I wrote about duplicate members in the online accounting system quite a while ago, here, but I've never addressed duplicate members in the desktop program. The main reasons are that duplicate members in the desktop program don't seem to happen as often, and when they do, it's rare that one listing will have more than a month or two of transactions connected to it. In those cases, the resolution is usually very easy; the monthly deposit with the duplicate name can be deleted, then the duplicate is removed, and the deposit re-entered. But what if that isn't the case? what if there's more than one duplicate listing? and what if there are several months of transactions?....... As much as that might sound like the start of a bad horror story, it's just the lead in for the following set of steps on finding and resolving duplicate members in the desktop accounting system:
Before making any changes to your club records, we suggest to first make a backup by going to the File menu, and selecting Export. Follow the steps from there to make a backup, and then proceed as listed:
STEP 1: Adjust Duplicate Names.
1. With Club Accounting open, click the Members heading on the left hand side of the page.
2. On the members page, double-click on one of the member listings.
3. On the screen that appears, click in the Last Name box, and add a 1 to the beginning of the Last Name.
4. Click OK, then OK again to save the changes.
Repeat these steps for each listing, but change the number (2, 3, 4, etc.)
STEP 2: Determine the "correct" Member.
Once all the duplicate listings have been noted, you will want to determine which listing is the original, or has the most transactions.
1. Go to the Reports menu, and choose Individual Valuation Units Ledger.
2. Put a check mark next to each of the numbered listings for the duplicate member.
3. Change the Start Date to the beginning of the club.
4. Click Preview.
NOTE:You may want to make a note of which member listing has the majority of transactions, and how far back those transactions go.
STEP 3: (only needed if duplicates have transactions) Edit Duplicate member(s) transaction
Once you have determined which member is the primary one, it will be time to edit any transactions.
1. Click the Members heading on the left hand side of the page.
2. Click Edit Transactions, also on the left hand side.
3. Leave 'Select Member' set to 'All Members'
4. Change the Start date to the date of the earliest transaction, as noted previously, and click OK.
5. For any member deposits, or member fee transactions, simply double-click on the transaction, and change the dollar amount so that only the primary listing for the member has any value.
6. Make sure to go through each deposit or member fee transaction in order from oldest first, to newest last, before checking any other transactions.
7. Once all deposits and fees are taken care of, check for any Expenses.
8. For each expense you find, delete it, and then re-enter it with the same details, on the same day. As long as all deposit and fee transactions have been corrected, then the expense will not be attached to the duplicate member. As with the member deposits and fees, make sure to go in order from oldest first, to newest last.
STEP 4: Delete Duplicate Member Listings
Once all transactions have been taken care of, the duplicate members can be deleted.
1. Click the Members heading on the left hand side of the page.
2. For each duplicate, double-click on the record, and then click the Delete button to remove it.
3. Last, remember to edit the primary member record to remove the number from the member name.
If any of the duplicates do not have a Delete button when you check them at the end, repeat the steps above to make sure that there are no transactions listed for those duplicate members. Delete and re-enter transactions as needed to make sure that they do not include any duplicate members.