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User Guide – Version 4.5 - Maryland State Board of Elections

1. cad Bd Lata rts ae ak Lagi Lais e Click on the down arrow in the Report Year field and select the year e Click on the search button to the right of the Report Types field to view the report you wish to issue a contribution receipt NOTE If you select All Report Types the Report Types field will then be mute Once you have made your selection the window at the top of page 31 will open 33 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Contribution Receipts cont d SUES Trk Gae PIRE Leai i l0 F contrition Recopts ea joj SEI eles Fanuc bur pis im fiers Th Lera Galle Aiia a a fs Cie Ceremi A en seh Ac veer a po STO O Oe M Sele all Pie Perey i Ea iT Dre Maiya F F WER Pro Goen Repair J nfs 7 Fate Poet enna Fogo E TEE Arron a in Pree aj oe orl Fill in the Report Year and Report Types fields and select one of the following The default is Receipt Only e Receipt Only This option will print out one contribution receipt for each contributor entered on the selected report s Letter Only This option will print out a letter for each contributor entered on the selected report s You must also select the appropriate letter from the drop down list in the Letter field Receipt With Letter This option will print out a receipt and a letter on the same page Again you must also select the appropriate letter
2. Total Aggregate amount may not be more than 4 000 Total Bank Account Balances at the top of this form do not equal the Cash Balance computed Total Cash Balance does not equal the Prior Balance plus the Total Receipts minus the Total Expenditures Do you want to Recalculate the total Automatically by pressing Yes Total Cash Balance does not equal the Prior Balance plus the Total Receipts minus the Total Expenditures Total Expenditures on the expenditures tab does not equal the sum of lines N thru Z Do you want to Recalculate the total Automatically by pressing Yes Total Money Receipts on the contribution tab does not equal the sum of amounts on lines A thru K Do you want to Recalculate the totals Automatically by pressing Yes Transaction Loan Date is invalid Transaction amount must be greater than zero Transaction End Date has to be greater than the Transaction Beginning Date Unable to Save Transaction End Date lt Transaction Beginning Date Use the Import from Old Data option because this version is earlier than 4 0 Warning Balance of loan not entered Is loan fully paid Warning Debt Date is from an earlier reporting period Warning Debt Date is past the given reporting period Warning Duplicate records exist for lt NAME gt Warning No lookup record exists for lt NAME gt Warning Transaction Date is from an earlier reporting period Warning Transaction Dat
3. From To Deti Cabs l Fitts io Debt Debi Balaca Armori If you want to edit a previously recorded bill transaction click on the down arrow in the Item Number box or click on the Search magnifying glass button next the item number box This allows you to conduct a search and to utilize the wildcard function by entering in the after the first few letters of the name you are searching for If you want to Add a new bill click on the Add mode and a message window will appear Was this transaction made by an individual AB Transaction 5 x Sle Ble Fle i Bled pg Aak Meve Pleats Ender the Eniting Erdity Hlarne or Individual Hama ard Micke x Walii hi Erde icon fradi b dar eeh Enyhe a beet fe Answering either Yes or No will render the appropriate fields mute and you will only be able to enter information in the active field that corresponds with your answer Enter all required information and click the Save button at the bottom of the window or on the toolbar 20 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 3 6 Entering Expenditures a Expenditures Made by a Campaign Finance Entity From the Report Entry window click on the Expenditure button Once the Expenditure window opens to you you must select which of the following Transaction Mode you want to begin work in e Find Add Allows you to find a previously entered trans
4. Return to the Expenditure window Complete the Type field and Remarks field if applicable Save and close out of the Expenditure window 24 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Expenditures Reimbursement cont d Now go back to the Report Entry window select Expenditure and then click in the Edit mode From the Item Number drop down list select the number that corresponds with the entity or individual s name to which Orphan Annie s reimbursement relates AT THIS TIME go to the Reimbursement drop down list and Orphan Annie s name will appear Select it and save Cherise Trairi ocho Chto faa Fiia Ther acion lc hack Tresechion Aroni SEJL Check Ho ton Typ Feni ari ohe chee eqences c Expenditure to Pay a Loan or a Bill In order to process expenditures for loans or bills you must first have already entered those transactions See page 13 for Entering a Loan and page 16 for Entering a Bill Let s now proceed to the Expenditure window to pay that bill or loan the same operation applies for both e From the Transaction Mode section of the window select Bill A list of all bills you have entered thus far will appear Select Loan to repay a loan era 0 r Loon w Bal r Seed D nora ea EE y nar aan enon ad ed fag ld ag band 25 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Expenditures Expenditure to Pay a Loan or a Bill cont d e Cl
5. button or press the Enter return key on your keyboard The payee s name and address will be automatically entered into the appropriate fields in the window Proceed to the Details portion bottom half of the Expenditure window Here you will see that the current Transaction Date is already entered All you need to do is to enter the current Transaction Amount and then go to the drop down menu and select the Form of Transaction 1 e check or other followed by Type and Remarks if any Click the New button Dietni s THnacten Dake Geers Fond Tamad wag ell Tamaddi Amount Chark Mo Aemymameri o Type Aig rrearks we coe If the payee is not listed click on the Add New button A message window will appear Is this transaction related to an individual e If you answer yes the data you entered in the Lookup Name field will be displayed in the Last Name field At this point continue typing the payee s name address and other transaction information If you answer no the data you entered in the Lookup Name field will be displayed in the Entity Name field Again at this point continue typing the payee s name address and other transaction information e If your campaign finance entity is a political action committee PAC or a party central committee PCC you have the option of indicating that the expenditure was for administrative purposes For these c
6. Ec Firg Preece jd Hes Tron ocon Flema Eriw ta Pit Thean Charco oa Horra ol ta Erry or heti bds agi Misa rm 1 T ikh Piard Bo a GG Laat m rT maida Aide Cory Free ht Traini hii La SoS ei Pos Trana Tinie a AT Fe ra ce l e Find Add Allows you to find previous transaction or to add a new one e Edit Allows you to edit a previously entered transaction EFS defaults to Find Add so if you are entering a new transaction you can just simply begin at the Lookup Name field e If entering an individual type the last name e If you are entering an entity type the beginning of the entity s name Once you have typed the first three letters EFS will bring up the Search Lookup Table window where matches based on the first three letters if any will be displayed 15 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Entering Other Income cont d If the entity you are searching for is listed click on that name and then click on the Select button or press the Enter return key of your keyboard The name address and previous aggregate will be automatically entered in the fields and you will then only need to enter the current transaction amount If the entity name for which you are searching 1s not listed click on the Add New button A message window will open with Is this transaction related to an individual e If yes the data you entered in the Lookup Name f
7. Export was Unsuccessful because ELECTrack could not connect to the FTP site from your computer Please check the export path and try again Export was Unsuccessful because ELECTrack could not connect to the Internet from your computer If you have an Internet connection please check a whether your Internet connection is functioning b your computer s Internet software configuration for example Dial Up networking or c your hardware setup for example modem and phone connections If you do not have an Internet connection please use the export to disk option from the ELECTrack Export screen Have you contacted SBE and received approval to run this tool In Kind contributions may not be tickets In Kind Expenditures should be made as OTHER 57 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Additional Error Messages cont d Invalid Account Number Do Not Enter the Character Invalid Account Number Invalid amount entered Invalid date entered The date format is mm dd yyyy mm dd yyyy or mmdd yyyy Invalid date specified No additional PACs to separate No check number should be specified for an In Kind Expenditure No receipt is printed unless there was an In Kind Interest Contribution Only voided checks may have an amount of zero Continue with Save Please indicate how the Transaction was made Please indicate that the Transaction was Other Reset Date for the lt REP
8. ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 PART 13 ERRORS AND SOLUTIONS 13 1 Warnings and Reports EFS will provide you with certain warning messages if an entry that you make does not comply with the Maryland Campaign Finance laws for example if you enter a contribution that exceeds 4 000 In addition EFS creates error reports that you can look at any time by selecting Errors Report from the Report Entry window EFS will also generate error messages whenever you export a report 13 2 Errors Report Once a report has been completed and all income expenditures obligations and summary sheet data is entered you may perform a check for potential errors in your report EFS has been programmed to apply some of the Maryland State campaign finance laws to determine whether any of these laws have potentially been violated If the Errors Report identifies any potential errors you should review the questionable data and modify the selected report before exporting the data To bring up the Errors Report access the Report Entry window and click on the Errors Report button From the window that pops up you can print or view the Errors Report or file the Errors Report on your hard drive e To send the report to a printer simply click on this button e To view the report click on this button E If potential errors exist EFS will then display the error reports A series of windows will pop up If necessary change the information
