Manually merging records

Identity resolution in the Apteco CDP automatically links records that belong to the same person. However, automated processes don't always capture every match.

You might discover duplicate records through:

  • Direct contact with supporters

  • Manual data review

  • Information from external systems

Merging records gives you control over these small-scale corrections where you've identified specific duplicate records that your automated identity resolution has missed. Think of manual merge as a precision tool for data quality maintenance, complementing your automated identity resolution rather than replacing it.

What happens during a merge

When you merge records, Orbit:

  • Identifies the most recent record based on its update date

  • Creates a new Individual record using details from the most recent record

  • Links all child data to the new record, including:

    • Source URNs

    • Email addresses

    • Postal addresses

    • Mobile numbers

    • Home phone numbers

    • Transactions

  • Records the merge

  • Preserves the original records in the full dataset

Prerequisites

You need:

  • The numeric Apteco IDs for the records you want to merge

  • Permission to access the internal merge feature

Note: You cannot undo merge operations through the UI. Once you load additional data, recovering the original records becomes difficult.

Donor record consolidation

A supporter donates through multiple channels over several years. They give £50 through your website as "J. Smith", make a £100 phone donation as "John Smith", and attend an event registered as "Jonathan Smith" with a different email address.

Your identity resolution creates three separate records. When you discover these are the same person through a phone conversation, you can manually merge the three Apteco IDs. This creates a single donor record showing the complete giving history of £150.

Volunteer database cleanup

A volunteer registers for your system using their personal email address. Later, they use their work email to sign up for additional activities. The system creates two Individual records with different contact preferences and activity histories.

When the volunteer mentions both email addresses during onboarding, you can merge the records. This consolidates their volunteering hours, training records, and communication preferences into one record.

Merging Individual records

To merge records:

  1. In Orbit connect, click the cog icon in the top-right corner.

  2. Select Internal Merge.

  3. Click + New Merge.

  4. Enter the Apteco IDs you want to merge in the Individual IDs field.

    You can enter:

    • One ID per line

    • Multiple IDs separated by commas

    • A combination of both formats

  5. Click Merge.

    Tip: Double-check your Apteco IDs before confirming.

  6. Review the warning message and click Merge again to confirm.

Orbit processes your merge request and displays a log file showing the results.

To review a previous merge, go back to the Internal Merge page and click View Logs next to your merge operation.

After completing a merge, you must rebuild and redeploy your Orbit system for the changes to appear.

Input requirements

  • Enter between 2 and 20 numeric Apteco IDs

  • Use only whole numbers

  • Orbit automatically detects and validates ID format

Note: The 20-record limit reflects typical use cases for manual correction. If you need to merge larger volumes, consider reviewing your identity resolution rules instead.