In 2022, we published a series highlighting some of the forgotten or underutilized features in Dynamics 365. One of those features was duplicate detection. This blog post has now been rewritten and updated with the latest information.

Duplicate records in Dynamics 365 can be a significant annoyance. They lead to wasted time with redundant phone calls, emails, and messages, and ultimately, sales and marketing teams might end up pursuing the same deals. Fortunately, Duplicate Detection in Dynamics 365 allows you to proactively avoid this issue by setting up duplicate detection rules. This blog is part 4 of our series on forgotten features in Dynamics 365.

What is Duplicate Detection in Dynamics 365?

To maintain clean data in Dynamics 365, it’s essential to have rules in place to minimize duplicate records. Duplicate detection rules let organizations identify duplicate data entries. For example, you can set a rule so that if a new lead has the same email address as an existing contact, the user is notified when attempting to save the new lead.

Setting Up Duplicate Detection Rules

Setting up duplicate detection rules is straightforward and highly beneficial! This task needs to be done by a system administrator. Once the rules are set, a Duplicate Detection Job can be run to scan existing records. This job generates a report listing all duplicates, allowing the admin to clean the records or delete unnecessary data. Multiple detection rules can be created and published for a single table. Visit Microsoft Learn for detailed steps on setting duplicate detection.

Scheduling a Detection Job

To ensure data quality, you can schedule a detection job to check for duplicates that match your defined criteria. You can clean the data by deleting, deactivating, or merging the duplicates identified by the detection job. There are several ways to perform duplicate detection once you enable and publish the detection rules:

• Before Creating a Table
• For an Existing Table
• For Other Tables that Correspond to Duplicate Rules Across Tables (e.g., any Lead table that matches a Contact table)

In Conclusion

Duplicate detection is a powerful yet under-utilized feature in Dynamics 365. Many organizations could greatly benefit from leveraging this functionality.

How Can enCloud9 Help with Duplicate Detection in Dynamics 365?

enCloud9 specializes in optimizing Dynamics 365 by reducing duplicate records. We start with a thorough analysis of your data, create custom duplicate detection rules, and configure them in your system. Our ongoing management ensures regular detection jobs and data cleanup, while our training and support help your team utilize these features effectively. With extensive Dynamics 365 expertise, we offer tailored solutions and comprehensive support to maintain clean, accurate data for efficient operations. Ready to enhance your system? Contact enCloud9 today to learn more about our custom solutions. Some other forgotten or underutilized features in Dynamics 365 we’ve written about in our series:

• Forgotten Features of Dynamics 365 – Part 1- How Dynamics 365 Goals Help Organizations Stay on Target

• Forgotten Features of Dynamics 365 – Part 2 -Kanban Boards – a Forgotten Feature?

• Forgotten features of Dynamics 365 – Part 3 -Dynamics 365 App for Outlook Basics

• Forgotten Features of Dynamics 365 -Part 5 – Take Your Business to Another Level with Territory Management in Dynamics 365

• Forgotten Features of Dynamics 365 – Part 6 -Boost Reliability in Dynamics 365 Sales with Quoting

Additional Resources

Here are some other Microsoft resources to help you manage duplicate records in Dynamics 365:

• Run bulk system jobs to detect duplicate records

• Create and manage duplicate detection rules using solutions

• Turn duplicate detection rules on or off for the whole organization

• Detect duplicate data