9. Price Balance Tot Aecepes Total Expencrtures Cosh Belenoce 104 ay 7 a i The only field that will be active is the Prior Balance field The other fields are inactive You need only to change the Prior Balance field 1f it is different from the balance that was carried forward If t is different you will get a warning message REMEMBER to save your changes before exiting 3 8 Editing and Deleting Entries Any receipt other income expenditure bill and or loan entries that you made can be edited or deleted All of these transactions can be edited or deleted but you must be in the Edit mode of the respective window For example in the Transaction Mode function of the Receipt window below the Edit mode must be selected After you select the Edit mode you will then need to bring up the item that you want to edit or delete ELESTrack Campai Anae ec i AHi U Bred add e Lene Burn i Edi Uodete Temarin Hen Seled he Papot Form end Bem to be Pode To bring up the item you wish to edit or delete enter the Item Number in the associated field 28 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Editing and Deleting Entries cont d If you do not know the Item Number click on the Search magnifying glass button next to the Item Number field and a Search For Item window will appear In this window you can search for the name of the entity or individual you wish to del
10. you may select Yes to overwrite the file 12 7 Settings If you are having trouble seeing the entire screen or using the icons on the main screen you may have to change your font size from large to small To make the needed change do the following a Close all open applications b Click on the Start button on your Windows desktop c Select Settings from that menu d Select Control Panel e Select Display f In Windows 95 NT click on the Settings tab in Windows 98 also click on the Advanced button g Under font size make sure Small fonts 1s selected h Under desktop area make sure the pixel setting is at least 800 x 600 any less will cause distortion 50 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 12 8 System Requirements If you are having problems with the software please re confirm that your computer meet these minimum system requirements necessary to run the software a Operating system Windows 95 98 NT ME 2000 XP Pentium class PC 486 PCs will work but with degraded performance b 16 MB of RAM or more as required for the appropriate operating system c 50 MB free disk space for software and data d PC monitor capable of 800 x 600 resolution e PC printer f If you are using Windows NT it must be version 4 and at service pack 6 or greater g For doing the file transfer via the Internet you must have either Internet Explorer version 4 or later or Netscape version 4 or later 5I
11. Another window will pop up pun Bi Tt Cow 2 x Type the name of a program folder document or Internet resource and Windows will open it for you Open D Setup Cancel Browse In this window type D Setup NOTE You may have to replace the D with the letter that represents your CD ROM drive Once you have completed these steps instructions and information about the installation will come up on the screen You may be prompted to restart the computer more than once This is normal for older machines that are not equipped with the latest system software from Microsoft The EFS software automatically defaults to the C drive in Program Files under EFS If you want the software somewhere other than the default you must utilize the Change Directory option when asked about location If you are installing on a network your system administrator can assist you with this ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Installation cont d If you already have an older version of ELECTrack installed on your computer you do not need to uninstall it However it is recommended that you make a back up of your database before installation the new version The previous version will not be altered or lost 2 2 Terminology The EFS software incorporates various icons to help you maneuver the data entry process and to help you through the many functions associated accessing editing and printing the information you
12. features designed to help users comply with the Maryland Campaign Finance Laws and to effectively utilize their campaign finance data 5 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 1 3 What EFS is NOT EFS is not a comprehensive campaign management system EFS do not interface with other programs such as check writing or accounting software The use of EFS for campaign finance entity business is not mandatory and an entity may use software services provided through private vendors But the entity should be aware that private vendor software must be compatible with SBE s ELECTrack database A listing of private vendors who provide compatible software can be obtained on the SBE website www elections state md us 1 4 Who is a User As stated above EFS was primarily created to assist the Treasurer of a campaign finance entity in required routine reporting But anyone associated with the campaign finance entity by authority of the Treasurer may utilize the EFS ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 PART 2 GETTING STARTED 2 1 Installation The CD provided by SBE contains the EFS software It should start automatically when placed in the CD drive of the computer If it does not start click the Start button 48 Start on the toolbar a menu will pop up 4 Launch Ree Pree Bf New Office Document A Open Office Ouman write A Program p G amat F ore A sean From the menu click Run
13. have entered These icons have associated terminology that identifies their function as follows EFS MAIN WINDOW is the window that opens up right after the Title as Window The Main Window contains 9 buttons for navigating through EFS to accomplish your campaign finance business Pil Tanna MENU BAR appears at the top of the EFS Main Window when is opens It contains the following options File Account Entry Report Entry Print Reports Export Maintenance Tools Window and Help You will use each of these options as you navigate through EFS PF ELECTrack Ampa Finance ELEC ront Filing Accoun Entry RapotEsty ProntAepors Export amienance Tools Window Help A TOOLBAR is located on any and all of the active windows The toolbar contains only the buttons necessary for instigating certain functions in the window in which you are currently working Depending on which window is active the toolbar may or may not contain a particular button For example there is a quick entry button on the Create Edit a Report toolbar that is not on any of the other toolbars Aloe a _ 5 x D bi ajaj 7 0 NEW DOCUMENT button when clicked will clear the fields in the window you are currently working in to enable you to begin entering new data SAVE button is used for saving information in the current record in which you are working PRINT PREVIEW button is used for previewing a selected document It pres
14. is able to be rebooted prior to your saving a record all the new data entered for that transaction will be lost and will need to be re entered Previously saved data will be safe If you need to switch computers you can easily recover your back up data First install EFS Upon installation EFS will have a new blank database Click on Tools on the Menu Bar and then select System Recover A file menu will appear Locate and select the back up database file it will have to be on the system hard drive or from an external source The back up database will then replace the current blank database 10 3 Managing Two Accounts NOTE It is not recommended to manage two or more campaign accounts on the same computer at the same time It is possible although cumbersome to maintain two campaign accounts at the same time on one computer To do this follow these steps 44 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Managing Two Accounts cont d e Create two sub folders under c program files efs e Assign the sub folders the name of the committee or the entity account number e If this is the first time using EFS perform a system back up see 10 2 and save the blank database to one of the two sub folders that you created Repeat this step but save to the other sub folder e If you already are using EFS for one account you will need to contact SBE for a blank database for the other account e Once you have the databases saved to the su
15. range of labels go to the Contributions Report under the Reports Menu This will allow you to select records by various criteria one of which is by date range After your selection click on the Sort tab under Print Options select Labels 11 3 Searching Tips There are several search functions in EFS including search by item number section 3 8 search contributions section 7 1 and search expenditures section 7 2 When searching you will have to enter the entire name spelled correctly in order for EFS to find it However the wildcard feature of the search function can be used in cases where you aren t sure of the correct spelling of the entity s name For example if you were unsure of the entity s name you may type the first few letters in the field requested regardless of what followed the first three letters For example you are looking for Acme Enterprises If you entered Acme in the entity name field without the wildcard no records would appear since there are no entity named just Acme However if you entered Acme 46 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Searching Tips cont d plus the wildcard 1 e Acme EFS would lists every entity which begins with the name Acme such as Acme Association Acme Inc Acme Enterprise or Acme Investments You can then select the appropriate record from the list 47 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 PART 12 TROUBLESHOOTING
