Merging duplicate people

The steps here are stable; exact screenshots will be added once the interface is final.

When the same person ends up in your church twice, Volunteer Circle helps you spot it and combine the two records into one — so their history, training, and care all live in a single place.

This is an admin-only feature, and you can only merge people within your own church.

Why duplicates happen

Duplicates usually come from the same person arriving through more than one door — imported from Planning Center, imported again from CCB or a CSV, and maybe also added by hand. Each path can create a separate record for the same individual.

Volunteer Circle flags two people as a possible duplicate when they share:

• the same email address, or
• the same first and last name.

You’ll find these in the “Possible duplicates to review” panel on the People page. (Only admins see this panel.)

How to merge

1. Open the Possible duplicates to review panel on the People page.
2. Expand a set to see the records that look like the same person.
3. Choose which record to keep. This is the record everything will be combined onto, so pick the most complete and correct one.
4. Click Merge, then confirm.

That’s it — the two records become one.

What happens to the data

Everything from the duplicate moves onto the record you kept. Nothing is lost:

• Team memberships
• Training and course progress
• Care history and notes
• Messages
• Guardian links

The duplicate record is then archived — not deleted. It’s removed from your active people but remains recoverable by support if something ever needs to be sorted out.

Merging can’t be undone from the app

Once you confirm a merge, you can’t reverse it yourself in Volunteer Circle. Before you click Merge, double-check that you’ve selected the right record to keep. If you keep the wrong one, the result isn’t lost data — everything still combines — but the surviving record may carry the less complete details, and unwinding it means contacting support.

A good habit: glance at the name, email, and a couple of key details on the record you’re keeping before confirming.

Related

• How the join link works — one of the ways people enter your church
• Roles explained — why only admins see this panel