This guide is for System Admins combining two existing Contact records that belong to the same person. The Contact marked Keep remains active. The other is marked Archive and is archived when the merge runs.
Contact Cademy Support before merging if either record has credit balances, CPD awards, linked tasks, older booking history or conflicting details. Do not assume every record or balance will move. There is no Undo option in this merge process.
Before merging Contacts
Open both Contacts separately and confirm that they belong to the same person. Compare names, email addresses, phone/address, organisation, tags, consent and custom fields.
Review their orders, registrations, memberships, messages, notes, certificates, Gift Cards, CPD, tasks and any credit. Decide which identity and email address should remain.
Resolve conflicting or missing information with Support before proceeding. The merge dialog does not let you choose every field separately.
Do not use a merge to move a booking to a different person or to cancel a booking, refund money or close a learner account.
The dialog uses two existing Contacts; it does not create a third record. Selecting a Contact is preparation. The Merge button performs the change.
Open Merge Duplicate
Open Contacts in the Admin dashboard. If hidden from the main menu, check More → Contacts. Ask a System Admin if you still cannot open it.
Find and open one of the two duplicate Contacts.
Open the ... menu at the top right and select Merge Duplicate.
Example showing the Merge Duplicate menu action. Contact details and the surrounding layout vary.
The Merge Duplicate Contact dialog opens. Merge is unavailable until another existing Contact is selected and the required record details are available. Use Cancel to leave without submitting a merge.
Choose which Contact to keep
Select Merge with, search for the other duplicate and choose it.
Under Which contact do you want to keep?, compare both cards and their email addresses.
Check the Keep and Archive badges. By default, the newly selected Contact is Keep and the Contact you opened is Archive.
Select the other card if you need to reverse that choice.
Example showing the Merge Duplicate Contact dialog. Keep is on the Contact selected in Merge with and Archive is on the Contact that was opened.
Changing the Contact in Merge with resets the choice: the newly selected Contact becomes Keep. Review both badges again before continuing.
Understand what happens
Read What happens when you merge, but do not treat its “everything” or “blank fields never overwrite” wording as a guarantee. Check these differences before submitting:
Name and email: existing values on the kept Contact remain. Missing name parts or email can be filled from the archived Contact.
Phone and address: when the archived Contact has a phone or address value, it replaces the corresponding kept value. After a merge the kept Contact’s address holds street, city, postcode and country only: a second address line and a county/state are removed, whichever Contact the address came from. Note them before merging.
Custom fields: values can replace those on the kept Contact. Zero values in number fields, off switches and empty lists need particular care; the result is not simply “fill empty fields”.
Tags: tags from both Contacts are combined.
Organisation: the kept Contact’s organisation remains when present; the archived Contact’s organisation can fill an absent one.
Marketing consent and terms: if either record has an accepted value, accepted takes precedence over declined. Resolve any disagreement before merging.
The merge links current orders and their attendees, registrations, memberships, requests, conversations, messages, notes, quiz responses and certificates to the Contact you keep. It also changes which Contact is recorded as a Gift Card buyer or recipient. Do not assume older booking records, financial documents or connected systems are updated in the same way.
Credit balances, the Contact’s CPD feed, linked tasks and older booking history need Support review before merging. Moving a Registration does not by itself move its CPD award into the kept Contact’s feed. Do not assume that financial documents or connected CRM records will be regenerated or combined.
Complete the merge
Continue only after the identity, information conflicts and affected history have been checked. Confirm the correct Keep badge again.
Select Merge once and wait for Contacts merged.
If you kept the Contact chosen in Merge with, Cademy opens that Contact’s page. If you kept the original Contact, its details and activity refresh on the same page.
Reopen the kept Contact and check its name/email, other fields, tags, organisation and the affected records. Compare them with what you checked before the merge.
If the merge fails, stalls or leaves information missing, stop and contact Cademy Support with both Contact names and links. Do not retry blindly, recreate records or try to reverse it by merging again. An error does not prove that no changes were made.
Frequently asked questions
Which Contact is kept by default?
The Contact selected in Merge with. Select the other card to keep the Contact you originally opened, then check the Keep badge.
Can I create a new Contact from the merge dialog?
No. Choose another existing Contact.
Why is the Merge button unavailable?
Select another existing Contact in Merge with. If it stays unavailable, cancel and ask Support to check the records. Do not create another duplicate to bypass it.
What happens to the Contact marked Archive?
It is archived. The current records listed above are linked to the kept Contact, but not every type of history or balance is combined. Review the limitations above first.
Which name and email address remain?
The kept Contact’s existing values remain. Missing values can be filled from the archived Contact. Check the final identity before and after merging.
What happens if I select a different duplicate?
The newly selected Contact becomes the default Keep choice. Recheck both badges.
Why can I not see Contacts or Merge Duplicate?
Check More → Contacts or the direct Contacts link. System Admin access is required; ask a System Admin if the page or merge action is unavailable.
Is changing an email address to one used by another Contact the same process?
No. Confirm email address change has no Keep/Archive choice, and details from the Contact being edited can overwrite the existing Contact. The transfer limitations still matter. See Manage Contacts and ask Support before confirming if the consequences are unclear.
Can I undo a merge from this dialog?
No. There is no Undo option in this process. Contact Support immediately if the wrong records were merged.
Does merging combine credit, CPD and tasks automatically?
No. Do not rely on that. Contact Support before merging affected records. An active CPD award remains accessible through its Registration even when it does not appear in the kept Contact’s CPD feed. This does not mean the award was deleted.
What if the merge reports an error?
Stop and ask Support to check both records before another attempt. Some changes may already have happened.
Does a merge cancel bookings or refund payments?
No. Those are separate actions. Do not use a merge to transfer a booking to another person or change a financial agreement.