16. 12 1 Amended Reports Will all of an amended report completely replace the original report filed with the State Yes If you ve indicated a report has been amended that is the Amendment number is greater than 0 EFS will automatically perform an Amendment review when the new amended report is exported During the Amendment Review EFS will compare the contents of the new amended report with the most recent version of the same report contained in the EFS database An Amendment Review Report will be generated that will detail line by line the difference bound between the two reports with the Schedule and Item number as well as a description of the change The campaign Treasurer Chairman and Candidate must sign the Amendment Review Report and file it with the amended report 12 2 Reports Contribution Expenditure Outstanding Obligation I can t see all of the Report Types by using the magnifying glass Fy Why not os The Report Types list will only display report types that have actually been created in the Report Entry window for this campaign finance entity 12 3 Creating an account I tried to change the Account Number but the filing software won t allow changes What should I do Once you have created an account in EFS and have created a report you will be unable to modify most of the account identification information You may re install the EFS software but NOTE All campaign activity entered into the previously existing data
17. ELE CTrack NMMarylarical Electronic Filing Software EFS Windows 95 98 2000 NT ME XP Electronic Filing MARYLAND oFO0 lt 4Amrm Oo OFbOR mab Copyrigh 2001 MD Stete Board Of Electons Version 45 0 User Guide Version 4 5 Prepared by Maryland State Board of Elections Division of Candidacy and Campaign Finance 151 West Street Suite 200 P O Box 6486 Annapolis MD 21401 0486 410 269 2880 Toll Free Number 800 222 8683 MD Relay Service 800 735 2235 Email ccf elections state md us Revised November 2005 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Main Window of the ELECTrack EFS 1 L pan ELECTrack Maryland Electronic Filing Syste It is from here that you will take control of all your reporting requirements Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Table of Contents Page Introduction Welcome to ELECT ack cccccccccccccccccees 5 1 1 Electronic Filing System EFS User Manual 1 2 What is EFS 1 3 What EFS is NOT 1 4 Who is a User Cetin Star ederran EE EE EEE 7 2 1 Installation 2 2 Terminology 2 3 Account Initialization Entering Your Report Data iss vecsdauvinssesiesed idetatessecuscsteneduavecesss 11 3 1 Entering your data in the correct report 3 2 Entering Receipts 3 3 Entering Other Income 3 4 Entering a Loan 3 5 Entering a Bill 3 6 Entering Expenditures 3 7 Summary S
18. I Tibo Prue 29 Gr ig me on M intind Cann buhan Aggregate To Des oo Ramata se ee e If you answer no a window will open requesting Organization Type RSS ts inj gt ia toe he at i re ae ee T Eulia Chee T purp Sars Ea J andir Areni Err Ent Plo or ind bebo iM ore ino Sake T Sletes Pet Dorso Comeaaoe WO PACs T Cee of Stoke Pals Sl rr e Soke Cea cin Siete ere LAL Zip Code Trani boat Ci ia BES Foe i Tenna aon f Tisn 28en A o I Tickotin Pr ajia Agere got M ekr Carkibsten Aggragess Toews ats biera es Darca Depending on what you select EFS will classify the type of receipt based on your selection Once you have made your selection the data you entered in the Lookup Name field will be displayed in the entity name field Then continue typing the contributor s name address and other transaction information 14 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 3 3 Entering Other Income To enter interest refunds rebates or other miscellaneous income do the following e From the Report Entry window click on the Other Income button which will open the Other Receipt window see below You must select either Add Find or Edit depending n what you want to do ELEL Tah CAT eee EL le hi oma elal Sey Ma En LEa Ee eee ere Oiar Ferorisl E alH Eorann Tms acion Hoa Fe Parad f Ere
19. Loan Reparan To Add a new loan transaction you MUST switch over to the Add mode When you switch over a message pops up Was this transaction made by an individual S Add Ede Add Mew Fiese Emer he Entre Entity hama oF hadradh Hame nrd sadda is FLECTrack Mib E We he aan made by an readily If you answer No another window will open prompting you to select the Organization Type 17 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Entering a Loan cont d F Loan Transaction Business Federal Commitee ae C Political Cubs nitty Hame C Candidsis Accounts l Lost TAN Midd Addressi PER l C Party Central Commitee Addres C MO PACs City zi C Du of State PACS Loens Crete Loan A Loan After you make your selection click Select Done and the window will close allowing you to enter the name of the organization entity and other related information in the fields If you answer Yes the message window will close automatically and you can begin putting in the name of the individual NOTE If you answer Yes the Entity Name field will become mute If you answer No the Last First Middle and Suffix fields will become mute When fields are mute you cannot enter information in them This helps in reducing data entry errors If a loan is from someone other than the candidate a written consent must be issu
20. ORT_YEAR gt lt DESCRIPTION gt Report Selecting Final means you want to close your Campaign Account Your Campaign Acccount can be closed Only If 1 the account has no outstanding reports or late fees and 2 the account does not have a cash balance or any outstanding loans or debt System Information Is Unavailable At This Time System unable to convert lt ENTERED STRING gt to a valid date The Amount you entered is Not the total of the above entered items Do you want to overwrite the total The Cash Balance from your Last Report of lt AMOUNT gt does not equal the current Prior Balance of lt NEW AMOUNT gt Do you want to Replace the current Prior Balance The export process did not complete successfully You must repeat the export process otherwise the report will not be considered filed The name and address of each purchaser of a ticket that cost 51 00 or more must be provided The Report Year must be set up in Filing Status Maintenance for Account lt ACCOUNT gt before you run Outstanding Obligation This function must run independent of all other functions amp _ 58 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Additional Error Messages cont d This report type was exported on lt PRIOR DATE gt Would you like to continue exporting this data Tickets may not be in kind contributions To Amount should be greater than From Amount To date should be greater than From date
21. Pag ien i Heny e Export Settings Select your desired method 1 e Disk or Internet FTP o If you choose Disk you must also complete the Export Path field o If you choose Internet FTP the Export Path field will be muted e Select Report for Export Select Report Year from drop down list and the Report Type via search mechanism e Export Name The Export Name is automatically generated by ELECTrack when you click on the Execute button on the tool bar The Disk method exports your report data to a 3 5 inch diskette that you will then have to mail to the SBE NOTE The EFS defaults to the a drive which on most computers is designated for the 3 5 inch diskette If this is not true for your computer you need to change the drive designation 35 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Exporting the Report for Filing cont d Enter the report year and type and tab or click inthe g Export Name field and the Export Name will automatically be S generated by EFS DO NOT alter the Export Name Click on the execute button If you are exporting to a diskette the process is NOT complete UNTIL you receive the message Export Process Complete and the Transmittal Sheet is generated Once this all has been accomplished mail the diskette labeled with your account name number and the report due date with a signed Transmittal Sheet to the State Board of Elections 151 West
22. Street Suite 200 Annapolis MD 21401 Your report is not considered filed until SBE has received it The Internet FTP method exports your report data directly to the SBE via the Internet In order to use this method you must have an Internet connection on your computer If you are exporting via the Internet a login window will be displayed on which you will need to enter your account number and your password the nine digit alpha numeric code that was sent to you by the SBE The EFS should automatically establish your Internet connection to the SBE REMEMBER you must have an Internet connection on your computer If EFS does not connect you automatically you MUST connect to the Internet manually and then go to the EFS and export your report Your exporting process is complete once you receive the Export Process Complete message and the Transmittal Sheet is generated Sign and mail the Transmittal Sheet to the SBE 36 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 PART 7 SEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS EXPENDITURES AND DEBTS SS SS S9SS 7 1 General A search can be performed in most of the windows of EFS after you have entered that window There are three search functions that can be accessed from the EFS Main Window They are Search Contributions Search Expenditures and Search Debts Each is self explanatory as to what they search and all three have certain universal capabilities Each can Create rep
23. action or to create a new transaction e Loan Allows you to enter a loan repayment expenditure e Bill Allows you to enter a bill repayment expenditure e Edit Allows you to edit a previously entered expenditure record Fi Enperdiiure Djaj jej x F T Tamatan biade Findfadd Clen CEI Bll Find Prao ood Mow Trereecton Pio Emar tee Frai Thes Cheerios ol fie Mare ofthe Entity or Iii dus n m SS sl EFS defaults to the Find Add mode so if you are entering a new record simply begin entering your expenditure record AccountEniy FpertEnby FrintReperts Expert Hanba Took Winia Help ACEITA i IE E sjaj PLE I Tanon hoda Ewed iihi T Lea ea r Eee Firg Fca dol Hie Tana a Piae Enno ie Fit Theo Chenaciots of hiang ofthe Endy or bed roid Lee co H orra Brae w ee ee ee Adore FO Cef a Bawa fuera eaa Cece a Tisreacee n Oa i Ford of Terre ov ed Fara biagi o Ti 21 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Entering Expenditures Made by a Campaign Finance Entity cont d In Lookup name field type the first three letters of the individual s last name or the the first three letters of the entity s name EFS will bring up the Search Lookup Table window that will display all if any matches If the payee you are searching for is among this list select it and then click on the Select
