How can I locate duplicate customers and merge them using V.I.P. Zone?

1. Run V.I.P. Zone from desktop shortcut or Manager, Utilities, Add-ins.
2. Select Export tab, Dedupe button.
3. Select list filters such as Telephone + Last Name + First Name.
4. Tag duplicate entries (Ctrl+right button mouse click) and click Merge.
5. Select target account and click OK to commit changes.

In a single store environment you can also merge duplicate customers in POS during customer searches using V.I.P. Zone. Tag the duplicates when found, click Merge, select target account, click OK.

TIP: You can force cashiers to use V.I.P. Zone for lookups and customer adds by disabling F7 Set Customer. See security level setup instructions for POS. 

IMPORTANT WARNING FOR HQ USERS: Never deploy the merge feature in an HQ multi-store environment unless 100% of customer accounts are marked as global and accounts are 100% in sync between stores and HQ. This means no HQID = 0 should exist in any database and the count of customers must be the same in each database. If you are not 100% sure of these requirements DO NOT USE the merge feature in a multi-store environment. If you do happen to meet the requirements, merge can only be used after-hours when the stores are no longer updating HQ with any changes. Also be aware the purchase history information may be lost during the process and cannot be recovered. You should also never use merge with HQ if you use any other add-ins that interface with customer accounts (ex. shopping cart integrator for website).

HQ Users: The alternative to merging is to edit the first or last name fields for any duplicate customers.
Example, John Doe becomes DO NOT USE John, Doe or John, DO NOT USE Doe. 
Cashiers can then locate the correct entry during searches.