How to: Archive a Duplicate Family

Families cannot be removed or deleted from your database. The main reason for this is so inactive families can be contacted if required.

If multiple family records have been created for the same family, the duplicates will need to be archived. 

Duplicate families can cause issues - such as preventing families from accessing the SimplyPortal customer app, causing confusion over enrolments or allocating payments to the incorrect family account. 

Below are the recommended simple steps to follow to archive duplicate families.

1. Locate the duplicate family. 

TIP: search by Contact Value in your Quick Search bar by email address or phone number.  

2. Click on "Edit Name & Address".

2. RENAME the FAMILY.

Follow the naming convention of your centre. If this is the first time, pick a naming convention, e.g. Archived Family or Duplicate Family.

To rename the family:

- if there is an address on the family, move this to "Address Line 2" first

- move the family name to the "Address Line 1" space 

- change the Family Contact Name to your naming convention

- you can also paste the primary contact details here.

3. Remove the family contact details from the family contacts section and click "Update". 

***This is important - if the same contact details are associated with more than one family, the active family will not be able to register or login to the customer portal app.

The contact details can be saved into the "Notes & Alerts" section or the address details as shown above.

4. RENAME the STUDENTS.

From the student's screen:

- move their name to the "Student Notes" section and have the First Name as Archived and the Last Name as Student. Click "Update Student Information".

OR

- move their First Name to join their Last Name field and change the First Name to Archived Student. Click "Update Student Information". Naming the student this way, they will appear in your Quick Search if searching by the student name.

Repeat this step for all students on the family.

NOTE: Make sure you name the student. If the name field is left blank, you will not be able to click on the student.

The archived family should then look like the below example.

Searching for archived families

If you need to locate your archived families for any reason, search your naming convention in the Quick Search bar. By moving the family name to the family address details section, you will be able to see the name in the search. In the example below, you can see that moving the student name to the Student Notes, their name will not come up in the search. If their name is moved to their Surname section, their name will appear in the search.

Last updated 08 May 2026