24. add one create it in Windows Explorer The Summary Sheet does not exist Export is aborted This message and the similar message Summary Sheet is missing Export is aborted both indicate that you have no summary data for this report While you can submit a report without contributions or expenditures you do need to create a summary sheet There is no Report Due Date for the current report Unable to check if there are any outstanding loans and debts from prior report Please go back to the report entry screen and enter the appropriate due date for the report This item does not exist in the drop down list You have used a code to try to pick an item in a list box and it is not there Highlight the entry delete it and then use the dropdown arrow to open the list and select one that way This item number is not available for this report form combination The item number you are looking for is not in the data for this particular report on this form For example you might be looking for a contribution from a business but have looked in the contributions from PACs This path lt PATH NAME gt is not accessible You have specified a location to put the export data that the program can t get to If you were trying to save it on a network drive try saving it on your local drive and then copying it to the network This Report has not received in Filing Status This message indicates that the report you are trying to access has
25. any of the other listed records 1f they are correct If none are exactly correct you can edit any of the data fields in the center of the window Once you have selected the correct record and made any necessary edits click on the Merge All Records button You can remove someone from the list of items to be merged 1f they don t belong a second Frank Smith for example who really lives at a different address To do so click on the Frank Smith that you want to remove and then click on the Remove from Merge button For contributions you need to do both Name and Address merges to get the aggregate totals correct in the records Merges solely based on address matches will give you for example Frank J Smith and Frank Smith and F J Smith all with the same address on record The merge might give you individuals you want to keep separate such as a wife or husband who made a contribution as well Remember the committee has a responsibility to ensure that no one goes over the contribution limit b Expenditures Combining Expenditure Look ups will make your job a bit easier but not required since you do not have to keep aggregate to date information for payees Follow the same steps as mentioned in a above 40 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 8 4 Update Look up Table The update look up table feature allows the user to edit look up records print or view a listing of look up records and delete look up records Se
26. are creating e g THANK1 e Description A brief description of the letter e g Thank you note to over 500 contributors Salutation The letter s greeting e g Dear Closing The letter s closing e g Sincerely Sender The name of the person sending the letter and Free Text The body of the letter e g what you want to say 42 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Creating Your Letter cont d When creating your letter you can also cut text from another EFS window or a Microsoft document and paste it in the Free Text field of the Create Adhoc Letter window AFTER you have saved your letter and BEFORE it is available for use you must exit the window you are in Remember you can access your newly created letter from any EFS feature as well as from the Main Window BUT you won t be able to print it from ANY window 9 2 Printing Your Letter There are ONLY two EFS features that will allow you to print your ad hoc letter while you are in the window They are the Contributions Report window of the Search Contributions feature and the Contributions Receipts window of the Create letters receipts for contributions feature Although you can access and or edit your ad hoc letter from any window you cannot print it from any window SS x 7e cb fT I Boca Pira ey Fee Lear Cede acca Te P channel Al fll Puppet ye o Te 9 3 Editing Your Ad hoc Letter As stat
27. b folders you are ready to go Before beginning working with EFS go to Tools and then system recovery and select the database from the sub folder that you want to work on When you are finished with that database go to Tools and select system back up and save the database to the appropriate sub folder 45 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 PART 11 MISCELLANEOUS 11 1 Exporting Data as Flat Files EFS allows you to export your data to a text file in a character separated format To do this e Click on Tools from the Menu Bar e Select Export Contributions Expenditures to Flat File Two flat files are created in the EFS subdirectory generally under the Program Files directory as delimited files and are named CONTRIBUTIONS TXT and EXPENDITURES TXT Delimited files have the character as their delimiter NOTE The character is the shift of the 6 key This data can then be imported into other programs 1 e MS Excel The Help interface lists the record layout of the flat files e Click on the Help button or the How Do I Use this Software button from the main window e Click on Help Topics e Search for the words export flat e Select Export Contributions Expenditures to Flat Files from list of topics 11 2 Labels EFS gives you the option of printing labels and is programmed to print two columns seven rows in conjunction with the Avery Labels Stock No 5962 To print a specific date
28. base WILL BE DELETED 12 4 Should I change the Account Year to reflect the current year The correct Account Year depends upon whether the committee is Continuing or Non Continuing a For all Continuing Committees the Account Year must reflect the current year b For all Non Continuing Committees the Account Year should reflect the year of the election for which the Candidate or Committee has filed The Account Year for Non Continuing Committees should never change A non continuing committee can only exist for one year 48 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 12 5 Export Function If you ve chosen to export the report to the Internet FTP site you may receive a message if there is an error in the transmission of the report via the Internet See Troubleshooting Internet FTP Problems for additional recommendations The messages you see will also contain directions for resolving the error The three error messages you might receive are 1 ELECTrack could not connect to the Internet from your computer If you have an Internet connection please check Whether your Internet connection is functioning try connecting first and then exporting Your computer s Internet software configuration for example Dial Up Networking Your hardware setup for example modem and phone line connections If you do not have an Internet connection please use the export to disk option from the ELECTrack Export Screen 2 The Sta
29. do not wish to do achedulg 14 either click on the close button X in the upper schedule 15 right hand corner of the screen Each schedule checked in the Reports Forms Processed window will be displayed separately Maryland State Board of Elections Campaion Finance Report Summary Sheet Pari 1 Ent Hame Goprteme For Leonard Callens Entity AFIS Report Duc Date OWT 2007 This Kept covers begining diel OBA 2s rough encima debs OL ia C Final Esport Check i aa inked b clos the accom THE Saano be a Ciel repan if aoa bahia of aiala oblighi emai Amandmneat 8 Fank Account 8 dance Th 5 O O 0 00 Tatal Bn i Ba pert Tee elated mate shaa Prior Balance ESOS g7 dees Pad of ae Bre mri NOTE If you chose to print the report without previewing it the report will not be displayed but would simply print out 32 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 PART 5 CONTRIBUTION RECEIPTS 5 0 Contribution Receipts Issued Maryland law requires that receipts be issued for most contributions that you receive See page 28 of the Summary Guide Maryland Candidacy amp Campaign Finance Laws for more information about receipt requirements To produce receipts from EFS go to the Main Window e Click on the Create Letters Receipts for Contributions button This window will open Heretik ET Ha p Fiaa or Leara CE Antan TapE Fmc iok C TA Sol a ed d a Fs an Papon Hapo lppun
30. e is past the given reporting period Warning Unable to Locate lt NAME and ADDRESS gt as a Staff Member 59
31. e specified Exporting to disk and not to FTP the program needs a location where to put the data Individuals may not change their contributor type There is only one contributor type for an individual See comments on Entity may not have a contributor type of individual and also Unable to Change an Individual into an Entity and Unable to Change an Entity into an Individual No prior data has been found If this is not a new account contact SBE for assistance Would you like to Continue This message comes up during the installation process for a new version of the software If you expected the installation process to use data from a prior version you should not continue If you did continue contact SBE for assistance The process didn t find data but it also didn t destroy any data Note In Kind contribution for lt Person or Organization Name gt was automatically entered Please return to this screen to update it if this amount changes You have recorded a loan from someone other than the candidate and noted that the granter of the loan has determined not to require interest payments The value of the interest 1s computed and charged as an in kind contribution Old database must be different than the current one When you look for a database to import you can t point to the regular one where the data is going to end up You need two databases for this function Please amend your prior rep
32. ed when the loan is first created Accordingly when entering a new loan click the Written Consent Filed Herewith button and if it is an existing loan click the Written Consent Previously Filed button If a candidate or spouse makes loans to the campaign finance entity click on the Informal Candidate Loan Such a loan has no interest and there is no requirement to record the in kind contribution of the difference from prime rate 18 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Entering a Loan cont d Loans Dais Lown ocami hinen Consan Prenosi Filed Inte rast rate chag ma Lown Ambun i Witten Consent Filed Herewith Pring ret a informal Dsndiciste Loan Balance land line et Arri ces i Fpa itl uw ee r For an existing loan click here For a new loan click here For a candidate or spouse loan click here Interest on the loan must be accounted for in the Interest Rate Charged field If the interest charged amount is less than the prime rate amount as entered by you the In kind Interest Contribution Amount field will become enabled and you will need to calculate and manually enter the in kind interest amount here EFS will then automatically list the in kind interest as an in kind contribution on Schedule 1B of your report Please refer to the Summary Guide if you require a greater explanation for the laws governing loans The Edit mode will allow the user to change an e
