Pulley now detects when an email address is already associated with an existing stakeholder record and surfaces a warning before a duplicate is created. This article explains what changed, where you will see warnings, and what to do when they appear.
Why duplicate stakeholder records matter
A duplicate stakeholder record happens when two separate entries in Pulley represent the same person. This can occur when an email is entered differently across workflows, when someone is added through multiple processes, or when a data import introduces inconsistencies.
Duplicate records can cause reporting inaccuracies, reconciliation overhead, and in some cases the risk of sensitive equity information being associated with the wrong account. This feature gives you earlier visibility so you can catch and resolve duplicates before they cause downstream issues.
Pulley warns rather than blocks. If you have a legitimate reason to share an email address across multiple stakeholder records, you can dismiss the warning and continue without any change to how those accounts function.
Update to stakeholder creation requirements
With this update, email addresses will be a required input during the creation of new stakeholders within your Pulley workspace. For more information on creating stakeholders, see our steps to inviting stakeholders to Pulley guide.
Where you will see duplicate stakeholder warnings
In the Stakeholders section
When two or more stakeholder records share the same email address, each affected record displays a Duplicate Email status badge in the Stakeholders list.
Clicking into any flagged record surfaces a banner at the top of the page that identifies the conflict. From that banner, you have two options:
Merge: If the two records represent the same person, you can open the merge side panel and combine them into a single record. Merging moves all securities to the record you choose to keep and permanently removes the other. See Review and edit stakeholder information for full merge steps.
Dismiss: If the shared email is intentional, for example a stakeholder who manages equity under both their individual account and a trust they control, you can dismiss the warning. A confirmation prompt appears before the warning is cleared so you have a chance to review before committing.
Dismissing the warning on one record does not dismiss it on any other record sharing that email. Each record must be reviewed and confirmed independently.
If you update the email address on a flagged record to a unique address, the warning clears automatically on that record and on any other records that previously shared the same email.
Single grant creation
When issuing a new grant, if you select or enter an email address that already belongs to another stakeholder record, Pulley surfaces a warning inline. From there you can merge the records if they are true duplicates, or confirm you are issuing to the correct person if the email overlap is intentional.
During multiple grant creation or upload
If you upload a file to create multiple grants and any rows contain email addresses that match existing stakeholder records under a different name, those cells are highlighted. You can either update the email to create a new stakeholder record, or select the matching existing stakeholder to issue the security to the correct record.
What to do when you see warnings
No immediate action is required. Warnings do not block any workflows. Your existing stakeholder records, securities, and equity operations continue to function normally regardless of whether warnings are dismissed.
When you are ready to review a flagged record, open the stakeholder record and choose one of the following:
Merge the records if they represent the same person who are not distinct stakeholders
Update the email on one of the records if a correction is needed
Dismiss the warning if the shared email is intentional and you want to keep both records as-is
If you have a large number of flagged records and want to review them in bulk, go to Stakeholders and use the Duplicate Email status badge to filter and work through them from within the table. There is no bulk dismiss option; each record must be reviewed individually.
Alert threshold
The duplicate email warning triggers whenever any two stakeholder records within your company account share the same email address. There is no minimum number of records required.
If your account has a high number of stakeholder records sharing the same email address, Pulley may reach out proactively with additional guidance to help you work through them. If you have questions in the meantime, contact support via in-app chat or at support@pulley.com.
What stays the same
Sharing an email address across multiple stakeholder records is still allowed. This feature flags potential duplicates and gives you the tools to act on them. It does not change how stakeholder accounts function, restrict access, or block any workflows.
Duplicate checks are scoped to your company account. The same email appearing across different company accounts in Pulley is expected and is not flagged.
Troubleshooting
I dismissed a warning by mistake
You can still update the stakeholder record if the stakeholder has not yet accepted their invitation to create their Stakeholder account.
A flagged stakeholder has already accepted their portal invitation
Once a stakeholder has accepted their Pulley invitation, the email address on their record can no longer be edited from the admin side. The flag will still appear. To resolve it, ask the stakeholder to update the email address associated with their account from their own account settings. Once they update it to a unique address, the flag will clear automatically.
I see warnings for records that were set up intentionally
Dismiss the warning on each affected record. This confirms the duplication is intentional and clears the flag without changing how those accounts work.
I have a large number of records to dismiss
You will need to dismiss warnings record by record. If the volume is significant and you need assistance, please contact support@pulley.com.