> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.wegive.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How to Fix a Supporter Created as the Wrong Type (Company vs. Individual)

> A supporter's type can't be changed by editing the record. To fix a company entered as an individual (or the reverse), create a new supporter of the correct type and merge the old record into it, which carries over giving history, recurring plans, and logins.

# How to Fix a Supporter Created as the Wrong Type

Sometimes a supporter gets created as the wrong type: an organization
entered as an **Individual**, or a person entered as a **Company**. The
**Supporter type** field is locked once a record exists, so you can't
correct it from the edit screen. The fix is to **merge** the record into a
new supporter of the correct type.

## Why merge instead of moving payments

You could create a new supporter and change the **Supporter** on each
payment one at a time, but that has two drawbacks:

* It only moves one payment at a time, which is slow for a long giving
  history.
* It does not work for **recurring plans**. A recurring plan's supporter
  can't be changed, so a supporter with active plans can't be emptied out
  this way.

Merging moves everything in one step, including recurring plans.

## Steps

1. **Create a new supporter of the correct type** (Company or Individual)
   with the correct name and contact details.
2. Open the old, wrong-type supporter. In the **Actions** menu choose
   **Merge supporter**. (You can also open **Merge Records** from
   **Settings** and choose **Supporters** as the record type.)
3. Set the **Merge Record** to the old, wrong-type supporter. This is the
   one that will be removed.
4. Set the **Master Record** to the new supporter of the correct type.
   This is the one you keep.
5. On the **Select Information** step, leave the choices on the master
   record's values (**Keep all master values**), so the new record keeps
   its correct type and name. Pick a value from the old record only for a
   field you specifically want to carry over, such as an email address or
   a phone number.
6. Review the summary and confirm the merge.

You need the permission to merge supporters to see these options. If you
don't see them, ask an organization administrator.

## What carries over

Merging a company and an individual works the same as merging two records
of the same type. Everything attached to the old record moves to the
master, including one-time and recurring giving, soft credits, pledges,
tags, notes, event registrations, logins, and any connected CRM
identifiers. See
[How to Merge Duplicate Records in WeGive](https://docs.wegive.com/external/support/settings/how-to-merge-duplicate-records-in-wegive.md)
for the full list.

## After the merge

* Open the master record and check that the name fields read the way you
  want, particularly if you chose values from the old record.
* Merging **cannot be undone**, so confirm you have the Merge and Master
  records the right way round before you confirm.
* If you use a connected CRM, merge there first where possible. Merges
  started in WeGive don't sync up to your CRM. The merge article above
  explains how.

## Need help?

If the supporter has a lot of history, or you aren't sure which record
should be the master, contact WeGive Customer Success and we can review
the two records with you before you merge.


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