Sometimes you can see two records that look like the same person, but Raise More has not flagged them as potential duplicates on the Merge Duplicates page. This article explains how duplicate detection works, the most common reasons a pair does not show up, and what to do about it.
How duplicate detection works
Raise More finds potential duplicates in two places:
At import time. When you import a file, or when records arrive from an integration like ActBlue, Raise More automatically matches incoming records against your existing contacts and combines them when it is confident they are the same person. This happens immediately and does not need your review.
Overnight. A background process runs once a day and looks across your whole contact list for pairs that look like the same person but are not certain enough to combine automatically. Those pairs are listed on the Merge Duplicates page under the Potential tab for you to review.
Because the overnight process is what populates the Merge Duplicates page, the single most common reason a pair is "not detected" is simply timing.
Reason 1: The check has not run yet
The potential-duplicates list is rebuilt by an overnight process. If you just created, imported, or edited the two contacts, they will not appear as a potential pair until the next overnight run completes.
What to do:
Wait until the following day and check the Merge Duplicates page again.
If you do not want to wait, you can merge the two records by hand. Open one of the contacts, find the duplicate, and use the merge flow described in the help article on merging duplicate contacts.
Reason 2: The two records do not match any detection rule
The overnight check only pairs up two contacts when they match one of these rules:
Same email - both contacts have the exact same email address.
Same phone number and last name - both contacts share a phone number and have the same last name.
Same full name and state - both contacts have the same full name and an address in the same state.
Same phone number - both contacts share a phone number.
Same full name - both contacts have the same full name.
If your two records do not satisfy at least one of these rules, they will not be flagged. A few things that trip people up:
A typo or nickname in the name. Names are compared as written. "Bob Smith" and "Robert Smith" are not the same full name, so they will not match on the name rules. The same goes for a misspelled last name.
A middle name or suffix on one record only. The full name comparison uses the whole name, including middle name and suffix. "Jane A. Doe" and "Jane Doe" are not treated as the same full name.
Different email addresses. The email rule needs the addresses to be identical. A work email on one record and a personal email on the other will not match.
No shared phone or matching name. If the two records have no email in common, no phone number in common, and the names do not match, there is no rule for them to match on.
Capitalization and spacing in names do not matter for the name rules. "jane doe" and "Jane Doe" are treated the same.
Reason 3: A phone number is stored or formatted differently
Phone numbers are compared by their digits only. Spaces, dashes, parentheses, a leading 1, a leading 0, and extensions are all removed before comparison. So (202) 456-1111, 202-456-1111, and 1 202 456 1111 are all treated as the same number.
A phone match will still fail if:
One record is missing the phone number entirely.
The digits are actually different (a transposed or mistyped number).
For the Same phone number and last name rule, both the phone number and the last name have to match.
Reason 4: The "Same full name and state" rule needs an address
This rule only pairs two records when they have the same full name and an address with a state on each record. If one of the two contacts has no address, or the address has no state filled in, this rule cannot match them. The plain Same full name rule may still match them if the names are identical.
Reason 5: You already marked the pair as "Not duplicates"
If you previously reviewed this pair and chose Mark As Not Duplicates (or Mark As Not Duplicates + Add As Related Contacts), Raise More will not flag them again. This is intentional, so a pair you decided is two different people does not keep coming back.
To check or undo this:
Go to the Merge Duplicates page.
Switch the toggle from Potential to Resolved. This shows the pairs you previously marked as not duplicates.
Use the Search by name box to find the pair.
If you decide they really are the same person, open the pair and merge them.
Reason 6: A rule filter is hiding the pair
On the Merge Duplicates page there is a filter labeled Only display matches attributed to:. If you have narrowed it to only certain rules, a pair that matched on a different rule will not be shown even though it exists.
What to do:
On the Merge Duplicates page, open the Only display matches attributed to: filter.
Make sure every rule is selected so nothing is filtered out.
Clear the Search by name box in case a name filter is also limiting the list.
This filter lists two rules, Same address and Fuzzy name match, that the overnight check does not currently produce pairs for. Selecting only those rules will show an empty list. To see all of your potential pairs, keep every rule selected.
Reason 7: The records are in different organizations
Duplicate detection only compares contacts within the same organization. Two records that live in separate organizations are never paired, even if they are clearly the same person.
If you use a child account, note that the Merge Duplicates page is only available on the parent account. A child account will see a message that it cannot review and merge duplicates and should reach out to its organization administrator.
When none of these apply
If you have confirmed the two records truly match one of the rules above, the pair is not in your Resolved list, no filter is hiding it, and a full day has passed since you last changed the records, contact support and include the names of the two contacts. We can look at why the pair was not detected.