Moving member lists into one clean database

Checking a member spreadsheet

Staff match the spreadsheet columns to the member and membership fields in Military OS. The review shows whether each row will add a person, update a person, add a membership, or match one already on file.

For each change, staff can compare the current value with the value in the spreadsheet. A row with a serious problem is not imported. Staff must confirm that they have checked the results before applying the file.

Imported membership terms are for history from before the association started using Military OS. New joins and renewals recorded after launch require confirmed payment.

An old email address can still point to the correct person. Importing that address does not replace the person's current sign-in email.

Combining duplicate member records

An administrator chooses which person record to keep and which duplicate to remove. The review shows the name, contact details, photo, chapter, status, and email that will remain.

The review also lists both records' membership history, roles, and other linked records. The administrator confirms the email address of the record being kept before the merge starts.

When records cannot be combined

The records cannot be combined when doing so would create conflicting membership dates, Discord links, speaker profiles, or nominations for the same award period. A completed award is not moved from the record being removed. An administrator also cannot remove their own record.

History kept after the merge

Military OS moves the linked records and removes the duplicate as one operation. It keeps a record of the old details, memberships, roles, number of records moved, administrator, and time.

The removed email address remains connected to the person who was kept. Future sign-in checks and member imports can still find the correct person without keeping a second member record.

Screenshots show the product version available when this post was published.