Maintaining accurate financial records is crucial, especially when generating tax statements for donors. Duplicate records can lead to discrepancies in transaction records and giving totals, causing confusion and inaccuracies in tax statements. This guide will walk you through the process of accessing and using the merge feature in Tithely, whether you're working within the Tax Statements section or directly in Tithely People.
❗ Important: Merging is a permanent action and cannot be undone. It’s critical to review and confirm the duplicates thoroughly before merging.
How to Access the Merge Feature:
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From Tax Statements:
While reviewing a batch in the 'Tax Statements', you'll see a 'Merge' option at the top right. Clicking this will take you to merge duplicates in Tithely People. -
From Tithely People:
Steps to Merge Duplicates:
Merging is a permanent action and cannot be undone. It’s critical to review and confirm the duplicates thoroughly before merging.
- Review Potential Duplicates: On the Merge Duplicates page, you'll see a list of duplicate contacts. These are identified based on similarities in names, contact details, or other relevant information.
- Select a person to display merging options.
- Select a primary contact. The primary contact will take precedence if profiles have conflicting data.
- Select a person to display merging options.
- Merge Duplicates: Click the Merge Duplicates button to merge the duplicate profiles. The system will then combine the two profiles into one, consolidating their transaction histories and other details.
Post-Merge Actions for Tax Statements
Regenerating Tax Statements
After successfully merging duplicate records, especially if initiated from the Tax Statements area, it's important to allow the system to fully update. Please wait for 24 hours before regenerating tax statements. This waiting period ensures that the system has accurately consolidated the records, reflecting all changes made during the merge.
Informing Donors About Corrected Statements
In cases where donors have already received tax statements that were affected by duplicate records, proactive communication is key. Reach out to these donors to explain the discrepancy caused by the duplicate records. Once the 24-hour waiting period is complete and you have regenerated the tax statements, provide them with the updated, correct statements.
❗ Important Note: Merging People does not merge donor profiles within Tithely Giving 1.0. This is only for contacts within our People platform.