencies
• Policies
• Carriers
• Products
• Riders
• Investment accounts
• Investment positions
• Investment securities

Note: For insurance carriers and products, there is a separate procedure for merging local-office records with resource-office records. For more information, see SmartResource for Carrier-Plan Data - Realigning Local Office Content.

For investment accounts, positions and securities, SmartOffice also features a special Duplicate Merge feature than can be used to quickly combine these record types. See SmartInvestments - Merging Duplicate Accounts, Positions and Securities.

SmartOffice also has a separate procedure for merging commission rate records. See SmartCommissions - Rates.

Merging Two Records

Records can be merged from a standard list of records as well as from the Duplicate Record List.

From a Standard List of Records

1. Search for the target record.
2. In the list of search results, tag the target record (or open it) and then click the Menu button.
3. From the expanded menu, select the appropriate option based on the type of record being merged:

• For contacts, businesses, advisors and agencies: Advanced Options > Merge Records
• For policies: Advanced Options > Policy Merge

• For carriers: Advanced Options > Carrier Merge
• For products: Product Merge

• For rider products: Rider Merge
• For investment accounts: Advanced Options > Merge Non-Duplicate Accounts

• For investment positions: Advanced Options > Merge Non-Duplicate Positions

• For investment securities: Advanced Options > Merge Non-Duplicate Securities

1. If the Select Merge Option dialog box opens, select one of the available source record options and click the OK button.

• Show list of matching duplicate contact records: This option tells SmartOffice to use its record-matching algorithm to find and display source contacts that are duplicates of the selected target.

• Show search dialog box for random search: Select this option to open a standard search dialog box and select the source record. Use this option if the source record is not a duplicate.

1. If a search dialog box opens, use it to search for the source record. Then, in the list of records displayed, select the source record.
2. When the Merge Records dialog box opens, carefully review the changes that will be made to the target record.
3. Make any necessary changes:

• If the source and target are reversed, click the Swap button to switch them.
• In the Conflicts section, select the Overwrite Target Value option for any source record field that should overwrite the target record field. If this option is cleared, the target field's value is retained in the merged record.

1. Click the Merge button.
2. When the system asks whether the source contact record should be deleted, click the Yes button. (In offices that have Protect Communication History enabled, the contact is actually archived, not deleted.)

Note: Clicking Yes is recommended when the system asks whether the source contact should be deleted. If the source record is not deleted, two records with the same information will exist in the database. Also, some information is actually moved, not copied, to the target record. As a result, referred contacts, documents and time log information are no longer present in the source record after the merge.

From the Duplicate Record List

1. Open the Duplicate Record List.
2. Tag two records to be merged.
3. Select Menu > Merge Two Duplicates to open the Merge Records dialog box.
4. Ensure that the source and target records are correctly identified and that any conflicts are resolved (refer to the previous section).
5. Click the Merge button.
6. When the system asks whether the source contact record should be deleted, click the Yes button.

Mass Merging Multiple Duplicate Records

Note: To use this feature, a user must have the Mass Deletion user right.

1. Open the Duplicate Record List.
2. Select Menu > Mass Merge Duplicates. A dialog box grouping the duplicate contacts together appears.
3. Review the duplicate groupings, noting the following:

• The record marked as the Primary Record serves as the target record; data from other duplicates is merged into this record. To designate a different record as the primary record, select the Primary Record option for that record.
• For non-primary records, select the Merge into Primary option to merge that record's data into the primary record. Note that, if SmartOffice encounters a conflict between data in primary and non-primary records during the mass merge process, SmartOffice always retains the primary record's data.

• Select a record's Delete option to move that record to the Deleted Records area without merging its contents into the primary record.
• Users with the appropriate rights can customize the columns to display the information they want. Click the Options button and select Customize List Layout (for more information, see List Layout Customization).

1. Click the Merge All button.

Once the mass merge is complete, all non-primary records are moved to the Deleted Records area.

Note: For performance reasons, the Mass Merge Duplicates command processes a maximum of 100 records. To merge more than 100 records, run the command repeatedly until all duplicates are merged.

Record-Matching Algorithm Used in Merges

Contacts

The table below provides details about the rules SmartOffice uses when merging contacts. The general rule that applies to all merges: If the specified fields in the source do not match data in the target, the source data is copied to the target.

Policies

Note the following rules that govern the copying of data during a policy merge:

• If the source and target policies have the same policy relationships, advisor or insured, the entry in the source policy is not copied to the target policy. For example, if Joseph Ackerman is the primary insured for both policies and has a risk class specified on the source side (but not on the target side), the target policy will end up with only one primary insured entry with no risk class specified.
• If the source policy contains policy relationships, advisors or insured contacts that the target policy does not have, those items are copied to the target policy. For example, if the target and source policies have different contacts for the primary insured, the primary insured entry from the source policy is copied to the target, resulting in two primary insured contacts existing in the target policy after the merge.

Note: Any information in a policy relationship entry is also copied over. For example, if an advisor entry is copied to the target policy, the data in the Relation, Split Percent, As of Date, Expiration Date, Marketing Manager, Region Code, Office Code and Remarks fields for that advisor is moved over as well.

• For all other lists in a policy record (e.g., the Documents List), data that does not exist in the target policy is copied from the source policy. Existing entries in the target policy are not overwritten or deleted. For example, if the target policy has one entry in the Documents List and the source policy has one entry in the Documents List, the target policy will end up with two entries after the merge.
• For variable life and annuity life policies, the target policy can end up with duplicate entries for the same subaccount after the merge. Duplicate subaccounts can be deleted manually from the target policy's Subaccounts content link after the merge.

• If the user declines to delete the source policy after a merge, any items that were copied to the target policy during the merge operation (e.g., policy relationships, advisors, insured contacts, etc.) are deleted from the source policy. Any items that were not copied to the target remain in the source policy.

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