Xero™ import created duplicate contacts
Import a batch of invoices and Xero™ quietly creates new contacts for names it does not recognise. "Acme Ltd" and "Acme Limited" are the same customer to you; to Xero™ they are two contacts, and your sales history splits across both. It is the sleeper problem of every Xero™ import: nothing fails, so nobody notices until the reports look wrong.
Why it happens
Xero™ matches contact names exactly. Anything even slightly different creates a new contact:
- Ltd vs Limited, & vs "and"
- Extra spaces, full stops, trailing Ltd placement
- Inconsistent capitalisation
- A contact entered under a personal name on one invoice and a company name on the next
Check by hand
- Before importing, sort your invoice sheet by contact name and scan for near-duplicates side by side.
- Compare against the contact list already in Xero™, not against your memory of it.
- Fix the names in the sheet to match Xero™ exactly, then import.
- After importing, check Xero™'s Contacts for new entries you did not expect, and tidy up any duplicates there.
Catch them before they import
Import Cleaner for Xero flags contact names that would create duplicates before the file goes anywhere near Xero™, alongside broken dates and amounts that will not add up. The full scan, every explanation and Undo are free, and your data stays in your Google™ account.
Install from the Google Workspace Marketplace™
Google, Google Sheets™ and Google Workspace™ are trademarks of Google LLC. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Xero Limited. Xero is a trademark of Xero Limited. Import Cleaner for Xero is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google.
Google, Google Sheets™ and Google Workspace™ are trademarks of Google LLC. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Xero Limited. Xero is a trademark of Xero Limited. Import Cleaner for Xero is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google.