Topics

eLoad Instructions and Frequently Asked Questions

Load Submission File Creation

· What should I use to create the submission file?

· Business rules to consider while creating the submission file

· Submission file format/specifications

· Creating and submitting your file on-line

File Submission

· When can I submit a file?

· How do I submit a file?

· What happens after I submit a file?

· Can I delete a file I just submitted?

Submission Status

· What does a status code mean?

· Common reasons for data row errors or file rejection

Problem Reporting

· How to report a problem

Load Submission File Creation

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You can create the submission file yourself or use the data submission worksheet on the NPC website https://www.npc.cc.

What should I use to create the submission file?

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The NPC does not recommend or endorse any specific program or tool. This section is intended only to provide some helpful hints in using the commonly available Word Processors such as Notepad or Microsoft Word. You can use any word processor or text editor or any other tool of your choice. Just make sure the file you created conforms to the file format specifications and complies with the business rules specified in this document. Below are a few guidelines if you are using either Notepad or Microsoft Word.

Notepad

If you use Notepad, the disadvantage is that you will not be able to see the line numbers or column positions. It is hard to count the number of characters on a line or the position of the cursor. But the Notepad eliminates majority of the formatting characters and creates pure text files. You may want to look for an enhanced version of a Notepad which may show the line numbers and column positions. You may be able to find one on the web.

Microsoft Word

If you use Microsoft Word to create your file, you will be able to see the line numbers and column positions. If you see them grayed out at the bottom, just go to the menu at the top and select View ( Normal or Print Layout to turn them on. You must not use any kind of formatting while creating the file. If you are not sure if there are any format characters in your file, you can view them by toggling the Show/Hide¶ button () on your standard tool bar at the top.

When you toggle to ‘Show’, you should not see anything other than a. (dot – represents a space – Space bar key) or ¶ (linefeed/carriage return – Enter key).

If you see anything else, that means there are special characters. In addition, you should not have any blank lines in your file. After entering the last ANI, do not press the ‘Enter’ key. If you do that, it will create a blank line at the end of your file.

When you are ready to save the file, save it as a text document (not a Word document). You can do this by selecting the ‘Save as type’ as ‘Text Only’ as shown below.

File Name Tip: Do not include any special characters in the file name such as &, (), |, <, >, *, ?, [ ], ~, -,@, !, “, ‘, and \.

Here is an example of looking at the data with format turned off and turned on (the entire width of the line is not shown in the figure below).

Format Turned-Off

O000012345John Smith Payphones 111 New Street PO Box 12

5132311111

5132311112

Format Turned-On

If you look at the above data with the Show/Hide toggle button turned on, it would look like the example below (the entire width of the line is not shown in the figure below).

Other Tools

You can use any other text editor or tool to create your file. There are many text editors (for example, VEDIT ) to create and edit text files. You may also find free text editors on the web. Some programs may be free and some may charge you a license fee.

Disclaimer: The NPC does not, in any way, endorse or recommend any of the aforementioned tools or programs. Any links to external websites and/or non- NPC information provided on these pages are provided as a courtesy. They should not be construed as an endorsement by the NPC of the content or views of the linked materials.

Time Saving Tips in Creating the Submission File

The following guidelines may help reduce the effort in creating the submission file:

1. First, you may want to create a template file with the header record(s) (assuming the billing name and address do not change very often). You may want to spend enough time in getting the column positions right. Keep a backup copy of this template file on a CD or somewhere on your PC. In case you lose the original, you will have a backup.

2. Every time you need to create a new load file, just make a copy of the template file and open the file in a text editor or your choice of word processor and add the detail records under the header record(s) and save the file with a different name.

Business rules to consider while creating the submission file

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Your submission file should comply with the following business rules. Non-compliance will result in errors or rejection of your file.

1. Submission file MUST be an ASCII text file (text format). The NPC cannot accept any other formats such as Excel, Macintosh formats, Lotus 1-2-3, Lotus SmartSuite or Database files.

2. Submission file MUST be a fixed format file and fields are padded with spaces. No other format character (such as tab, indent etc.) is accepted for padding.