33. ed previously you may retrieve ad hoc letters from any EFS window see paragraph 8 1 and edit it as follows e Go to the Tools menu e Select Create Adhoc Letter to open the window e Go to the Letter Code field and click on the down arrow or the magnifying glass e Select and edit letter e Click Save 43 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 PART 10 DATABASE MANAGEMENT 10 1 Back up All of the data that you enter into EFS is saved in one database file Whenever you close EFS you will be asked whether you want to back up the database Answer yes and save a backup of the database The default file location where EFS saves the database as c program files efs However there is a file menu that you can use to change the file location You will need to save the file to your hard drive We strongly recommend that you periodically save the back up file onto an external source 1 e a diskette or CD To do this use your file manager either Windows Explorer or My Computer to locate the saved back up Make a copy and then paste the copy in the external source If you are using a diskette you may need to compress the file before copying and saving it to the diskette You do not have to wait until you close the program to perform this back up feature You can click Tools on the Menu Bar and select System Back up 10 2 Database Recovery If your computer crashes and is not operational 1 e shuts down but
34. ed that you have duplicates with your data entry you should do the following a Contributions Select Maintenance from the Menu Bar then select Contributions then select Maintain Lookup Duplicates and then select Remove By Name see graphic at top of page 39 39 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Removing duplicates cont d AC LEC Track Capan Finance AUC Tronic Fir AOU Gry Repateiry Pritha Export Maneo Took Wikka Hap Ate anbribution Fbeport Contribuscn Buki Lookup Tabie M Bape FF Update Lookup Tabie Seen a pe pea KE Fe E A p a faa Separate PACS 1 Remove by Name AccoumMumbar 75 oa Remowe by address 3 Proovige bry Mame Apoyan Miara rma For Laonard Collins 4 previna bry Addres Account Type fidete Commitee Account Asthorirad 5 Prin by Mara amp Print Dry Addes Report yes Repol Type If there are duplicates this will give you matches where the name is the same but different address For example 1f the same person was entered as John Doe 555 East St Baltimore Maryland 21225 and John Doe 555 East Street Baltimore MD 21225 EFS will treat them as separate records A close review reveals that both records pertain to the same person You would then remove one and keep one establishing only one look up record with one aggregate amount A black arrow next to the record indicates that record will be retained and stored in the look up table You can switch to
35. ee Saved Trin Che bo ma Paimburseeniert Penn as New see ca If the campaign worker s name is not on the list you will add it now as follows BEFORE saving and exiting the Expenditure window Go to the Menu Bar click on Maintenance and then select Expenditure and then select Update Lookup Table AG nie hare Lonmin Oa Separate PACS Treats ection Hoda Find add m Loan Bi Edi Find Prewious dd Hew Transaction Paese Enier the First Thea Charectars of the Hame of the Ernits or indradual 23 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Expenditures Reimbursement cont d The Expenditure s Lookup Maintenance window will open Type in the first three letters of the campaign worker s last name in the Lookup Name field Select Add New because it will not be there A message will appear Was this transaction made by an individual Select yes because the campaign worker made the expenditure on behalf of the campaign entity The window will default to allow you to now add Orphan Annie s information When completed check the box next to Staff member for reimbursements Save and close npn nine ELEC Tron Filing ARENY S Report Entry PrintReports Export Maintenance Toots Window Hep AL Se cee ire un Menten oleju jaja x P Loop Name an emye Last E oren Meb am Addig 234 Children s Lane
36. ents the document as it will appear when it is printed ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Terminology cont d PRINT button is used to print a selected record ras DELETE button is used for deleting a selected record F HELP button is used for accessing help information that is specific to the window you are currently working in ie EXIT button is used for closing an active window An active window is a window in which you are currently working SEARCH when clicked allows you to initiate a search by typing in your query or by making a selection from the pre populated data presented in the drop down list EXECUTE button is used for starting certain functions such as exporting or backing up files 3 EXPORT button is used to export reports to the SBE These are most of the icons you will encounter There may be a few others You can move the arrow to any icon and its function will be displayed The double page icon shown here normally represents copy However in ELECTrack EFS this icon has a dual function Copy or Save As Copy Psae As 2 3 Account Initialization The first step in using EFS is setting up your account You can start this process by either clicking on the Set Up Your Account button from the EFS Main Window see graphic in section 1 1 or by selecting the Account Entry option from the menu bar ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Account Initia
37. essage you need to contact SBE for assistance You must designate all PACs as MD PACs or Out of State PACs Please process ALL PACs or Press quit to complete installation later This message was a One time issue when PACs needed to be split into Maryland ones and out of state ones If you are seeing it now you have reloaded very old data and should contact SBE for assistance 13 4 Additional Error Messages These messages are self explanatory and are reminders of campaign finance regulations If you need any assistance contract the Help Desk at SBE A Candidate Account may not give more than 6 000 to your account A contributor may not give more than 4 000 to your account A PAC may not give more than 6 000 to your account A Party Central Committees may not give more than 6 000 to your account A Personal Treasurer Account may not be a Continuing Committee A price per ticket must be provided for all ticket sales A Slates may not give more than 6 000 to your account Activation Code has not been set for this account Cannot proceed All transfers from a political committee must be by check Amount cannot be greater than 1 000 000 000 00 Anonymous contributions should have the name of Anonymous and be entered under OTHER see help for details Changing the contributor type will change all contributions from this organization If the contributor made contributions in a prior reporting period then t
38. ete o x HOCH Sje x e Us Contributor Search Criteria Use as wild card Organization ame First a Last From Form of Contribution Contribution Date E From To Contribution Amount When searching either enter the entire name of the individual or entity or part of the name followed by the system s wildcard character the asterisk Then click on either the Execute button at the bottom of the Search window or the purple exclamation point at the top on the toolbar If you decide to exit your search you can do so by clicking on the Exit button at the bottom of the Search window or by clicking the open door icon on the toolbar Refer to pages 3 and 4 for the function of toolbar icons Once you have brought up the record you can edit or delete as appropriate If you edit make the necessary changes and then click the Save button on the toolbar at the top of the page If you delete the record then you should click on the delete button on the toolbar IMPORTANT Once you delete a record you can no longer retrieve it You must reenter all the information again 3 9 Creating an Amendment When you need to correct deficiencies add or change information in a previously exported report 1 e one already sent to SBE you MUST file an amendment In order to execute the amend option the report which you want to amend MUST have been already created and exported 1 e filed with SBE This is what you need
39. from the drop down list in the Letter field Label This option will print out labels for each of the contributors on the selected report s After you make your selection click on the Print or Print Preview button Once the printing is complete or you close the view EFS prompts you with Did the Report Labels Print Successfully If you answer yes the contributors records will be flagged and not re print their information unless you turn on the Overwrite switch So if you later amend the report or add additional contributors the receipt function will not duplicate work previously done With Overwrite set all the receipts for the report will be printed again 34 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 PART 6 EXPORTING THE er REPORT FOR FILING 6 0 File the Report with SBE Once you have completed preparing your report you are required to file it with the State Board of Elections This is called exporting How do you do this e Go the EFS Main Window e Click on the Export Report for Filing button The Export Report window will open to you Cpe ee PLT Pi ecu Bory Bawat Ginie Pspert Mantes Trek Wie Hays nat Mie TG Accomm Pore fiie ForLegnesd Co lee Arhan rein Aid oe rrna tae PISH T te Cr i Ste ala ie Eagar Late IE a os E Tied hana PTR Epris Enpa To Erperi rahi 7 i SeleaPepon For Spor ee Basar Typi uae Chee j ba
40. he current year 12 5 Export Function 12 6 Internet FTP Problems 12 7 Settings 12 8 System Requirements Part 13 Errors and Solutions ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccces 13 1 Warnings and Reports 13 2 Error Reports 13 3 Error Messages with explanation 13 4 Additional Error Messages self explanatory ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 PART 1 INTRODUCTION WELCOME TO ELECTrack 1 1 Electronic Filing System EFS User Manual This user manual is intended to present an overview of the ELECTrack EFS software and a description of its capabilities For more in depth information the user should read the EFS Book that can be obtained bid selecting Help from the toolbar of the Main Window or by selecting the How do use this software button of the Main Window as shown below AL LEC Track Campaign Finance ELECTromec Filing Accont Eny RapolEmy FointRegors Export Maintenaece Took Wincow deme ELECTrack Maryland Electronic Filing System 1 2 What is EFS EFS is software designed primarily to aid the Treasurer or a duly authorized individual in filing the reports required by law with the State Board of Elections SBE These reports include contributions transfers loans outstanding bills and expenditures associated with campaign finance entity In addition EFS assists in report formatting summation of dollar amounts and much more Also EFS contains a number of
