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Set Merge Rules to Automatically Merge Members

Learn about how your can select your Merge Rules to Automatically Merge Members and Prevent Duplicates

Mitch Colleran avatar
Written by Mitch Colleran
Updated over a week ago

Summary

Join It gives your organization control over how potential duplicate members are handled. With Merge Rules, you can decide when membership records should be automatically merged — or not merged at all — based on your preferences.

How to Set your Merge Rules

To configure Merge Rules in your organization:

  1. From the dashboard, go to Members

  2. Select Member Settings

  3. Click on Merge Rules

From there, you’ll see several merge rule options available. Each is described in more detail below:

  • Limited Merge Scenarios (default)

  • Merge Matching Records

  • Merge Similar Records

  • Do Not Merge

Description of screenshot: Displaying where to edit the Merge Rules

Merge Rule Options Explained

Limited Merge Scenarios (Default)

This is the default setting and takes a conservative approach to auto-merging. Records are only merged in the following cases:

  • Prospective + Active Membership:
    If there's a Prospective membership and an Active membership that share the same email, the records will be automatically merged.

  • Multiple Prospective Memberships:
    If multiple Prospective memberships share the same email, they will be merged into one record.

Merge Matching Records

This setting expands the criteria for automatic merging. It includes everything in the "Limited Merge Scenarios" plus:

  • Matching Membership Type:
    If two records share the same email and the same Membership Type — and one is Active while the other is Inactive or expiring within 14 days — they’ll be merged.

Merge Similar Records

This is the most inclusive option and removes the Membership Type requirement. It includes everything above, and also:

  • Matching Email (Any Membership Type):
    Even if Membership Types differ, Join It will merge the records if they match on email and meet the status conditions (one Active, the other Inactive or expiring soon).

Do Not Merge

With this setting, no membership records will be automatically merged — giving you full manual control over your member database.

What Happens When Records Are Auto-Merged?

Here’s how Join It handles the data when two records are automatically merged:

  • Joined Date: The earlier date is preserved

  • Expiration Date: The later date is kept

  • Membership ID: The older Membership ID is retained (if available); otherwise, the newer one is used

  • Default Info (e.g., Company, Job Title, Birthday): Newer information takes priority

  • Custom Fields: New custom field responses are prioritized

  • Membership Payments: Payments from both records are merged into the new record

  • Eventbrite Orders: Orders are combined and associated with the merged record

Related Resources

Learn more about Preventing Duplicate Records here.

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