3. The submission file will have two different types of records, a header record and a detail record.

· There MUST be an Aggregator header record if the submitter is an Aggregator.

· There MUST be a PSP header record containing the correct billing name and address information for the group of ANIs listed beneath it. Each piece of information must be in the correct position according to the file format specifications.

· A new PSP header record MUST be inserted above each ANI or group of ANIs whose billing name and address is different.

See the submission file format specifications section for the file layout.

Submission file format/specifications

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Header record - This record identifies the owner, billing name, billing address, contact name and contact phone number.

Aggregator Header Record Format

FieldPositionLength (Max.)Comments

Owner Type

1-6

6

First character MUST be an alpha ‘A’. Next 5 characters are your AGGR ID. Example: ANPC. (In the example, there are two spaces after NPC. If your ID is less than 5 characters, the remaining spaces should be filled with white space.)

Billing Name

7-46

40

Your billing name. Example: John Doe Incorporated

Address 1

47-81

35

Address line 1 - Some use this for their DBA (Doing Business As) name also. Example: 999 Any Street or JDoe Inc (See also example below)

Address 2

82-116

35

Address line 2 – Example: Suite 999 or if you have used Address 1 for DBA, 999 Any Street Suite 999

City

117-141

25

City. Example: Any Town

State

142-143

2

Two character State code: Example: for Ohio, use OH

Zip Code

144-152

9

Zip code. Must be a 5 or 9 digit zip code. It should not contain a dash or hyphen to separate the zip and zip extension.

Contact Name

153-192

40

Contact Name. Example: John Doe Sr.

Contact Phone

193-203

10

Contact Phone. Do not enter any parentheses or dashes. Example: 9999999999 but NOT (999) 999-9999 or 999-999-9999

PSP Header Record Format

FieldPositionLength (Max.)Comments

Owner Type

1-10

10

First character MUST be an alpha ‘O’ (not zero). Next 4 digits are zeroes. The next 5 digits are your PSP ID. Example: O000012345

Billing Name

11-50

40

Your billing name. Example: John Doe Incorporated

Address 1

51-85

35

Address line 1 - Some use this for their DBA (Doing Business As) name also. Example: 999 Any Street or JDoe Inc (See also example below)

Address 2

86-120

35

Address line 2 – Example: Suite 999 or if you have used Address 1 for DBA, 999 Any Street Suite 999

City

121-145

25

City. Example: Any Town

State

146-147

2

Two character State code: Example: for Ohio, use OH

Zip Code

148-156

9

Zip code. Must be a 5 or 9 digit zip code. It should not contain a dash or hyphen to separate the zip and zip extension.

Contact Name

157-196

40

Contact Name. Example: John Doe Sr.

Contact Phone

197-206

10

Contact Phone. Do not enter any parentheses or dashes. Example: 9999999999 but NOT (999) 999-9999 or 999-999-9999

Detail record – This record identifies the 10 digits ANI.

All the detail records (ANIs) whose billing name and address is same should be grouped under one header record. A new header record should be inserted above each ANI or group of ANIs whose billing name and address is different.

Detail Record Format

FieldPositionLength (Max.)Comments

ANI

1-10

10

A numeric 10-digit number. Do not include any parentheses, dashes, or hyphens. Example: 9999999999 but NOT (999) 999-9999 or 999-999-9999

Note: New customers who do not yet have a PSP ID assigned, should submit the required paperwork (Invoice, W-9, Direct Deposit Authorization) to our Clearinghouse. We will provide you with an account ID, so you can prepare your file for submission.

Creating and submitting your file on-line

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(NOTE: If you are an Aggregator, please see the note at the end of this section before you start creating the file).

If you have very few ANIs you can create your file on the NPC website https://www.npc.cc. Follow the steps below to create and submit your file on-line.

1. Access the NPC website https://www.npc.cc.

2. Select the Payphone Service Provider drop down menu and select Log In.

3. On the Log In page, select the appropriate User Type, PSP or AGGR. Enter your User Name and Password, and click on the Login button.

