✓ TestedWorks with CSV, Excel, Google Sheets → JSON-LD Schema
By dataclean.to team · 2026-02-12
FreshBooks accounts accumulate duplicate client records when the same customer is entered by different team members, when clients are imported from multiple sources, or when a client's business name changes and a new profile is created instead of updating the existing one. These duplicates fragment invoice histories and make revenue-per-client reporting unreliable. dataclean.to identifies duplicate clients in your FreshBooks exports by matching names, emails, and business details.
The Problem
Freelancers and small businesses using FreshBooks often create new client entries hastily when invoicing, without checking if the client already exists. Over two years, 'Acme Inc' might exist as three separate clients: 'Acme Inc', 'Acme Incorporated', and 'Acme Inc.' Each has its own invoice history, payment records, and outstanding balance. Financial reports show three small clients instead of one larger account. Year-end tax preparation requires manually finding and combining invoices across duplicate entries. Recurring invoices might be set up under one client profile while one-off project invoices go to the duplicate, splitting the payment trail. FreshBooks client management support documentation
How to Fix It
1
Export client data from FreshBooks
Navigate to the Clients section in FreshBooks and export your client list as a CSV. Include client name, business name, email, phone, address, and total invoiced amount to provide enough matching fields for deduplication.
2
Upload to dataclean.to
Upload the exported CSV. The tool compares client names, business names, email addresses, and phone numbers to identify profiles that likely belong to the same client.
3
Review duplicate client clusters
Examine groups of client records flagged as duplicates. The tool shows name variations, email differences, and invoicing totals for each profile so you can confirm which entries represent the same client.
4
Merge duplicate client profiles
Consolidate duplicate client entries into single records. The merged profile combines total invoiced amounts from all duplicates and preserves the most complete contact information, giving you a true picture of client value.
5
Export the clean client list
Download the deduplicated CSV. Use this to identify which client profiles to merge or archive in FreshBooks, ensuring each client has a single profile with complete invoice history.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the tool merge invoice histories from duplicate clients?
The tool combines invoice totals and counts from duplicate client records in the exported data. Actual invoice record merging needs to happen within FreshBooks by reassigning invoices from the duplicate profiles to the primary client.
How are clients with similar but different business names handled?
The tool uses fuzzy matching on business names, catching variations like 'LLC' vs 'L.L.C.' and abbreviation differences. Clients with business names that are over 85% similar are flagged for your review.
Will this affect my FreshBooks accounting data?
No. The tool works on an exported CSV file, not your live FreshBooks account. After identifying duplicates, you make manual changes in FreshBooks to merge or archive the duplicate profiles.
Example: Input → Output
name
email
phone
city
status
Alice Johnson
alice@example.com
+1-555-0101
New York
active
alice johnson
ALICE@EXAMPLE.COM
5550101
new york
Active
Red rows show common data quality issues. dataclean.to normalizes and generates JSON-LD automatically.