41. he reports will need to be resubmitted as amendments Do you wish to proceed Contributions in excess of 100 must be made by check Contributions in excess of 100 including ticket purchases must be made by check 56 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Additional Error Messages cont d Data Exported FTP Was NOT Successful This means the report was not properly exported to SBE and thus not received and considered not filed Error No item to select Error Selected item not found Expenditure Type must be 10 digits maximum Expenditures are required to be made by check The check must be drawn from the campaign bank account and must be signed by treasurer If a transaction occurred by other means explain the circumstances under Remarks Export database file already exists Do you want to overwrite Export was Unsuccessful because ELECTrack could not contact the Maryland State Board of Elections FTP server because 1 The server may be temporarily unavailable 2 The server may have reached its maximum user limit or 3 You may have lost your Internet connection Please try connecting to the server later If the problem continues please contact the Maryland State Board of Elections Export was unsuccessful because the Maryland State Board of Elections FTP server could not verify your identity Please make sure you are using the correct account number and password and try connecting again
42. heet 3 8 Editing and Deleting Entries 3 9 Creating an Amendment Printing Reviewing a Completed Report cccccccccsscccsccees 31 4 1 Print Report 4 2 Preview and Print COMEHIDINGI OMS eserini E A eens sens ensseamepoones 33 5 0 Contribution Receipts Issued Exporting the Report for Filing ccccccccccccccccccccccecccsces 35 6 0 File the Report with SBE Search Contributions Expenditures and Debts ssccccccsssee 37 7 1 General 7 2 Accessing the features Search Look Up TPaplesvssscscesiwsesasssiconesseccscesacststawomasesnsteuess 39 8 1 Overview 8 2 Creating Look Up Tables 8 3 Removing Duplicates 8 4 Update Look Up Table ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Table of Contents cont d Part 9 Creatine Ad Hoc Leers csv cescscascws tiveessctesecssssceareceveasseucess 9 1 Creating Your Letter 9 2 Printing Your Letter 9 3 Editing Your Adhoc Letter Part 10 Database Management cescccececesesececcosoecesesececececececeeo 10 1 Back up 10 2 Database Recovery 10 3 Managing Two Accounts Part 1 Mis Celaneous siscccicnt ccc ciccwadiewcdckarsioctweateiecaetesseexetecsiessces 11 1 Exporting Data as Flat Files 11 2 Labels 11 3 Searching Tips Part 12 Troubleshoot vc5ccccescntscucsdaeteccsstetssasesteteeesdenescaeeesesess 12 1 Amended Reports 12 2 Reports Contribution Expenditure Outstanding Obligation 12 3 Creating an Account 12 4 Should I change the Account Year to reflect t
43. hes are the contributor you are entering click on the Add New button You will then be asked Is this transaction related to an individual lal x TIO p Transaction Mode i Finds Add Lump Sum Eda Add how Plasse Enterthe Entre Entity Heme of indradual s Mame and Addrass Lookup Mane fahi Entity Mame let PPA CLECTrack Mo ZIT suet Addrassl Is tis transacton related to an Inchidual Add renga m Dm City Siae Datas Treneectior Date Gais Foma Trensecion CHECK Transaction Amguni M Tickets Frem Agp eae i M In Kind Contribution Aggregale To Dale Remarks ee ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Entering Receipts cont d If you answer yes the data you entered in the Lookup Name field will now be displayed in the Last Name field Then continue typing the contributor s name address and other transaction information F ELECTrack Campaign A namot BLEOTronc Filing I elo ASSL Fee Bn Prince Exot reer Tee We Hao FlRecept eer 5 I a ce i Trang en cere hida T Erd Fo bumo gym Edti icd He Firoia Enter the Entre Ente Hame or inceaduel s Para od Adira Lonkup Herne izj Lees fuh FPiewt kii cholic auhia ode aa dr ges Tiy Tinta HARLAND Zip Code Deer gala Trantino Cen Bfayfeoos Fom of Trerreaction foHECK Troman araunt
44. his means that the information is already saved If you change an entry the save button will become active 11 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Now you have selected the appropriate campaign finance report proceed by selecting one of the transaction buttons located in the bottom half of the window 3 2 Entering Receipts After clicking on the Receipt button the Receipt window pops up BLECTrack Campaign Finance ELEC Tronic Filing lo x AccounkEnty ReportEniry Prr Repos Export Mainhemance Took Window Helo ee alo x ela Trsanescton Mode Find f Add Lump Sin f Edi Find Prewiows Add New Transaction Plaase Enter fe First Three Cherecters of fie Name ofthe Enaty of Indridual Lookup Mears EEE Emane Lestf o A Mide soie Addressi A Address I cy Sto MARYLAND ZipCodef Datails Transaction Cate bea 92005 F nn of Transecion CHER l Transaction Amount C Tickets Previous Agra qerte i C In ind Cantibultion Aggregate To Date Remarks ee a C z Receipts are the funds that the campaign finance entity receives Most income received will be entered here The income may be a contribution Schedule 1 Transfers Schedule 1A or in kind contributions Schedule 1B For receipts not listed select the Other Income button from the Report Entry window Click on the appropriate Transaction Mode as follows e Find Add allows you to find
45. ick on the arrow to the left of the bill that you want to pay it will automatically be highlighted F SUurectTrack Canaan Pires PLS Troe Pili AccounkEniry ReportEniry Print Reports Export Mantenance Toos Window He ojej alej Z TIe Tronica Hody E 5 M Loan Hii E Soaked Catt bare Peed From Goad Enter Poems irr birre Sad adi Hegel edd e Next go to the Select Highlighted button and click on it Once you do this the Entity Name Address City and State and Zip Code fields are automatically filled in and the Details portion of the Expenditure window is activated to allow you to enter the details of the expenditure Notice in the Details portion of the window the original amount of the bill and the balance due 1f any is shown and cannot be altered You can complete all the empty fields Tiel nels Paar iancal Once you enter the transaction amount note that the Balance amount is reduced 1f the expenditure is not a payment in full 26 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Expenditures Expenditure to Pay a Loan or a Bill cont d Click Save Note that the next check sequence number will automatically appear and the window defaults to the Find Add mode in anticipation of the next expenditure Deena amp Trane ection Deke Wia Fomei Tren ection Trees auc
46. ield will be displayed in the Last Name field Then continue typing the name address and other transaction information e If no another window will open with the question Organization Type Select an Organization Type Once you Ongenizaton Type have made your selection the data you Business previously entered in the Lookup Name Federal Commies field will be displayed in the Entity Name field Continue typing the name address and other transaction information Political Clubs C Candidate Accounts C Slates C Party Central Commitee C MO PACs Qutof State PACs 16 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 3 4 Entering a Loan From the Report Entry window when you click on the Loan button the Loan Transaction window will open EFS defaults to the Edit mode PF ELECTrack Campaign Finance ELECTronic Filing ACMOUNTtEty RepartEniry PrintRepats Expert Maintenance Took Window Help Ffi oan Transact mje alaf Pw o x Add Edi Update Trarncection Please Select Helter to be Moditied Peport Poem Schedule 3 kam Humber al Entity Hama e Last fF First i Hidde Sufi o Adresa Address EE iby Pp Stale Zip Code FC Losns Dats Loan Accepted i riten Consent Previous Filed Intereet rete cheeged x E Vriten Consent Filed Herewith Primera gt boar Aarau nit lt i In ormel Candidat Loan l Balanga intind Interest Amoun Do
47. iew Completed Report button The Forms Facsimile Screen will open to you see below P CECT Camp ampa rea CLEC ram E Avart Emy Reporters PtkepaG Spot Panenace Toot Widow Pep Fy torm baceirles D e Ble ele ALT Ale Rare euro irar Fl ana rinii re Jueckenar accent Tepa Acros Year radaas Comers Ace Aull ihe TE Fa pontine Fa pon Type Sapnu Dee E01 Som fliers wih Fut Vwi M R From the Report Year and the Report Type drop down lists make your selection Or if you wish to view all the reports simply check the All Report Forms box To preview click the Print Preview icon on the toolbar to print click the print icon on the toolbar 4 2 Preview and Print If you choose the preview option two message windows will open see below the Report Forms Processed and Would you like to continue Aeportyesr Repani Due Daie eoo f 17 200 All Report i Fome ki Rapar Fonn BLECTr ck MiD Would you ke to continue e 31 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Preview and Print cont d If you select yes the Report Forms Processed window will display to the filer via a check mark what schedules had activity for the reporting process Schedules without activity will not be checked With the report now in view see below you may either print it or export it via the respective icons on the toolbar If you
48. in these windows so that your Errors Report will be saved in a file format that suits you The system will then display a Choose Export File window where you may choose which directory you want to save to and change the file name 1f you like If EFS detects no errors the system will display a message to that effect 52 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 13 3 Error Messages Below is a list of frequent error messages followed by the so tion The text in quotes are the messages that will pop up when an error occu s Are you certain you want to replace the contribution lookup table The capability exists to recreate your contribution lookup table but if you do you need to make sure that you remove all the duplicates This is not a normal recommended step Are you certain you want to replace the expenditure lookup table Just as with the contribution lookup the capability exists to recreate your expenditure lookup table but if you do you need to make sure that you remove all the duplicates This is not a normal recommended step Cannot create export database This is a general error For some reason the program could not create the database where you asked to put it If itis ona network drive the program may not have create rights or there may be a space issue Try creating it on another drive or use a different path Unless your contributions and expenditures are extremely large it should fit on a floppy disk in the A d
