Matching Methods
Duplicate Manager supports multiple matching methods to define how column values are compared when identifying potential duplicates.
Matching methods are algorithms used by Duplicate Manager to compare the values of configured fields and determine potential duplicates.
Matching Method Availability
Depending on the data type of a selected column, some matching methods may not be available. This is because not all algorithms are compatible with all data types.
The table below shows which matching methods are supported for each column type. If a column’s data type is not listed, it means that only the Exact Matching method is supported for that column.
| Column Data Type | Exact | Fuzzy | Company Name | Phone Number | Domain | Starts With | Ends With |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| String | |||||||
| Lookup, Customer, Owner | |||||||
| Integer, Double, Decimal, Money, BigInt | |||||||
| Boolean | |||||||
| DateTime | |||||||
| State, Status | |||||||
| Picklist | |||||||
| File, Image |
Matching Methods Explained
This section provides explanations and examples for each matching method available in Duplicate Manager, helping you understand how different algorithms compare field values to detect potential duplicates.
Exact
Exact Matching is very straightforward: it directly compares the values of fields for an exact match without allowing for typos, formatting differences, or partial similarities.
Use Cases
- When comparing names of contacts or accounts where spelling consistency is expected.
- For fields that contain unique identifiers such as IDs, serial numbers, or license plate numbers.
- When validating against standardized values like country codes, ZIP codes, or tax IDs.
Example 1:
| Value 1 | Contoso |
| Value 2 | Contoso |
| Match? |
Example 2:
| Value 1 | Austin Erhardt |
| Value 2 | Austin Erhard |
| Match? |
Fuzzy
Fuzzy Matching allows for small differences between compared values, such as typos or variations in formatting.
When selecting Fuzzy as the matching method, an additional setting appears for the selected column: Min. Similarity. This lets you define the minimum percentage of similarity two values must have to be considered potential duplicates. To test how similar two values are, you can use our Fuzzy Matching Similarity Calculator.
When setting this value, keep in mind that lower thresholds will result in more matches and may impact the performance of bulk duplicate detection. Additionally, setting the threshold too low can increase the number of false positives.
The generally recommended value is 85%, but it might need adjustment based on the length of the values being compared. For example, shorter texts consisting of a single word usually require a lower threshold, while longer texts benefit from a higher threshold (90% or above).
Use Cases
- Comparing values with slightly different formats.
- Detecting values with possible spelling mistakes.
- Identifying similar but not identical values.
Restrictions
Fuzzy matching is currenlty not supported in forms for the prevention function. Any rule that uses Fuzzy as the matching method will automatically fall back to Exact matching when evaluating for potential duplicates inside a form.
In the following examples, full names of contacts are compared allowing for some spelling errors. The Min. Similarity is set to 85%.
Example 1:
| Value 1 | Austin Erhardt |
| Value 2 | Austin Erhard |
| Similarity? | 92.86% |
| Match? |
Example 2:
| Value 1 | Shreya Smith |
| Value 2 | Ben Smith |
| Similarity? | 58.33% |
| Match? |
Company Name
The Company Name matching method ignores common company suffixes and abbreviations (such as Ltd., GmbH, Inc.) when comparing values to detect potential duplicates. A full list of ignored suffixes and abbreviations can be found below.
Use Cases
- Comparing fields that store company or organization names.
- Detecting duplicates where the core company name is the same but includes different legal suffixes.
Example 1:
| Value 1 | Contoso |
| Value 2 | Contoso Ltd. |
| Match? |
Example 2:
| Value 1 | Contoso Ltd. |
| Value 2 | Contoso Pharmaceuticals |
| Match? |
List of Ignored Suffixes and Abbrevations
&
+
A/S.
A/S
ADMIN
ADMINISTRATOR
AG
AG.
AND
ASSOCIATION
ASSOCIATION.
B.V.
BANK
BANK.
BEDRIJF
BEDRIJF.
BOARD
BOARD.
BV
BV.
C.V.
CCC
CCC.
CENTER
CO
CO.
COM
COMPANY
COMPANY.
CORP
CORP.
CORPORATION
CORPORATION.
CV
CV.
CYF
CYF.
DE
E.G.
E.K
E.K.
E.V
E.V.
EEIG
EEIG.
EG
EG.
EI
EI.
EK
EK.
EV
EV.
FOUNDATION
FOUNDATION
FOUNDATION.
G.M.B.H
G.M.B.H.
GBR
GBR.
GGMBH
GGMBH.
GMBH
GMBH.
GROUP
HOSPITAL
IE
IE.
