Classic - Merging Customer Accounts

In Successware Classic, there are multiple options for merging customer accounts.  This article will review the options available as Utilities under the Setup module.

These utilities include:

• Find and Merge Billing Accounts
• Find and Merge Locations
  
  
• Merge/Delete Billing Accounts
• Merge/Delete Locations
• Merge/Delete Vendors

Find and Merge Accounts

The Find and Merge utility displays possible duplicate locations and billing accounts for inspection and possible merge.  Duplicate accounts may have been created in the past because of user failure to locate an existing customer account during call taking or customer search.  Duplicate accounts may have also been created during data conversion.

Using the Find and Merge utility:

1. Access the Find and Merge Accounts Form by selecting Setup from the Main Menu and clicking the Utilities button.

2. Double click on (MAINTENANCE TOOLS...)

3. Double click on the Find and Merge<Account Type> utility.  You can search by Billing Account, or Location.

4. The Form will open with accounts listed that contain identical names and addresses.
   
   To change views, click the Views button.
   

• Identical Names and Addresses- This view lists any accounts that have identical Last Name, Company Name, and Address Line 1.  These accounts most likely are really the same account and should probably be merged.

• Duplicate Carbon Copy Accounts for the Same Location- This view lists any accounts that have multiple carbon copy links.  If the Last Name, Company Name, and Address Line 1 are identical, these accounts most likely are really the same account and should probably be merged.  If not, these accounts may not be duplicates and should be corrected through other means. For example, by modifying the carbon copy settings in the Location Details or the Billing Account Details form.

• Print grid- This will print the displayed list of candidates.

Note- This utility displays potential candidates for merge. It is important that each item is evaluated carefully before merging. Once accounts are merged the ‘Merge From’ account is permanently deleted from the database. It is possible that some accounts that are displayed should not be merged. Multiple carbon copies should be corrected from either the Location Details or Billing Account Details form when merging is not the correct solution.

5. To merge the selected candidates, right click and select Merge selected record. You can also press Enter on a record or double click on it. This will open the Account Merge/Delete form with the duplicate accounts displayed.

6. Inspect the two accounts carefully, and if you are sure you want to merge them, select the left or right Merge Arrow depending on which merge direction is appropriate.  

If you select an inappropriate merge direction based on the current carbon copy setting, you will get a warning message. You can still override this warning and merge, if necessary. If you are not sure whether the accounts should be merged, do not merge right away. You can search for the accounts through the Customer Search or Receivables Manager, research the detail on the accounts, and merge later when you are certain which of the two accounts you want to keep.

Merge/Delete Accounts

The Merge/Delete Accounts utility allows you to search for accounts and merge the information and history associated with the multiple accounts into a single account. Additionally, you can search for and delete accounts.

Before you can delete or merge any information, you must identify the Location IDs, Billing Account Numbers, or Vendor Numbers to be deleted or merged.

Unlike the Find and Merge Utility, the Merge/Delete utility will not find duplicate accounts for you, instead you will identify the accounts that you want to merge or delete.  

Note: Certain information associated with a location, billing account or vendor cannot be deleted and therefore will not allow for the associated account to be deleted. In that situation the account can only be merged with another account.

Below is a chart for each account type indicating the type of information associated with it and whether it can be either deleted or merged or only merged.

Location Accounts
Delete or Merge	Merge Only
Equipment Warranties Archived History Opportunities Marketing List Entries	Jobs Invoices Agreements Warranty Reserve Transactions Timecard Entries for related Jobs
Billing Accounts
Delete or Merge	Merge Only
Archived History Marketing List Entries Alternate Addresses	Locations that use this account as their default billing account Jobs Invoices Receivables Agreements Register Items
Vendor Accounts
Delete or Merge	Merge Only
Vendor Parts	Purchase Orders Receipts/Invoices Payables Register Items

Running the Merge/Delete Utility

To Run the Merge/Delete Utility

1. Access the Merge/Delete Account form by selecting Setup from the Main Menu and clicking the Utilities button.

2. Double click on (MAINTENANCE TOOLS...)

3. Double click on the Merge/Delete <Account Type> utility. You can search by Billing Account, Location, or Vendor.

4. Click into the "Find <Account Type> by Account No." field and type the account number of the account you want to find.

5. Click the Search button.

The first account will be displayed and a search field for the second account will be displayed.

If you want to delete the listed account, select the Delete button in the lower left corner of the form. If the account cannot be deleted, you will be notified.

6. Search for and display the second account.

7. Use the right or left Merge button to merge one account into the other.

If you are merging billing accounts and one of the accounts is a carbon copy account, you will be warned if you try to merge it to a non-carbon copy account.

8. Confirm that you want to merge the selected accounts.

You will be prompted if you want to search for and merge another account into the remaining account.

9. If you do, click the "Merge/Delete again" button and carry out the procedure again. If not, select the Cancel button.