49. ion 3 2 select his name from the search look up table list The address A information will be displayed Change the address to B and then enter the contribution information and save The look up table will now have Bob Jones at address B 41 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 PART 9 CREATING AD HOC LETTERS 9 1 Creating Your Letter EFS allows you to create ad hoc letters that can be used in conjunction with the Contribution Receipts and Contribution search features An ad hoc letter can be created from either of the Tools menu on every menu bar including the Main Window as follows e Click Tools on the menu bar e From the drop down list select Create Adhoc Letter rp nan 2 bre Oey ci aami aH ai t M jei Ta PEH HE F Tehe La nities Co sie 00000000 CT Ry a 232 ae System Aecovery L Shift Report Informator s E 2 Reset Export Stabe mace eo ast Ue eee Te keris eet Hrer Veni Carmien bi Capemars saasaa LT he ean ced ues mabini Gale cil EO u Oj ej aj Flo rung ace Ti bom Lia ee F mi Lite Frere it When you select Create Adhoc Letter this window will open to you Continue by filling out the fields When you are done SAVE your input by clicking on the Save button located on the Toolbar Description of each field e Letter Code A short name or abbreviation YOU assign to the letter you
50. lect the Maintenance from the Menu Bar then select Contributions or Expenditures and then select Update Look up Table To locate a particular record type the first three letters into the look up name field and then select the appropriate record from the list You can then edit the record and save it Your change will only affect the look up table If you want the change to apply to campaign report data that has already been entered you will have to edit that record as well see Part 3 8 However the next contribution or expenditure that is entered that relates to the edited record will contain the new information To delete a particular record type the first three letters into the look up name field then select the appropriate record from the list Click on the delete button to delete record from the look up table Remember the record is only deleted from the look up table not from your campaign report data To print or view the look up table simply click on the Print or Print Preview button when the look up window is blank You can then indicate whether you want the list printed alphabetically or by address In addition you can update or edit a look up table while you are entering a contribution or expenditure For example Bob Jones contributed to your campaign while living at address A When he contributes again he is living at address B When you enter the second contribution see Sect
51. lization cont d When you received your EFS software you received an Account Initialization memo that contained all the data necessary to initiate your account When the Account Initialization window opens see graphic below you may enter your account number account name account type account year and activation code in the appropriate fields F Account Initialization 3 l a ajs x P H Account Humber Harie Cires For leonard Coline Actoni Type Cendidate Commitee Aaccourd Authored ACUN eer 2002 Acwehon Code A3 ee Fal m Cormlinuang e Continuing NOTE This is a fictional account created to help illustrate the filing process You will also need to indicate whether your entity will be either a Continuing or Non continuing by selecting and clicking on the appropriate field You need to enter the data only once Only after entering the data in this field will you be able to enter financial transactions It is IMPORTANT that you enter the data correctly Once you SAVE the Account Initialization data and begin to enter your report data you will not be able to change the account number If the Account Initialization data is entered incorrectly the SBE database will not be able to recognize it as an official committee and cannot accept or consider the report as officially filed 10 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 PART 3 CREATE EDITING A REPORT 3 1 Entering your data in the co
52. not been created in the Report Filing Process If you can access it there then there is an error in your database and you need to contact SBE for assistance This report type does not exist in the system or this account has not filed this report You have tried to access an invalid report type for a particular year Check to see if the year and type are correct If it is for a future report it may not be in the database Contact SBE 1f you expected it to be valid Unable to Access Data Tables The export process is having troubles with the tables it uses to export data Please call SBE for assistance Unable to Change an Entity into an Individual Because of the differences in the way their contributions are reported if you make a mistake and enter an individual as an organization and make him a business or some other group you must delete the contribution remove the contributor and start over 55 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Error Messages cont d Unable to Change an Individual into an Entity Because of the differences in the way their contributions are reported if you make a mistake and enter an organization as an individual you must delete the contribution remove the contributor and start over Year entered is not in the system You have tried to pick a report year out of the range of the valid years in the system If you are putting in a report for the current year and get this m
53. ommittees only there 1s a check box to the right of the check number asking if it is Administrative Check the box to indicate an administrative expense 22 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Entering Expenditures Made by a Campaign Finance Entity cont d You must select the expenditure Type that best describes the expenditure you entered For example if the expenditure was for the purpose of returning a contribution to a contributor you would select Returned Contribution from the drop down list at the Type field b Expenditures Reimbursement If an authorized campaign worker made an expenditure on behalf of the campaign finance entity that individual may be reimbursed from campaign funds To report this type of expenditure do the following e Enter in the Entity Name field the name of the person or entity that received the payment from the campaign worker If you don t have all the information follow the lookup procedures on page 18 Once the name of the individual or entity appears then e Go to the Details portion of the Expenditure window and enter in the requested information all the Details fields e When you come to the Reimbursement field Click on the down arrow for the drop down list For the purpose of this illustration the campaign worker s name we are looking for is Orphan Annie Ceptels Transection Dels wapa Fom of Trsnesucton Citraack Tiai c
54. ort when this loan was first entered to modify the prior In Kind contribution The terms of the loan have changed and the in kind contribution needs to be updated Please enter an additional In Kind contribution of lt amount gt using the Receipt entry process The terms of the loan have changed and the in kind contribution needs to be updated Please Enter Import Path name Importing a file to disk or diskette you need to specify where it will be placed or you may need to specify where the administrative tables you are trying to import can be found on your system Staff Member must be an individual You have indicated that an organization is to be treated as a staff member This function allows you to reimburse a staff member for an expenditure made on the behalf of the campaign finance entity A business can not be reimbursed only individuals In other words the check 1s to John Doe your staff member but the money really went to pay for postage for something he mailed The staff member is the person not the post office The specified path was not found Please specify an existing directory or create a new one In trying to create an export database the program could not 54 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Error Messages cont d find the specified path The most likely error is either a spelling mistake or you added a directory that does not exist The program will not create the directory If you want to
55. orts based on the data previously entered 1 e In the Expenditure Search you can create a report that list all expenditures made for a particular purpose or by checks between a specified range Define the order by which the list is printed 1 e by date alphabetically by name by amount by check number as appropriate Choose to produce a particular report by filling in the fields or choose to produce an aggregate report by not filling in the fields Perform a search by entering part of or an entire name Sort lists Generate an aggregate total at the bottom of the report Print and or Print Preview the report 7 2 Accessing the features To use any of the three features discussed here do the following Go to the EFS Main Window select the appropriate search button and then choose the report Fill out the fields in the top portion of the window to produce a particular Search report or don t fill out the fields to produce an aggregate Search report Click on the Sort tab in the lower portion of the window and select the desired sort order From the toolbar at top of window click on either Print or Print Preview and then follow through 37 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Accessing the features cont d NOTE Unlike the Search Expenditures and Search Debts features which contain the exact same components in their Sort Tab and print print preview processes the Search Contributions feature pre
