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Dynamics 365 merge duplicates: find them, merge them, and clean the export first
Dynamics 365 already has duplicate detection rules, duplicate detection jobs and a Merge action for two records at a time. Below: Microsoft's own steps first, then our done-for-you pass over your exported CSV before you re-import or merge: same-email rows merged, possible duplicates flagged for you to merge, every change logged. $99 for up to 500 rows (back in 48 hours) or $299 for 501 to 2,000 rows (72 hours); smaller lists, $25 Quick Clean (up to 200 rows, 24 hours). Not affiliated with Microsoft.
Rather not do it by hand? Skip to done-for-you cleanup, from $25.
How to find duplicates in Dynamics 365 and merge duplicate records
Dynamics 365 already finds duplicates for you. "Dataverse includes duplicate detection rules for accounts and contacts. These rules are automatically turned on, so you don’t have to do anything to set up duplicate detection for these row types." To clean up what's already there, run a duplicate detection job and merge each pair: "You can only merge two records at a time." (Microsoft Learn: Merge duplicate rows)
- Check that duplicate detection is on (admin). "Go to Settings > Data management > Duplicate detection." "Select or clear the Enable duplicate detection check box." Microsoft warns: "If your system contains a large number of records, checking for duplicates can impact performance." (Microsoft Learn: Turn duplicate detection rules on or off for the whole organization)
- Check or add duplicate detection rules. "Expand Data management, and then select Duplicate detection rules." "In the same row, in the Criteria column, select Select, and then select an operator. For example, select Exact Match." Microsoft's tip: "We recommend that you set the duplicate detection criteria on a field that has unique values, for example, Email." Optional: "If you want the rule to be case-sensitive, select the Case-sensitive check box." and "If you don't want the rule to consider blank fields (null values) as equal while identifying duplicates, select the Ignore Blank Values check box." "To make the new or changed duplicate detection rule usable, select the rule, and then select Publish." Limits: "You can publish only five rules for the same base record type (Account, for example) at a time." Who can do it: "Make sure that you have the System Administrator, System Customizer, Sales Manager, Vice President of Sales, Vice President of Marketing, or CEO-Business Manager security role or equivalent permissions." (Microsoft Learn: Set up duplicate detection rules to keep your data clean)
- Find the duplicates already in the system with a job. How to find duplicate records in Dynamics 365 with duplicate detection jobs: "If you haven't already done so, create and publish duplicate detection rules, and turn duplicate detection on before you run the wizard." "Select Settings > Data management > Duplicate detection jobs." "In the Look for drop-down list, select the record type that you want to check for duplicates." "You can schedule the job to run daily, and you can receive an email confirmation when the job finishes." (Microsoft Learn: Run bulk system jobs to detect duplicate records)
- Merge each pair. To merge duplicate records or contacts in Dynamics 365: "Select the duplicate rows from the view page in your model-driven app, and then select Merge in the command bar at the top of the page." "In the Merge Contacts dialog box, select the primary row (the one you want to keep) and then select any columns in the new row that you want to merge into the primary row." (Microsoft Learn: Merge duplicate rows) What happens: "The primary record is kept, and the secondary record is deactivated. Data from the secondary record is copied over to the primary record." "All notes, activities, and details associated with the secondary record are linked to the primary record." (Microsoft Learn: Detect duplicate records and merge)
- Importing a file? Turn on the import's duplicate check. "When you use the Import Data wizard to bring in contacts, leads, accounts, or other types of data, the wizard detects any duplicate records as long as you enable duplicate detection in the wizard." (Microsoft Learn) In the wizard: "Select whether to Allow Duplicates or not." "You can only import one file at a time. To bring in more files, run the wizard again." (Microsoft Learn: How to import data)
Where our cleanup fits: between the export and your next step, whether that is the Merge pairs in step 4 or a re-import in step 5. Rules, jobs and Merge work inside Dynamics 365, pair by pair; we go through the whole exported file at once. Same-name, same-company rows with different emails are flagged needs_review with a note naming the row they may match: that is your merge list for step 4. To get the file from a view: "On the command bar, select Export to Excel." (Microsoft Learn: Export your data to Excel) From Power Apps: "When you export Dataverse table data, it's exported as a CSV file." (Microsoft Learn: Import data from Excel and export data to CSV) We don't replace any of Microsoft's steps above. Use them as well.
Before you merge or re-import in Dynamics 365
- Merging moves more than the record: "When you merge a row, any related or child rows are also merged." Choose the primary row with care: "Data in these columns may override the existing data in the primary row." (Microsoft Learn)
- "You can’t merge data into an inactive record." (Microsoft Learn)
- A merge in our file isn't a merge in Dynamics 365. Both records stay in Dynamics 365 until you merge them there with Merge.
