Merging Duplicate Jobs
Duplicate jobs happen occasionally — usually when the same booking arrives through two channels at once, or due to a manual entry error. Trade2Base lets you merge duplicates into a single master job so your records stay clean without losing any history. Because merges cannot be undone, it's worth reading this guide in full before proceeding.
How Duplicate Jobs Are Created
The most common causes of duplicate jobs in Trade2Base are:
- Double booking from two channels. A customer books via your website embed form and then also calls the office. The office team creates a job manually, not realising the form submission already created one.
- Admin error. A team member creates a job, navigates away thinking it didn't save, and creates it again.
- Import duplicates. A customer CSV import contains a customer who was already in Trade2Base, resulting in two customer records and two sets of jobs.
- Multiple inbox requests. A customer sends the same enquiry via WhatsApp and email. Both are converted to jobs separately.
Identifying Duplicate Jobs
There are two quick ways to find duplicate jobs before merging:
Jobs list search
Go to Jobs in the left-hand menu. Use the search bar to search by customer name or address. If you see two jobs for the same customer at the same address with similar dates, they are likely duplicates.
Customer history
Open the customer's profile and scroll to their Job history. All jobs linked to that customer are listed chronologically. Side-by-side jobs with identical or near-identical descriptions on the same date are strong candidates for merging.
Before merging, open both jobs and compare the details carefully. Check which has the most complete information — that's typically the job you'll want to keep as the master.
Merging Jobs: Step by Step
- Open the duplicate job you want to remove (the one with less information or that arrived second).
- Click Actions in the top-right of the job detail page.
- Select Merge into another job from the dropdown.
- In the search box that appears, search for and select the master job — the one you want to keep. Trade2Base will show the job number, customer name, and date to help you identify the right one.
- Review the merge summary, which shows what will be moved and what will be voided.
- Click Confirm merge. The merge is applied immediately.
What Is Preserved in the Merge
When you merge a duplicate into a master job, the following items from the duplicate are moved to the master:
- All job photos and attachments
- Internal and customer-facing notes
- Completed checklist items
- Timeline entries (status changes, messages sent)
- Engineer assignments and time logs
The master job's own details — title, description, scheduled date, assigned engineer, and quote — are not overwritten. Only the duplicate's assets listed above are copied across.
What Happens to the Duplicate's Invoice
The behaviour depends on the status of the duplicate job's invoice at the time of the merge:
Draft invoice
Draft invoices on the duplicate are deleted. Review the master job's invoice to make sure all line items are correct.
Sent invoice
Sent invoices are voided automatically and a void note is added to the job timeline. The customer will not be charged. If the customer has already received the duplicate invoice by email, you should inform them it has been cancelled.
Paid invoice
If the duplicate job has a paid invoice, Trade2Base will warn you before confirming the merge. You must manually reconcile the payment — either by issuing a refund or by transferring the credit note to the master invoice — before completing the merge. Trade2Base will not void a paid invoice automatically.
Undoing a Merge
Merges cannot be undone. Once confirmed, the duplicate job is permanently removed and its assets are transferred to the master. Always double-check both jobs before clicking Confirm merge.
If you merged the wrong jobs, you will need to create a new job manually and re-enter the relevant information. Contact our support team if you need assistance recovering data from a merge.
Preventing Duplicate Jobs
Trade2Base includes duplicate detection to warn you before a duplicate is created. To configure it, go to Settings → Jobs → Duplicate detection.
You can set the detection window (e.g. flag any job created within 7 days for the same customer at the same address) and choose whether to show a warning or block creation entirely. We recommend starting with a warning so your team can review edge cases (e.g. a customer who genuinely needs two jobs in a short period).
For multi-channel businesses, consider assigning a dedicated team member to triage all new incoming job requests before they are confirmed — this significantly reduces duplicates from overlapping booking channels.
Got duplicate customers too? See how to merge duplicate customers.
Still need help?
Contact our UK support team via live chat or email support@trade2base.com.