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Preventing Duplicate Records in AfterSchool HQ

Finding the same student listed more than once can feel stressful—but don’t worry, duplicates are a common and fixable issue! This article explains why duplicates happen, what to do first, and how to prevent them going forward.

🔎 Why Duplicates Occur

Duplicates usually come from one (or more) of these situations:

📂 Data Imports

When student information is uploaded in bulk, even small differences can create a new record:

  • Slight spelling or spacing changes (e.g., Jon Smith vs. John Smith)

  • Different capitalization or punctuation (e.g., McDonald vs. Mc Donald)

  • Different parent emails for the same child (e.g., one record with mom’s email, another with dad’s)

👩‍👩‍👦 Parents Creating New Accounts

Sometimes parents create a brand-new account instead of logging into the one already set up.

  • If their name, email, or phone number isn’t an exact match, the system treats it as a new student.

🧑‍🏫 Staff Manually Adding Students

Duplicates can happen if a staff member adds a student without first searching for an existing record.

 

✅ What to Do First

  1. Check each duplicate

    • Compare names, grade levels, and parent emails.

    • Decide which record is most accurate (for example, the one tied to payments or correct attendance).

  2. Merge or remove extra records

    • Our support team can safely combine or delete duplicates so you don’t lose attendance or payment history.

    • Please email support@afterschoolhq.com for assistance.

  3. Communicate with families if needed

    • If two parents created accounts, confirm which email will remain active.

🛡️ How to Prevent Future Duplicates

  • Import carefully

    • Double-check spelling, capitalization, and parent emails.

    • Ensure each child appears only once in your import file.

  • Guide parents clearly

    • Ask families to log in with the email already on file.

    • Share the Forgot Password link so they don’t create a new account.

  • Search before adding

    • Whether importing or manually adding a student, search the system first to check if a record already exists.

  • Review data regularly

    • Set a reminder to scan your roster periodically and report any duplicates early.

🤝 Need Help Merging Records?

Our team can merge duplicates without losing attendance or payment history.