- Re-importing can create new records. "A primary key is required if you want to update existing records in the table." If none is selected, "then all records from the Excel sheet or CSV file are added as new records." (Microsoft Learn)
- Our cleaned file uses our own column names (full_name, email, phone, company, title, then your other columns as lowercase names), so check the columns at import: "If they don't match, then you have to manually map the fields or you might run into issues during the import process." (Microsoft Learn)
- Keep your export. If an import goes wrong, the wizard offers: "Delete imported records. This option deletes all records that were imported from the selected file." (Microsoft Learn)
We don't overwrite your values. Our cleanup keeps every column in your export, including ID columns, as extra columns. When two rows share an email, a blank cell on the kept row can be filled from the other row; every fill is listed in the change log. When both rows disagree in a column we treat as consent-type by its header (one containing words like status, permission, subscribe, unsubscribe or do not), the row is flagged needs_review with both values in qa_notes, and the first row's value is kept. Rows that are only possible duplicates are never merged in the file. You do every merge in Dynamics 365. We never log in to or touch your Dynamics 365 environment.
Or let us clean the export before you merge
Intro: up to 500 rows, back within 48h, $99 Growth: 501 to 2,000 rows, back within 72h, $299
- You send one export as a CSV or Excel (.xlsx) file, or several stacked into one file with the same columns and one header row. With Excel, we clean the first sheet of the workbook, and the file comes back as a cleaned CSV plus a change log. We don't take old Excel .xls files; save them as .xlsx or CSV first. We clean one file per job and don't add a column showing where each row came from. Keep your ID columns: their values come back unchanged as extra columns (under lowercase column names), so you can find each record in Dynamics 365. When a row is merged away, its differing values, including its ID, are listed in the change log. If you add your own Status column, it comes back as status_src, because the cleaned file has its own status column. If your file has a plain Email or Email Address column, that's the email we use, wherever it sits. Other columns with "email" in the header (opt-in, status or permission columns, or ones you add) are kept as their own columns, and one only fills a blank email when it holds a real address. Pricing is by rows in the file you send. We never log in to Dynamics 365. We don't merge, delete or edit records, run duplicate detection jobs, or run any import.
- Possible duplicates are flagged for review, not merged. These are rows with the same full name and the same company, where both are present, but a different or missing email (case, punctuation and suffixes like Inc or LLC are ignored). Each one is marked needs_review, with a note naming the row it may match. This is narrower than your Dynamics 365 rules: we only compare email (exact, ignoring case and spaces at the start or end) and name plus company. Rows with no company aren't compared on name.
- Same-email rows are merged and logged. The first row is kept, and its blank fields are filled from the later rows. Every merge and every fill is listed in the change log. Where both rows have different values, the first row's value is kept and the other is listed in the change log.
- Invalid, missing and personal (for example Gmail or Yahoo) emails are flagged in qa_notes. We don't fix or verify mailboxes.
- Names in ALL CAPS or all lowercase are re-cased. US phone numbers are formatted +1-XXX-XXX-XXXX. Numbers with a non-US country code (starting with + or 00) are kept as you sent them (extra spaces trimmed only). Numbers with no country code and 10 digits are treated as US. Placeholder phones like N/A are blanked and logged. Anything we can't read is kept as-is, with a note in qa_notes. Line breaks inside cells are turned into spaces (except in the email column, where a broken email is flagged invalid instead), and the CSV is saved as UTF-8. A second phone column (for example a mobile column) is kept as you sent it; when the main phone is blank, it is filled from that column, formatted and logged. Rows with no company get a "missing company" note and are marked needs_review. Filter qa_notes for "possible duplicate" to get your merge list.
- You get back the cleaned CSV (with status, qa_notes and source_row columns), a change log with every merge, every fill from a duplicate, every email and possible-duplicate flag, and every edited cell listed by row, with its old and new value, a QA report with counts (rows in and out, duplicates merged, possible duplicates flagged, emails flagged and cells edited), and your original file, unchanged.
- What we don't do: we don't merge, delete or edit anything inside Dynamics 365, and we don't change your duplicate detection rules or jobs. We don't run any import or set up the import for you. We don't promise deliverability, inbox placement or bounce rates, we don't verify mailboxes, we don't find, buy or add contacts, and we don't merge rows that only might be the same person.
Clean my Dynamics 365 export · $25 (up to 200 rows, back in 24h)
Rather hand off the cleanup? $25 Quick Clean: up to 200 rows, cleaned CSV (same-email duplicates merged, possible duplicates flagged) plus a change log within 24 hours.
Not affiliated with Microsoft.
Bigger list? Intro $99 for up to 500 rows (48h) · Growth $299 for 501 to 2,000 rows (72h) · Bulk $499 for 2,001 to 5,000 rows (5 business days) · over 5,000 rows, custom quote. See all sizes.
