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INSTRUCTIONS FOR IMPORTING DATA INTO SCHEDULE F

Download this spreadsheet - Schedule F template by right-clicking and clicking  “Save” or "Save Target to..."   You may name the file any name.

Follow these rules:

All of the columns must be on the spreadsheet in exactly the same order as the downloaded template file.

You may resize the visible column width and change the font size.  The maximum number of characters in a cell is limited as shown in the table below.

The spreadsheet must have only one "worksheet" (see the tab at the bottom) and it must be named "Sheet1"

The column headings in row 1 on the downloaded file must be on the sheet you import on row 1 the same way.

There must be no blank lines until the end of your list.

If there are blank spaces typed into the lines below the end of your data, the system will attempt to upload the line and will produce an error. (Hint: delete several lines below the end of your data to eliminate accidental blanks.)

The transactions must all be for Schedule F - Expenditures, and no other form.

A single spreadsheet may have no more than 2,500 records, but you may upload more than one spreadsheet if you have more than 2,500 Schedule F transactions.

Only upload the transactions ONCE.

These fields are required:

Expenditure Date - this MUST be a date within the range of the dates on your cover sheet page 1
- For example, January 15, 2016 filings this will be the period 7/1/15 to 12/31/15 for most filers
- The dates must appear in the mm/dd/yyyy format, like 10/12/2015, not as "Oct-12-2015" or some other format

Name – Person’s name or Business name is required

There must either be a valid person's name in the First Name and Last Name fields, or there must be a business/organization name in the "Payee Organization" field

A compound first name like "Jack & Jill" is allowed in the First Name field.

"Payee Organization" is for a business or an organization. Do not use "Payee Organization" for a person’s name.

The only "Titles" allowed are "Mr", "Ms", "Mrs", and "Dr". Others such as "Rev", "Hon" and "Judge" are not allowed. Do not add the period at the end of "Mr/Ms/Mrs/Dr". You may leave the field blank

Only put one character for Middle Initial. For example, do not put "H."; only put the "H" The system will reject more than one character.

It is allowed to put both a person’s name and a business name.

House Number – Street Address or P O Box is required
                      (ONLY ONE – NOT BOTH – or the system will show an error upon import)

There must be a valid mailing address - but DO NOT put both a P O Box and a House Number and Street (or you will get an error when you import)

For a valid street address, both a House Number and Street Name is required, and “Apt or Suite” is optional (You may put or omit "#" in the apartment number - it is not required)

For a P O Box, ONLY PUT THE P O BOX.  Do not put a House Number , Street Name or “Apt or Suite” on the same line with a P O Box
- Don't type "P.O. Box" - just type the number

The Street Name may not contain commas, so don't type "Marilla, 5th floor". Put the "5thFl" or suite information in the “Apt or Suite” field

The “Apt or Suite” field allows only 5 characters

City

State - 2 character abbreviation - only the standard codes from the postal service are accepted

Zip Code – This is formatted as text in order to allow a leading zero to be shown

Expenditure amount - it must be a positive number with no more than 2 decimals.

Purpose of Payment

Category - This is a new field added by the Texas Ethics Commisssion effective January 1, 2011. The top of the Schedule F form has the list of standard categories, but the user may use the "Other" option and input a category that is not on the standard list. You may also copy and paste them from this list:

Type ("C" or "O") - This is a new field added by the Dallas City Council by Ordinance on February 25, 2015. It requires that filers indicate the amount of officeholder contributions used for campaign expenditures, distinguish between campaign and officeholder contributions, and distinguish between campaign and officeholder expenditures.

These Fields are optional:

Title, MI (middle initial) and Suffix of a person's name, and NickName
- Middle Initial must be blank or only 1 character

Apt or Suite

Zip Code Extension

ADDITIONAL WARNING

Any record that has an apostrophe anywhere in the name fields will upload properly and display properly. But later, if you want to use that name again by clicking on it, or you want to edit that name and address later in the Campaign Finance application, you will not be able to use or edit the address. (Hint: Type "Kinkos" instead of "Kinko's) This applies only to First Name, Last Name, and Payee Organization.

ERROR MESSAGES WHEN IMPORTING
The system will give you an error message table showing any omitted, required information. It will show the information on the line with the error and state specifically what has to be corrected.

BLANK LINES may attempt to import. This will cause errors that say you are missing all of the data on a line. There must be no blank lines within the block of your data. If there are any stray blank characters below your data, this will also cause a "blank line" error. It fix this, delete about 100 lines below where the data stops to eliminate any stray blanks.

Field sizes and Rules:

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