Duplicate contacts in Clio Manage after an import or migration: how to clean them up

The short answer

Clio's help centre says its migrations team does not clean or modify your data, so duplicates in your old system come across with everything else. Contact sync can add more when several people run it. Clio's bulk tool removes identical duplicates only; copies that differ slightly or have matters attached are a manual job or a job for a tool.

Where the copies come from

• The old system. Prepare Data For Migration says that errors or duplicates in your previous system will carry over on import. It asks you to check that phone numbers are not in email fields and company names are not in name fields.
• Your own CSV imports. Import Contacts with Migration Templates describes uploading a CSV on the Clio Manage Imports page with Add > Contacts from Outlook CSV. Get Started With Migration Templates says to correct the rows listed in the error file and re-upload. It does not say whether rows that imported the first time are skipped, so after a second upload, check a few of those contacts for copies.
• Contact sync. Sync Contacts With Google or Microsoft 365 warns that when several users sync contacts, the account can end up with duplicate contacts, and that contacts deleted in Google or Microsoft 365 remain in Clio Manage. The migration article says not to enable contact or calendar syncs until a migration is complete.

Step 1: check before you change anything

The Clio Manage Data Migration Overview says not to modify imported data until you have confirmed it is accurate, because changes can prevent the import from being reverted. Manage Clio Manage Data After Migration asks you to review a sample of each data type, contact the migrations team immediately if corrections are needed, and leave integrations off until the review is done.

So if a whole import arrived twice or in the wrong fields, talk to Clio's migrations team before you merge or delete anything.

Step 2: remove the exact copies

For identical contacts with nothing attached, Clio's article Edit and Delete Contacts describes the Remove Duplicate Contacts bulk operation for administrators and the primary subscriber. Duplicates linked to records such as matters, transactions or notes stay in your account, and contacts removed this way do not go to the Recovery Bin, so read the preview first. Our guide How to find and merge duplicate contacts in Clio Manage walks through it and through combining two records by hand.

Where this stops

• Copies from two sources can differ slightly, such as Liz and Elizabeth, or a phone number with and without the country code. The bulk tool handles identical duplicates only.
• Matters may sit on either copy and have to be moved by hand before one record goes.
• Values in the wrong fields stay there until someone fixes them.

Option: Tidyroll

Tidyroll is a web app made by Atesen Software for law firms on Clio Manage. You connect through Clio's own sign-in and run a free, read-only scan; nothing in Clio changes until you confirm a merge.

• Near-matches, not only exact copies. Every contact is compared by email, phone in international format, names with nicknames and initials, company names without LLC or Inc, and addresses. Each group shows why it matched.
• A plan before every merge. You pick the record to keep and the value of each field, read every matter, relationship, note and document that would move, and type a confirmation such as MERGE 12.
• Nothing deleted, 30-day undo. The duplicate stays with a note saying where everything went, every change is journaled, and a merge or a whole run can be undone for 30 days.
• Blocked when it is not safe. A merge stops when the duplicate has bills, trust or bank transactions, credit memos, Clio Payments, a balance, or client portal or co-counsel access.
• Bulk edit. Fix contact fields across many records at once, with the same preview, typed confirmation and undo.

Good to know. Tidyroll works only with Clio Manage accounts in Clio's US region (app.clio.com) today; the Canada, Europe / UK and Australia regions are not open yet. It needs a Clio Manage plan that includes apps and integrations (API access). It is not in the Clio App Directory, and Clio has not reviewed it. It is a data clean-up tool, not legal advice: you decide which records are the same client.

Price. The scan is free and shows duplicate counts with 3 sample groups. A Cleanup Pass is $199 once for 90 days of one Clio account, for a one-off clean-up after a migration. Monitor is $29 a month for a weekly re-scan, bulk edit and 50 merges a month, for copies that keep arriving. Checkout is by Paddle on Tidyroll's own site.

About Tidyroll Run a free scan on its own site

Which route fits

• A whole import that came in twice or wrong: Clio's migrations team, before you edit anything.
• Exact copies with nothing attached: Remove Duplicate Contacts, after a careful look at the preview.
• Copies made by contact sync: have one firm user run the sync, as Clio advises, then clean up what is already there.
• Near-matches with matters attached, across hundreds of contacts: a tool with match reasons and an undo journal, such as Tidyroll if your firm signs in to app.clio.com.

Atesen Software is independent. Clio is a trademark of Themis Solutions Inc., and this page is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by Clio. Clio help centre articles were checked on 18 October 2026; menus and plans can change.

Questions about this guide: support@atesensoftware.com.