Duplicate contacts in Clio Manage after a Google or Microsoft 365 contact sync

The short answer

Clio's article Sync Contacts With Google or Microsoft 365 carries an Important note: if your firm shares a common contact list, have one firm user run the sync. When several users sync contacts, the account can end up with duplicate contacts, and edits made by different users to the same contact can overwrite each other.

How the sync works

• The sync with Google is bidirectional: a contact you add or edit in one system is carried over to the other.
• Each sync covers all contacts in the connected account, and the account you sync can use a different email address from the one you sign in to Clio with.
• A sync takes up to 24 hours to complete.
• Contacts deleted in Google or Microsoft 365 remain in Clio Manage. To bring the two lists back in line, stop the sync and start it again (Google), or disconnect the sync and set it up again (Microsoft 365).
• Microsoft 365 contact sync requires a Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Business Standard, Business Premium or Enterprise subscription.

Step 1: stop the extra syncs

Decide which one user runs the sync, then stop it for everyone else, since Clio says several users syncing can create duplicates.

1. In Clio Manage, click Settings > Contact and Calendar Sync.
2. Google: beside Google contacts and calendars click Configure, sign in if asked, and in the Clio Contacts section of the Google Sync page click Stop sync. You can also stop a sync while it is still running.
3. Microsoft 365: beside Office 365 contacts and calendars click Configure, and in the Outlook contacts section click Disconnect, then Stop sync in the warning prompt.

Step 2: find what is already duplicated

The sync article does not describe removing duplicates, so plan to find the ones already there yourself. It lists Filter and Export Contacts as the place to review the contacts that arrived from the sync. Export the list, sort by email, phone and last name, and mark the pairs. The article on duplicates after an import or migration covers the same cleanup for another cause.

Be careful with deletion. Clio's article Recover Deleted Contacts says contacts removed with the bulk operations tool remain deleted, and the Recovery Bin does not retain them, while a contact deleted from its own record can be recovered within six months.

Where doing it by hand stops

• Synced duplicates are often near-matches: a nickname in one system, a full name in the other, a phone number written two ways. A spreadsheet sort finds the easy pairs only.
• Each pair with matters attached means editing the matters, copying details and moving notes, one pair at a time.

For the merge steps by hand, see how to find and merge duplicate contacts in Clio Manage.

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.

• Finds what exact matching misses. 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 of likely duplicates shows why it matched, and shared office lines or info@ mailboxes count as weak evidence only.
• You choose, then confirm. You pick the record to keep and the value of each field, read a plan of every matter, note and document that moves, and type a confirmation such as MERGE 12. Nothing merges automatically.
• Nothing deleted, 30-day undo. The duplicate stays with a note saying where everything went, and a merge or a whole run can be undone for 30 days.

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 does not change how Clio's sync works, so stop the extra syncs first. It is a data clean-up tool, not legal advice: you decide which records are the same client.

Disclosure. Atesen Software, which publishes this guide, makes Tidyroll. The Clio steps above work without it.

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; Monitor is $29 a month for a weekly re-scan, bulk edit and 50 merges a month. Checkout is by Paddle on Tidyroll's own site.

About Tidyroll Run a free scan on its own site

Which route fits

• Duplicates still arriving: stop the extra syncs so that one user runs it.
• A handful of pairs: combine them by hand, moving matters before you delete.
• Hundreds of near-duplicates from a sync: a scan that shows its reasons and keeps a 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 22 October 2026; menus and plans can change.

Questions about this guide: support@atesensoftware.com.