Some embodiments of the present invention include a method for identifying match candidates in a database object and may include generating, by a database system, a match key associated with a lookup field of a database object. The method may further include activating, by the database system, a matching rule associated with the match key, and receiving, by the database system, a request to search for duplicate candidates in the database object. The request may include an input entity. The duplicate candidates in the database object may be identified by using the input entity and the matching rule.