Neon CRM’s Account Match & Queue will automatically check accounts coming into the database from forms to see if there is an existing account with the same identity. If the names & email addresses match, the accounts will be automatically merged together by the Account Match. If the accounts are very close - say, email and phone match but not name - they will be entered into the Partial Match Queue. Matches in the Queue can be merged together in just three clicks, including merging multiple sets of matches at once. Find this feature under Tools Duplicate Management.
All other potential matches can be identified and carefully merged with the Duplicate Scan.
Activation
If your Neon CRM was created after March 14th, 2020, the Account Match & Queue are on by default. To check or adjust this setting, navigate to Settings > Global Settings > Account Match & Queue and toggle the Account Match & Queue.
If you are a current Neon user interested in beginning to use this feature, please refer to this guide on your next steps.
Here you can also select the following.
- Whether checkbox fields will overwrite or combine values. This setting affects all Account Custom Checkbox Fields merged by the Account Match or Partial Match Queue. It does not affect accounts merged through the Duplicate Scan, where checkbox values will be combined.
- How often Users receive notifications of the number of accounts merged by the Account Match.
- Whether constituents should still receive account registration acknowledgements when incoming accounts are automatically merged into existing accounts.
Incoming Accounts
Accounts will be checked by the Account Match & Queue if they enter Neon CRM through any of the following ways.
- Front-end form entry
- Contact Information Form
- Standard Donation Form
- Campaign Donation
- Peer-to-Peer Donation
- Peer-to-Peer Event Registration
- Event Registration
- Event Attendee
- Volunteer Application Form
- Standard Membership Form
- Membership Renewal Form
- Store Purchase
- Custom Form
- Neon CRM API v2
Accounts entering from back-end data entry, the Import Manager, or the API v1 will not be checked by this feature. Use the existing account search when performing back-end data entry and the duplicate prevention tool within the Import Manager. The Duplicate Scan, however, will check all accounts regardless of creation method.
Account Match
The Neon CRM Account Match checks incoming accounts to see if an existing account has the same name and email address (Email 1 for individuals & Company Email for companies). If a match is found, the incoming account is automatically merged with the existing account.
You can see how many matches have been found and merged on
- the Duplicate Management page pictured above,
- the widget,
- and a periodic notification.
There is no action to be taken for these matches; the merge is complete.
Partial Match Queue
If the incoming account does not meet the criteria for an Account Match but is close, the pair will appear in the Partial Match Queue. Accounts will appear if an incoming and existing account match on:
- email but not name,
- name and phone,
- or phone but not name.
One or more pairs in the Partial Match Queue can be merged quickly by checking the box(es) and selecting Merge.
If you are unsure if a pair should be merged, Defer to Duplicate Scan. This will allow you to inspect the accounts more closely or establish another type of relationship.
You can also Mark as Not Duplicates to keep both accounts separate and remove them from consideration going forward.
Keep an eye on your Partial Match Queue by adding the Account Match & Queue widget to your dashboard.
How will Accounts be merged?
When using any Neon tool to merge accounts, all transactions will be kept on the merged account.
If merged by the Account Match or Partial Match Queue, generally the incoming account data takes primacy over the existing data. For example, Phone 1 on the incoming account will become Phone 1 on the merged account, bumping existing phone numbers into Phone 2 and Phone 3, if necessary. The same is true for email & mailing addresses. However, account ID and origin tracking are maintained from the existing account.
A blank field will not overwrite a populated field. For example, if the existing account has a phone number but Phone 1 was not filled in on the incoming account, the existing account’s Phone 1 remains on the merged account.
- Origin information (Account ID, Origin Category, Origin Detail) will be preserved from the older account. These fields can only retain one entry.
- For Prefix, Suffix, Gender, Birthday, Website, Facebook, and Twitter, incoming values will overwrite existing values.
- For One-Line Text, Multi-Line Text, Dropdown, and Radio Account Custom Fields, the incoming account data will overwrite the existing values.
- For Checkbox Account Custom Fields, you can choose if incoming values should overwrite or be combined with existing. Navigate to Settings > Global Settings > Account Match & Queue and adjust Merging Custom Checkbox Values.
When merging accounts with a Duplicate Scan, you will have the opportunity to select which account to keep. The kept account’s data will be treated as the primary data. When only one value can be kept (e.g. Birthday or One-Line Text Account Custom Field), the values from the “kept” account will be preserved.
Q&A
Why doesn’t the Account Match automatically merge accounts with the same phone number, address, name, etc?
All merges are irreversible outside of a database rollback. We’re being cautious & making sure that we don’t automatically irrevocably merge accounts that shouldn’t be merged.
Can I use the Partial Match Queue without the Account Match?
The Partial Match Queue is a backup to the Account Match, so both features are only available together.
Can I use the Constituent Login Portal with the Account Match & Queue?
Absolutely. The Constituent Login Portal provides some unique benefits like Volunteer Timesheets, easy membership renewal, and more.
- If your system was created after March 14, 2020, you can just share the Constituent Login Portal link with your constituents to begin using them together. Here is a guide on encouraging constituents to log in.
- If your database was created before March 14th, 2020, follow these instructions on how to use them together. Note that constituents will need to create their login credentials by clicking the token in a System or Campaign Email, as described here. Login names & passwords cannot be created on Public Access forms to protect your constituents' information.
Why can't constituents create login names & passwords on front end forms if we use the Account Match & Queue?
This is to protect your constituents' information. Imagine how it would be if we had left the login credential creation fields on forms; if I know the name & email address of one of your constituents, I could fill out a Neon form with their information, pick a new username & password, and then log in to gain access to all of their information - address, giving history, etc - in the portal. To prevent this, login names & passwords must be created by clicking a link in an email. Only someone who has access to their email account would be able to log into the Portal.
Will this match event attendees, distribution list records, etc. without accounts to incoming accounts?
The feature does match company contact records (non-account records) with incoming individual accounts. It does not match with other types of contact records (e.g. distribution list records, event attendee records, household contact records). Incoming sub-member accounts and full account event attendees will be checked by the Account Match & Queue.
Does this mean I do not need to use the Duplicate Scan?
No, you will still use the Duplicate Scan to manage existing duplicates, deduplicate incoming accounts based on address, and create relationships between accounts. Clear out your Partial Match Queue before beginning to work on the Duplicate Scan results since this will be a faster way to merge. The Account Match will help prevent duplicate accounts ending up in the Scan.