INC
INC.
INCORPORATED
INCORPORATED.
KG
KG.
KGAA
KGAA.
LC.
LIABILITY
LIABILITY.
LIMITED
LIMITED.
LLC
LLC.
LLLP
LLLP.
LLP
LLP.
LP
LP.
LTD
LTD.
LTDA
LTDA.
MBH
MBH.
MEDICAL
N.V.
NET
NV
NV.
OF
OHG
OHG.
ORG.
ORGANISATION
ORGANISATION.
PARTG
PARTG.
PLC
PLC.
PLLC
PLLC.
PTY
PTY.
RU
S.A.
S.A.D
S.A.D.
S.A.R.L
S.A.R.L.
S.C.
S.L.L.
S.R.L.
SA
SA.
SAD
SAD.
SALESFORCE
SAPA
SAPA.
SARL
SARL.
SAS
SAS.
SC
SC.
SCE
SCE.
SCHOOL
SE
SE.
SLL
SLL.
SPE
SPE.
SRL
SRL.
STICHTING
STICHTING.
STIFTUNG
STIFTUNG.
UG
UG.
UND
UNIVERSITY
V.O.F.
VEREIN
VEREIN.
VOF
VOF.
VVAG
VVAG.
W.V
W.V.
WV
WV.
Phone Number
The Phone Number matching method allows Duplicate Manager to identify duplicates even when phone numbers are stored in different formats. All non-numeric characters are ignored, and country codes or extensions are normalized to enable effective comparison.
Use Cases
Compare fields that store telephone numbers in various formats, for example:
- One number includes the country code, another doesn’t.
- Numbers use different separators (spaces, dashes, parentheses).
- One number includes an extension.
Example 1:
| Value 1 | +18005550100 |
| Value 2 | 001 800-555-0100 |
| Value 3 | (800) 555-0100 |
| Value 4 | (800) 555 – 0100 ext. 4 |
| Value 5 | +1 800 555 0100, extension 5 |
| Value 6 | +1 800 555 0100 #6 |
| Value 7 | tel: +1-800-555-0100 |
| Match? |
Example 2:
| Value 1 | 001 800-555-0100 |
| Value 2 | 001 800-555-0200 |
| Match? |
Domain
The Domain matching method compares URLs or email addresses based on their domain part only, ignoring the rest of the address. This helps identify duplicates even if subdomains or specific paths differ.
If a field value contains multiple domains, only the first occurrence will be considered for matching.
Use Cases
- Comparing email addresses to detect duplicates from the same organization.
- Comparing website URLs where only the main domain should be considered.
- Identifying records that belong to the same company or entity based on their domain.
Example 1:
| Value 1 | contoso.com |
| Value 2 | www.contoso.com |
| Value 3 | http://www.contoso.com |
| Value 4 | https://www.contoso.com |
| Value 5 | https://contoso.com |
| Value 6 | https://www.contoso.com/university |
| Value 7 | https://contoso.com/university/apply |
| Match? |
Example 2:
| Value 1 | a.erhardt@contoso.com |
| Value 2 | austin.erhardt@contoso.com |
| Value 3 | s.smith@contoso.com |
| Value 4 | support@contoso.com |
| Match? |
Example 3:
| Value 1 | a.erhardt@contoso.com |
| Value 2 | a.erhardt@contoso.de |
| Match? |
Starts with
The Starts with matching method compares only the beginning of a field value based on a specified number of characters. If a value contains fewer characters than the configured threshold, it will not match.
Use Cases
-
Finding values that follow a consistent prefix or strucutre at the start.
In the following examples, only the first 7 characters of each field value are compared.
Example 1:
| Value 1 | Contoso |
| Value 2 | Contoso Bank |
| Value 3 | Contoso Pharmaceuticals |
| Match? |
Example 2:
| Value 1 | Contoso |
| Value 2 | Conto |
| Match? |
Ends with
The Ends with matching method compares only the ending of a field value based on a specified number of characters. If a value contains fewer characters than the configured threshold, it will not match.
Use Cases
- Identifying records with common suffixes or endings (e.g., file extensions, product codes).
- Matching values where the relevant information is at the end of the string (e.g., license plate numbers, serial numbers).
- Detecting duplicates in fields with variable prefixes but consistent endings.
In the following examples, only the last 6 characters of each field value are compared.
Example 1:
| Value 1 | invoice-202105 |
| Value 2 | order-202105 |
| Match? |
Example 2:
| Value 1 | XYZ-123456 |
| Value 2 | XYZ-12345 |
| Match? |