How to stop duplicate records and double data entry in Zoho CRM

Duplicate records in Zoho CRM usually enter through several channels, including manual typing, imports, web forms and integrations, so each needs its own safeguards. Marking a field like email as unique makes CRM check new and edited records against existing values, though this must be enabled per module and does not cover every path. Web-to-lead and web-to-contact form submissions that match existing data are routed to an approval queue instead of being created automatically. Zoho's import options let users skip, overwrite or clone duplicates, with Overwrite requiring Enterprise edition or higher and Record IDs for safe updates. Existing duplicates can be cleaned up with Find and Merge for individual records or De-duplicate for bulk modules, though merged records are permanently deleted and cannot be restored.