> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://learn.withessential.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://learn.withessential.com/customers-and-work/customers/merge-or-split-customer-accounts.md). # Merge or split customer accounts When accounts are set up wrong you can combine or separate customers from the customer page's ... menu. Merge Customer moves one customer's properties, contacts, and automations into another customer, combining them into a single account. You pick which account to merge into, then review roles for every contact on both sides: each contact needs at least one role, and where a source contact's primary role conflicts with one the target already has, it starts out demoted to secondary. This step does not de-duplicate contacts — it only resolves role conflicts. Split Customer does the opposite: it separates a customer's properties into one or more new accounts - you group the properties, each non-empty group becomes its own customer, and then you assign contacts to each. To choose the customer to merge into, search by its name or the complete value of a text or number custom field, such as your customer number. Exact names and exact custom-field values appear before partial names and similar spellings. The picker shows up to ten matches and leaves out the customer you are merging from. Both are account-level actions. Merge is always available, including for customers connected to a payment integration: the archived customer's saved payment methods, payment-integration link, subscriptions, and payment history move to the surviving customer. One exception: a customer with active, paused, or not-yet-started subscriptions cannot be merged into an inactive customer - reactivate the surviving customer first, or cancel those subscriptions. Split is unavailable when the customer is connected to a payment integration, and needs the customer to have more than one property. When the two customers bill differently — a different default saved payment method, preferred payment type, autopay setting, or tax exemption — the merge asks what should happen to the billing of the archived customer's properties that used its customer billing. Keep it (the default) and each of those properties gets its own billing profile with the same payment terms, default and preferred payment method, autopay setting, and tax exemption, so nothing changes for it (including a customer that had autopay off staying off); or switch them to the surviving customer's billing. Properties that already had their own billing profile keep it either way. If you keep the archived customer's billing and the surviving customer has no default payment method and no preferred payment type of its own, the surviving customer also adopts the archived customer's default payment method (the Keep option says so when it applies); if you switch, the surviving customer's billing stays exactly as it was. The question only appears when at least one of the archived customer's properties used its customer billing; when it does not come up, the surviving customer's billing is also left as it was. Merge and Split also require the customer merge/split permission. If you do not see these actions but need them for your work, contact your business's administrator to review your role. If the administrator cannot make the permission change in Settings, they can contact Essential from the Talk to a human tab. > **Where to find it:** On the customer page, the ... menu: Merge Customer and Split Customer ## Related guides * [Create a customer](/customers-and-work/customers/create-a-customer.md) * [See and browse all your customers](/customers-and-work/customers/see-and-browse-all-your-customers.md) * [Making a customer active or inactive](/customers-and-work/customers/making-a-customer-active-or-inactive.md) * [Saving a customer's payment methods](/customers-and-work/customers/saving-a-customers-payment-methods.md) * [Set customer billing (payment terms, tax exempt, autopay)](/customers-and-work/customers/set-a-customers-billing-profile-payment-terms-tax-exempt-autopay.md) --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. 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