I still receive QuickBooks files to analyze and/or repair duplicate names. There really are a couple of different kinds of duplicate name forms of corruption. And a variation of each kind.
It goes without saying, but you always make either a Windows copy of your QuickBooks file or a backup prior to troubleshooting or repairing these forms of corruption.
True Duplicates
In their purest form, a duplicate name exists when the identical name is contained within the same list. For example, John Q. Public is listed in the Customer list twice. In cases like this, you may find an error that appears as:
LVL_ERROR--Error: Verify Customer list. Duplicate name encountered.
We see messages within the QBWin.log that read something like:
Error: Verify Customer list. Duplicate name encountered. Name: John Q. Public Records 3584 (3381) and 3537 (3382). To fix, edit this element in the list and change its name.
It's fairly easy to track down the duplicates in this case by scrolling through the "All Customers" view of the Customer Center. Important note, don't attempt to re-sort the Customer Center list of names, as this can potentially crash QuickBooks when it attempts to index the list.
When you find one of the duplicates, add a character to the end of the name (John Q. Public 1) and save the revised name. You should be able to return to that name and remove the one when you attempt to save it.
QuickBooks should hopefully identify the duplicate and ask if you want to merge them. Merging them migrates the history of the name being merged into the name remaining.
This type of true duplicate can occur within any of the various QuickBooks lists, in which case the errors will appear like:
- LVL_ERROR--Error: Verify Account list. Duplicate name encountered.
- LVL_ERROR--Error: Verify Class list. Duplicate name encountered.
- LVL_ERROR--Error: Verify Customer list. Duplicate name encountered.
- LVL_ERROR--Error: Verify Employees list. Duplicate name encountered.
- LVL_ERROR--Error: Verify Item list. Duplicate name encountered.
- LVL_ERROR--Error: Verify Item Site list. Duplicate name encountered.
- LVL_ERROR--Error: Verify Job Type list. Duplicate name encountered.
- LVL_ERROR--Error: Verify Other Names list. Duplicate name encountered.
- LVL_ERROR--Error: Verify Payment Method list. Duplicate name encountered.
- LVL_ERROR--Error: Verify Shipping Method list. Duplicate name encountered.
- LVL_ERROR--Error: Verify Template list. Duplicate name encountered.
- LVL_ERROR--Error: Verify Terms list. Duplicate name encountered.
- LVL_ERROR--Error: Verify Unit of Measure list. Duplicate name encountered.
- LVL_ERROR--Error: Verify Vendor list. Duplicate name encountered.
Cross-listed Duplicates
This form of duplicate name corruption occurs when the same name is used in more than one of the four companion name lists (Customers, Employees, Other Names, Vendors). These names are collectively stored in the QuickBooks Entity table, commonly known as the Master Names List.
In these cases, the error will appear as:
LVL_ERROR--Error: Verify Name list. Duplicate name encountered.
The QBWin.log file may display messages like:
Error: Verify Name list. Duplicate name encountered. Name: X{1} Records 3890 (3391) and 3942 (3392). To fix, edit this element in the list and change its name. (This problem is not fixable by Rebuild.)
To troubleshoot the Entity (or Master Names) List follow these steps:
- Select the Banking menu and select Write Checks
- Click in the Pay to the Order of field and press Ctrl+L to open the Master Name List
- Select the Include inactive checkbox to show active and inactive names
- Click the Name heading to alphabetize the names, regardless of type. Note: Be aware, this could crash QuickBooks, that's one reason you made a backup before you started the troubleshooting process.
- Look for names that are identical, even if they're different name types.
I have found it's preferable to repair the name in the corresponding list than in the master names list, because the master names list seems to be highly sensitive to manual repair attempts.
So, if one of the names is a customer by the name of Harry S. Truman and the other is a vendor by the name of Harry S. Truman, open the vendor list and add a (V) to the end of Harry's vendor name.
Phantom Duplicates – a variation of the other two types
Either true-duplicates or cross-listed duplicates may experience a phantom duplicate occasionally. These irregularities can exist when names are truncated as part of name list imports (especially iiF imports).
In some cases, truncation may cause a new name to be created in the affected list if the imported name doesn’t match the name already in the list. But sometimes a phantom can be produced.
I wrote a lengthy article explaining how this occurs, how to troubleshoot and resolve it, so I'm not going to duplicate the contents of that article here. You can access that article here, or from the related (article) links below this article.
Post Troubleshooting and Repair
Make certain to run the Verify Utility after you troubleshoot and repair any/all duplicates just to insure you have resolved all the issues.
I will just remind you one more time. Always make either a Windows copy of your QuickBooks file or a Backup prior to troubleshooting or repairing any form of data corruption.