Consolidate Constituents (Auction Tracker)

As noted in Auction-Tracker's specifications, the database is designed to manage multiple events from data source over multiple years. As time progresses, multiple individuals do enter data into the application. Unfortunately, some individuals do attempt to take shortcuts or simply ignore duplicate warnings provided by the software. The result is multiple records of single individual. To further compound the issue, users then add auction activity to the duplicate record and instead of having one record with multiple events worth of activity, there are several. Auction-Tracker v7 adds a new utility named Consolidate Constituents.

***Before using the consolidation tool, our support team recommends making a data backup before  each consolidation. Should an issue arise from the consolidation attempt, data can be restored and the process tried again. If backups are not created and something goes wrong, the damage is permanent!

Consolidate Constituent Records         

To consolidate constituent records, perform the following steps:

1. From the Windows Menu Bar, click Utilities, then click Backup Data Files. 
2. From the Windows Menu Bar, click Utilities then click Consolidate Constituents.
3. In the Constituent Consolidation - Duplicate Search window, select the type of search to be performed; Individuals or Businesses.
4. Enter the Last Name and First Name of the individual or the Business Name to be consolidated.
5. Next, select the Search Type; Exact Match, Fuzzy Match or All Constituents. Results based on the search criteria selected appears.
6. From the list of names, select the constituent record to be designated as the master record and click Select Master. The master record appears in the upper right corner box labeled Master Constituent Record.
7. With the master record identified, select the record considered duplicate. The record appears in the lower right corner box labeled Candidate For Consolidation.
8. Click Run Report to obtain detailed information on each record selected. The report provides complete information on all event activity applied to each record. Take the time to use this information and verify that the correct record to be designated as the master has been selected. If the selections are incorrect, click Reset to start the process over. Otherwise, go to Step #9.

With the constituent records verified, click Consolidate. A confirmation window appears. If ready to proceed with consolidation, click Yes. Click No stop the consolidation process.

****Again, once the commitment to consolidate has been selected, the process cannot be reversed. If a mistake is made, restore the backup created before the consolidation process began and try again.

When the consolidation process is complete, the duplicate record becomes an empty shell and is permanently removed from Auction-Tracker.

Process Exceptions

Guest Records - Every auction class within Auction-Tracker is designed to manage multiple records within a single event. The one exception is guest reservations. A constituent may have only ONE reservation per event. In many cases, the record selected to be the master and the duplicate are both designated as guests in the same events, for one or more events. The consolidate process requires manual removal of the reservation and all bidding activity from the duplicate record, for each event. Once removed, the consolidation process is allowed to continue. Be sure to save all information removed so that it can be manually entered into the master record when consolidation is complete.