How to Merge Duplicate Customers, Vendors and Items in QuickBooks Desktop

Before you start

• Back up the company file. Intuit says a merge can't be undone.
• Switch to single-user mode. You can add and edit list entries in multi-user mode, but not merge them.
• Clear any pending accountant changes.
• Check that multicurrency is off. It's on Intuit's checklist for QuickBooks Desktop for Windows.
• Vendors can't be merged if they are tax authorities, tax exempt, paid through online banking, or direct deposit vendors.

Step 1: Pick the entry to keep

1. 1Open both entries and compare them.
2. 2Write down any details on the duplicate that the kept entry lacks, such as an address or terms. Only certain data moves over in a merge, Intuit says.
3. 3Copy the exact name of the entry you'll keep.

Intuit's advice is to always merge the old name into the new one, not the other way around.

Step 2: Merge by renaming the duplicate

This works in the Chart of Accounts, Item List, Customer List, Vendor List and Employee List in QuickBooks Desktop for Windows.

1. 1Go to the Lists menu and open the list that holds the duplicates.
2. 2Right-click the entry you don't want, then select Edit.
3. 3Paste the name you copied over its name.
4. 4Select Save & Close.
5. 5When QuickBooks says the name is already in use and asks whether to merge, select Yes.

Intuit says the merge brings the old entry's history into the one you keep. On a Mac, you can also select the entry and choose Edit > Merge, then pick the entry to keep.

Step 3: Use the Merge Vendors tool (Enterprise and Accountant)

1. 1In Enterprise, go to Company > Accounting tools > Merge Vendors. In Accountant, go to Accountant > Client Data Review > Merge Vendors.
2. 2Select the vendors you want to merge, then Next.
3. 3Choose the Primary Vendor, the one you keep, then select Merge.
4. 4Select Yes to confirm, then OK.

Rules for customers and jobs

• You can't merge a name that is a job. Remove the job from the customer first.
• You can't merge a customer that has jobs.
• You can merge only two names at a time.
• Intuit suggests re-sorting your lists and running Rebuild Data before you merge names.

If an account won't merge

If QuickBooks says you can't merge an account that has online information associated with it, one of the accounts has an active bank feed. Turn off bank feeds for that account, then try again.

What a merge can't undo

• There's no undo button. Intuit lists undoing a merge among the things you can't do.
• Only certain data moves from one entry to the other, so note anything on the duplicate you want to keep before you merge.
• The duplicate's history moves to the kept name, so its past transactions show under that name.
• The way back is the backup you made before merging, and a restored backup won't include anything entered after it.

Where QuickBooks Desktop leaves the work to you

• Someone has to spot near-duplicates, such as a name with an extra space or an abbreviation, and decide which to keep.
• Each merge is one pair at a time, with everyone else out of the file.
• Duplicates come back if new entries keep arriving with different spellings.
• Item duplicates can start upstream, when a supplier's code or description is entered as a new item.

How Logistify helps

Duplicate items can start with supplier spreadsheets that name the same product in different ways. Logistify's Product Catalog Cleanup turns supplier spreadsheets into clean SKUs. It doesn't merge entries in your company file; that step stays with your QuickBooks admin.

Setting up new items after a cleanup? See how to enter inventory items in QuickBooks Desktop.