56. previous donors who have given again or to enter new receipts from new donors Lump Sum allows you to enter a lump sum contribution e Edit allows you to edit an existing receipt record EFS defaults to the Find Add transaction mode so if you are entering new receipts you can simply begin entering your record When adding a new entry you must begin by entering the receipt information in the Lookup Name field If you are entering an individual start by typing the last name and if you are entering an entity start by typing the beginning of the entity s name 12 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Entering Receipts cont d Once you have typed the first three letters of the name EFS will bring up the Search Lookup Table window showing the three letters you entered and a list of matches if any in the space below w Search Lookup Table T 10 gt els e Cres Cd ta 2 Select _ Add New Cancel If any of the contributors in the Search Lookup Table match the contributor that you entered highlight it and then click on the Select button or press the enter key of your computer keypad The contributor s name address and previous aggregate will be automatically entered You will then only need to enter the current transaction amount and select the form of the transaction 1 e cash check charge or other If there are no matches after typing the first three letters or none of the matc
57. rive Contact SBE Databases earlier than Version 3 0 may not be converted imported for Version 4 0 or later If you see this message you have somehow loaded a very old version of EFS Please call SBE for assistance Could not open administrative tables database You are trying to import new administrative tables and the program can t open the file Make sure the name is correct and the file has data in it If you copied it down from the SBE Web site see if it is marked as having a non zero size Downloading again may f1x the problem Database does not exist in this path Using the path to the administrative tables you specified the program did not find them Check the location of the data and make sure that the entry you have used is correct Entity may not have a contributor type of individual Making the contributor an entity EFS will recognize the contributor as not being an individual If you made a mistake and want to change its type you can change it from a PAC to a Slate for example but you cannot change it into an individual Error encountered in Import Old or Restore Database is no longer ready for use Please import or restore from another file You have tried to restore or import old data and it hasn t worked If you have another copy go ahead and try but if there are any questions call SBE before you continue 53 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Error Messages cont d Export Path must b
58. rrect report From the Main Window click on the Create Edit a Report button The Report Entry window opens up with pre populated account information you entered during your Account Initialization process see Part 2 i ELEC Track Campaign Finance EUPC Tronic Filing Loot ety Reperteniry Print Repare Export Mantenate Took Window Hep F Report Entry O i i F o Accounl Humber Ha 75 Hame Citizens For Leonard Gating Rapart reer Asoo Type Report Dues Oeste renimert 2008 Pre Primary 2 al gadi 2006 0 Transaction Begining Distal 12007 Transaction Ending Dale Bl lom Summary Sheet Ears Report The Report Entry window allows you to accomplish multiple aspects of a single reporting requirement First you must select a report to work in To do this complete the following fields e Report Year Type in or select from the drop down list the year in which your report is due e Report Type field Click on the search button magnifying glass next to the field and select the appropriate report NOTE The default Transaction Beginning Date and the Transaction Ending Date fields will automatically be filled with pre populated data based on the reporting requirements dates programmed by the SBE You can change the Transaction Beginning Date but not the Ending Date Changing the Beginning Date will not affect the ending date e Save The save button on the toolbar may be mute t
59. sents different components in its Sort Tab and printing processes as shown below Specifically you have the choice of creating a letter with corresponding print options 1 e Report Only Letter Only Report With Letter and Label see graphic below Of the three Search Contributions is the only one with these options Coninbution Type 38 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 PART 8 SEARCH LOOK UP TABLES 8 1 Overview BEFORE entering a receipt other income or expenditure you must FIRST complete the Lookup Name field of the respective window This function allows the user to determine whether a person or entity has previously been entered into the system The lookup process helps to reduce the amount of data entry duplication of data and most importantly helps the user to keep track of aggregate contribution amounts See graphic at paragraph 3 3 for how to initiate a lookup a Search Looks Tabi Select _ AddNew Cancel 8 2 Creating Look Up Tables Generally the look up tables are created automatically Each new entry that you make is added to the look up table However if you need to create or re create the contribution other income or expenditure look up table you can do so by clicking on Maintenance from the Menu Bar then selecting subject table and then selecting Build Look up Table 8 3 Removing Duplicates If you have recreated your look up table or 1f you are concern
60. te Board of Election s FTP server could not verify your identity Please make sure you are using the correct user ID and password and try connecting again And 3 ELECTrack could not contact the State Board of Election s FTP server The server may be temporarily unavailable or the server may have reached its maximum user limits Please try contacting the server later If the problem continues please contact the State Board of Election After receiving one of the above error messages click on the OK button in the message window you ll see a second message Export Unsuccessful Click on the OK button again and the export will be canceled Remember the report is not filed until SBE receives it Please correct the error and export the report 49 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 12 6 Internet FTP Problems I have an Internet Service Provider but Connect to the Internet first and then try the software returned a message thatit to export could not connect to the Internet I received a message that the SBE server Try again in a few hours If the problem is not available persists please call the help desk I lost my password Call the help desk I received an error message that my Make sure you entered the correct password and or account number were information Remember the password is incorrect case sensitive I got disconnected Re export your report If you get a message that the file already exists
61. tion Aer DAI Check Mo or Tp kthy Descebe in Remar Fiarek Fp pasinbng mepe aul o carpa heady ners new see conat 3 7 Summary Sheet EFS utilizing the data previously entered by you automatically fills out the majority of the Summary Sheet However you will need to enter certain additional information before your Summary Sheet is complete So from the Report Entry window click on the Summary Sheet button and complete the required fields ELECTrack e FMES ELECT Fim bot Eny Reporteniry PrrtReports Export bantene Took Window Help ETET See l p Fi ae A F Benk Hame Bank Accounl Humber Benk Accout Balence Totel Account Galance Checking Account mmm fina mf Dihan Account Pp 0 ro The following fields are located in the top portion of the Summary Sheet window e Final Check this box only if the report is a final report AND the campaign finance entity intends to close e Checking Account furnish the Bank Name and Bank Account Number and Balance along with the Total Account Balance for that bank e Other Account furnish the Bank Name and Bank Account Number and Balance 27 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Summary Sheet cont d In the bottom portion of the Summary Sheet window you will find the following fields Total Outstanding Balances Prior Balance Total Receipts Total Expenditures Cash Balance Total Outsiancing Balances
62. to do 29 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 Creating an Amendment cont d e Goto the EFS Main Window e Click on the Create or Edit a Report button which will open to you the Report Entry window e Click on the report that you want to amend 1 e receipt other income expenditure etc REMEMBER the report MUST have already been exported to SBE When you select the report a message will appear with the question Has this report been sent to the State Board of Elections If you answer yes the amendment field will automatically display an amendment sequence number 1 e if it is the first time amending the report the number 1 will appear Click on the save button If you answer no you will not be creating an amendment Therefore you should only indicate no if you have exported the report BUT have not sent it to SBE This situation only occurs if you do not file the report via FTP but save it to a CD or disk and mail it to the SBE and it has not been entered into the SBE database NOTE We HIGHLY recommend that you print a copy of the report BEFORE you amend it since EFS DOES NOT save prior versions of reports 30 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 PART 4 ERU UANG OR VIEWING ae A COMPLETED REPORT 4 1 Print Report To print or view the data that you have entered in the report format do the following e Go to the EFS Main Window e Click on the V
63. xisting loan in the system To edit a loan enter the Item Number 1 e enter directly into field if you already know it or make your selection from the drop down list or by utilizing the search capability When you have selected the loan that you wish to modify you may change any of the following fields Entity Name If the creditor was not an individual First Middle Last Suffix if the obligation was incurred from an individual Address 1 Address 2 City State Zip self explanatory Interest rate charged Prime rate In Kind Interest Amount EFS does not compute interest so at the end of the reporting period you will need to adjust the balance for any portion of the payments that went toward interest Loan repayments are entered in the Expenditure field not through editing aloan See section 3 6c on repaying a loan 19 ELECTrack EFS User Guide Version 4 5 3 5 Entering a Bill A bill is any long term expenditure that is unpaid at the end of a reporting period From the Report Entry window click on the Bill button The Bill Transaction window will open It will default to the Edit mode in the Update Transaction portion of the window Al Bill Transaction o x Ola BLS Pla did F Ede Ligehate Triar Fibak Sakea thet ham bo ba aiii Repot Fam Eer E loj x item umb ja Dj m mib j PP Duthie h Crier SY an Uze a ydd cud Hans r Find Midde Let

User Guide – Version 4.5 - Maryland State Board of Elections

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User Guide &ndash; Version 4.5 - Maryland State Board of Elections

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User Guide – Version 4.5 - Maryland State Board of Elections