What you get back
- Every change is logged with its original row number.
- Possible duplicates are flagged for your review, never blind-merged; same-email duplicates are merged and listed in the change log.
- Your original file is returned alongside the cleaned one.
See a free before-and-after sample · sample files you can download
Check your CSV free first
Check your Dynamics 365 export for exact-email duplicates and formatting problems free in your browser. Your file never leaves your computer.
How it works
Email us your CSV (reply to your receipt or send it to slrescue@mail.grokbot.com)
No Dynamics 365 login, no call, no upload form.
Get it back: 24h (Quick Clean, up to 200 rows), 48h (Intro), 72h (Growth), 5 business days (Bulk)
A clean CSV plus a change log. Over 5,000 rows, the turnaround is scoped in your custom quote.
Flat pricing
- Intro, up to 500 rows, back within 48h, $99
- Growth, 501 to 2,000 rows, back within 72h, $299
- Bulk, 2,001 to 5,000 rows, 5 business days, $499
- Over 5,000 rows: email us for a custom quote
- Smaller list: Quick Clean, up to 200 rows, back within 24h, $25 (credits toward a larger pack within 14 days)
Your $25 Quick Clean counts toward any bigger cleanup within 14 days.
Quick Clean, Intro, Growth and Bulk: If the file isn't what we promised, we fix it once for free within 48 hours. If it still isn't right, you get your money back for the part we couldn't deliver. If we're late, you choose a full refund or a free rush job.
Not sure how messy it is? CRM Hygiene Scorecard (written diagnosis), $29. Agencies: white-label batches.
Questions
Can I bulk merge duplicates in Dynamics 365?
Not with the Merge action: "You can only merge two records at a time." (Microsoft Learn) A duplicate detection job finds the pairs: "You can schedule the job to run daily, and you can receive an email confirmation when the job finishes." (Microsoft Learn) We don't bulk merge inside Dynamics 365 either. We go through the whole exported file at once and give you the flagged pairs and a change log, so you know which pairs to merge.
Which records can Dynamics 365 merge?
"The Merge option is available only for Account, Lead, and Contact entities." And: "Merging duplicate records from different tables is not supported." (Microsoft Learn)
Is there a limit on exporting to Excel?
Microsoft gives no fixed number: "The allowed data export size depends on the number of rows, columns, lookup fields, and lookup relationship types." If you hit it: "Export smaller batches by adjusting the filter criteria." (Microsoft Learn) From Power Apps: "Exports have a 12 minute time limit. If the volume of data exported exceeds 12 minutes the export will fail. If this occurs, export data in smaller segments." (Microsoft Learn)
Is this the same as Dynamics 365 duplicate detection?
No. Your rules and jobs run inside Dynamics 365 and Merge works on one pair at a time. We compare email and name plus company across your exported file, flag the pairs and log every change. You review and merge.
Will you merge or delete anything in Dynamics 365?
No. We clean the export only. Merging keeps one record and deactivates the other ("The primary record is kept, and the secondary record is deactivated."), and you do every merge yourself. (Microsoft Learn)
What comes back?
A UTF-8 CSV, also when you send Excel (.xlsx), with our standard columns first (full_name, then first_name and last_name when your export has them, then email, phone, company, title, website and linkedin; some may be blank), then status and qa_notes, then the rest of your columns under lowercase names and source_row, plus a change log, a QA report and your original file. We don't run or guarantee the import.
Do you need access to my Dynamics 365 account?
No. You export a file and email it. We only clean the exported file and never log in to or touch your Dynamics 365 environment.
How fast is delivery?
From when we receive your file: Quick Clean (up to 200 rows) within 24 hours, Intro within 48 hours, Growth within 72 hours, Bulk within 5 business days. Over 5,000 rows is scoped in your quote.
What if the cleaned file isn't right?
If the file isn't what we promised, we fix it once for free within 48 hours. If it still isn't right, you get your money back for the part we couldn't deliver. If we're late, you choose a full refund or a free rush job.
What happens to my data?
Your file is used only for your job and deleted after delivery on request (see Anonymous aggregate statistics). We never log in to your CRM, and we never invent, buy, or append emails.
Anonymous aggregate statistics. After a cleanup we keep a small record of counts about your file: rows in and out, duplicates merged, rows flagged for review, which fields were present, and the CRM you told us it's for. This record contains no contact data, names, emails, company names, domains, file names or cell values, and it isn't deleted when your file is deleted. We only publish these counts combined with at least 19 other lists (and at least 5 different customers), so no single customer can be identified. To opt out, reply 'opt out' to your delivery email and we'll delete your record.
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Not affiliated with Microsoft. Quotes are from Microsoft Learn.