Handle duplicate or merged customer records

What you will accomplish

You will clean up customer records when the same person appears twice, a record was created by mistake, or you need to bring back a deleted customer.

Getting this right protects billing history, cars, and portal access.

Before you start

Search All Contacts by email and phone to confirm you have duplicates—not just similar names.
Decide which record should stay (keep) and which should go (remove).
Check cars, invoices, and documents on both records before deleting anything.

Choose the right fix

Situation	Best action
Same person, two customer records—one should be a spouse or assistant on the other account	Migrate to additional contact
Record created by mistake with no important history	Delete customer
Customer was deleted but should be active again	Restore (from deleted filter)
Wrong car on a customer	Unassign or reassign the car—see Link cars and documents
Customer paused storage but history should stay	Mark Inactive in CRM Information (steps below)

Migrate a duplicate to an additional contact

Use this when the "extra" customer is really the same household or the same person who should live under another account (for example a spouse who got their own record by accident).

Open the duplicate record
On All Contacts, open the customer you want to remove as a standalone record.
Scroll to Danger Zone
Scroll to the bottom of the page and find the Danger Zone section.
Danger Zone holds serious actions at the bottom of the customer page. Read each description before you click.
Why this matters: These actions cannot be undone with a simple undo button. Take a moment to confirm you opened the correct person.
Click Migrate to contact
Click Migrate to contact. A window opens asking you to choose the target customer—the account that should keep the history.
Expected result: You search for and select the customer who should remain the main account (for example the spouse who already has the cars linked).
Confirm and review
Follow the prompts to complete the migration. Billing, subscriptions, and payment methods can move to the target account.
Expected result: The duplicate standalone record is gone. The person appears under Contacts on the target customer's page. Refresh All Contacts to confirm the extra row disappeared.

Mark a customer inactive

When someone pauses storage but you want to keep their history—and they are not a duplicate:

Open CRM Information
On the customer detail page, scroll to CRM Information → Current Stage.
Turn off Active
Use the Active / Inactive switch next to the stage area.
Inactive customers stay in the system but are hidden from default Active lists.
Expected result: The switch shows Inactive. On All Contacts, open Filters & Settings → Status and choose Inactive to find them again.

See Edit customer details for more on CRM fields.

Delete a mistaken record

Confirm nothing important is linked
Check Cars, Documents, open invoices, and portal access. Move anything needed to the correct customer first.
Why this matters: Deleting does not automatically move cars to another person—you must reassign them first.
Open Danger Zone
On the mistaken record, scroll to Danger Zone at the bottom of the page.
Click Delete Customer
Click Delete Customer and read the confirmation message carefully. Confirm when you are sure.
Expected result: The customer disappears from normal lists. They are not permanently erased immediately—your team can still restore when policy allows.

Restore a deleted customer

Show deleted customers on the list
On All Contacts, open Filters & Settings and set Status to Deleted.
Expected result: The list shows only customers who were deleted. Find the person you need to bring back.
Open the deleted customer
Click the deleted customer's name to open their detail page.
Expected result: The page may look similar to a normal record, with a Restore option available.
Click Restore Customer
Use the Restore Customer action on the page and confirm in the window that appears.
Expected result: The customer returns to normal lists with their history. Change Filters & Settings → Status back to Active to see them on the default list again.

Prevent duplicates next time

Search first before Create New Customer—see Find and filter contacts.
Use Import customers and cars from a spreadsheet with care; review the preview step for duplicate emails.
Train staff to check email and phone, not just first name.
When a spouse or assistant calls, add them under Contacts on the main account instead of creating a second customer record.

Troubleshooting

What to do next

Link remaining cars correctly: Link cars and documents to a customer
Resend portal access if needed: Invite a customer to the portal
Verify billing after a merge: Manage billing on a customer record