Dealing with duplicate records when importing

Depending upon the type of record you want to import, you can reject duplicate records, add them to your company file or update existing records. Use the Duplicate Records field to indicate your choice.

Accounts, jobs, activities or item records

When you import accounts, jobs, activities or item records, each of these records must have a unique number. If you attempt to import an account, activity or item with a duplicate number, the number will be either rejected or updated in your company file, depending upon your selection here.

For example, if Item #100 already exists in your company file and you select Update Existing Record here, the information about Item #100 in your company file will be changed to reflect the information that’s in the imported file if that file also contains an Item #100.

If you choose to reject duplicate records, information about the duplicate record will be rejected and placed in the Import Log report that is created at the time you import.

Reminder Logs

If you’re importing reminder logs, the choices you have for handling duplicate log records in the Duplicate Reminder Logs field in the Import File window depend on the selection you make in the Identify Reminder Logs by field:

■	If you choose to identify Records by Reminder Logs Record ID, you can reject the duplicate logs, add the duplicate logs to your company file, update existing logs with data from imported records that have the same record ID, or delete the duplicate logs from your company file.

■	If you choose to identify Records by Card, you have two choices -- you can either reject the duplicate logs or add the duplicate logs to your company file.

If you choose to reject duplicate records, the information that’s rejected will be placed in the Import Log report, which is created at the time you import.

Spend Money or Receive Money transactions

If you’re importing Spend Money or Receive Money transactions, you have the choice to reject duplicate transactions or add them to your company file.

If you choose to reject duplicate records, the information that’s rejected will be placed in the Import Log report, which is created at the time you import.

Customers, vendors, employees or personal contacts

In your company file, you can have customers, vendors, employees or personal contacts with the same name. If you enter ID numbers for your contacts, though, each contact must have a unique ID number.

Using the Duplicate Records field of the Import File window, you can select how you want to handle duplicate records.

If you choose Identify Records by Card ID or Record ID, when you import cards, you can either update existing cards with data from imported records that have the same Card ID, or you can reject the duplicate cards. The action taken depends upon your selection in the Duplicate Records field of the Import File window.

If you choose Identify Records by Card Co./Last Name,when you import cards, you have three choices. You can:

■	update the existing cards with data from the duplicate records

■	add the duplicate cards to your company file

■	reject the duplicate card.

If you choose to reject duplicate records, the information that’s rejected will be placed in the Import Log report, which is created at the time you import.

Sales

If you’re importing Sales, you have the option to reject duplicate transactions or add them to your company file. Each sale is checked for duplicates according to the setting of the preference Warn for Duplicate Invoice Numbers in the Preferences window.

In the Preferences window, you can choose to warn for duplicate invoice numbers only, customer PO numbers only or either duplicate invoice numbers or duplicate customer PO numbers; you can also choose to leave the preference unmarked.

If you mark the preference, each sale will be checked for duplicates according to your selection when you import sales:

■	If you’ve marked the preference Warn for Duplicate Invoice Numbers, imported sales will be checked for duplicated invoice numbers only.

■	If you’ve marked the preference Warn for Duplicate Customer PO Numbers, your imported sales will be checked for duplicate customer PO numbers only.

■	If you’ve marked the preference Warn for Duplicate Invoice and Customer PO Numbers, your imported sales will be checked for either a duplicate invoice number or a duplicate customer PO number.

If you leave the preference unmarked, each sale will be checked for either a duplicate invoice number or a duplicate Customer PO number; that is, your imported sales will be checked as if you had selected Warn for Duplicate Invoice and Customer PO Numbers on Recorded Sales in the Preferences window.

If the Invoice or Customer PO field is blank, the field is not considered a duplicate.

If you choose to reject duplicate records, the information that’s rejected will be placed in the Import Log report, which is created at the time you import.

Purchases

If you’re importing Purchases, you have the option to reject duplicate transactions or add them to your company file. When you import purchases, each purchase will be checked for duplicates according to your selection.

In this window you can choose to warn for duplicate purchase order numbers only, vendor invoice numbers only or warn for either duplicate PO numbers or duplicate vendor invoice numbers. When you import purchases, each purchase will be checked for duplicates according to your selection.

If you mark the preference, each purchase will be checked for duplicates according to your selection when you import purchases:

■	If you’ve marked the preference Warn for Duplicate Purchase Order Numbers, imported purchases will be checked for duplicated purchase order numbers only. If you’ve marked the preference

■	Warn for Duplicate Vendor Invoice Numbers, your imported purchases will be checked for duplicate vendor invoice numbers only.

■	If you’ve marked the preference Warn for Duplicate PO and Vendor Invoice Numbers, your imported purchases will be checked for either a duplicate PO number or a duplicate vendor invoice number.

If you haven’t marked the preference, each purchase will be checked for either a duplicate PO number or a duplicate vendor invoice number; that is, your imported purchases will be checked as if you had selected Warn for Duplicate PO and Vendor Invoice Numbers on Recorded Purchases in the Preferences window.

If the Purchase Order or Vendor Invoice field is blank, the field is not considered a duplicate.

If you choose to reject duplicate records, the information that’s rejected will be placed in the Import Log report, which is created at the time you import.

Related Topics

■	Records that can be imported and exported

■	File formats for importing and exporting

■	Import and Export—general topics

■	Import log

■	Export options

■	Importing and Exporting—procedures