4. After successful login, again select the Payphone Service Provider drop down menu and select ‘Quarterly Load Submission’. The ‘Load File Submission Status Report’ page is displayed. This page displays the status of previously submitted files, if any, for the current processing quarter. At the bottom of the page you should see a ‘Submit A File’ button as shown below. Click on the ‘Submit A File’ button.

5. The ‘File Submission’ page is displayed. At the bottom of the page there is a link (see the cursor in figure below) to the worksheet where you can create your submission file. Click on the link (or the word where it says ‘here’).

6. The ‘Data Submission Worksheet’ is displayed as shown below. Please note that if you are attempting to submit a file after the current quarter load window has passed, the list of available claim quarters will reflect only those quarters that will be valid during the next load file processing cycle.

7. Enter the information required as explained below, followed by a sample.

a) Choose the claim quarter for the file you are about to create. If not, you will be prompted before saving the work.

b) For the header record, complete all the required fields (indicated by an asterisk *). Name and Contact Phone are optional, but the NPC recommends completing these fields as well.

c) For the detail records, enter one ANI at a time in the specified format in the ‘Enter a new ANI’ field and click the ‘Add to List’ button. Once an ANI is added to the list, you will not be able to remove it from the ‘ANI list’.

d) As you enter the ANIs, you can see them being added to the ‘ANI list’ group.

e) If you need to create another header record, click on the ‘Save Work and Create Next Header /ANI List’ button. This will save your work into a temporary file. A message that your work has been saved is also displayed at the bottom of the screen. Please note that your file is not submitted until you click the ‘Save work and Submit to the NPC’ button. This will also clear the screen for you to enter a new header record. Again, follow the aforementioned instructions to enter the header record and the corresponding ANIs.

f) When you are done entering all the header records and the ANIs, you have the following options:

· ‘Save Work and Submit to NPC’ OR

· ‘Cancel Work & Do Not Submit’

Save Work and Submit to NPC

If you want to save your work and submit to the NPC, then click on the ‘Save Work and Submit to NPC’ button. If all the required fields are completed and the information entered complies with the format specifications, then the file is successfully created and submitted. A message similar to the following is displayed at the bottom of the screen. Please note that the NPC assigns the file a unique name which is displayed in the message. If there are any errors in saving the work, an appropriate message is displayed alerting you to correct them before saving again.

You can also check the status of your file by accessing the Load File Submission Status Report page by clicking on the link within the message. Once you access the status page, you should be able to see the file information similar to the following.

Cancel Work and Do Not Submit

If you choose not to save or submit your work, click on the ‘Cancel Work & Do Not Submit’ button. If you have created at least one header record prior to canceling your work, you will see a message at the bottom of the screen that your submission has been cancelled. Otherwise, the message says that there is no submission to cancel.

NOTE: If you are an Aggregator, you will see two header sections on the Data Submission worksheet (see figure below). Header Section 1 is for the Aggregator information and Header Section 2 is for the first PSP information. Header Section 1 will be grayed out once you enter at least one header record in Header Section 2. For subsequent header records, you will only have to edit the information in Header Section 2.

File Submission

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You can submit a file at any time during the quarter. However, only those files submitted during the allowed claim schedule period for a given quarter will be processed in that quarter. Any files that were submitted after the allowed claim schedule period will remain in a ‘PENDING’ status and will be processed in the next quarter. If you have created your own file, you can submit it using the File Submission page under the Quarterly Load Submission section. If you do not have a file created, you can use the Data Submission Worksheet (refer to the section Creating and submitting your file on-line ) to create and submit your file at the same time.

When Can I Submit a File?

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You can submit a file at any time during the quarter. However, only those files submitted during the allowed claim schedule period for a given quarter will be processed in that quarter. Any files that were submitted after the allowed claim schedule period will remain in a ‘PENDING’ status and will be processed in the next quarter. Claims that you wish to be processed in the current quarter are due by the last business day of the first month following the end of each calendar quarter. For the latest claim schedule please refer to the Quarterly PSP Claim Schedule on this website under the PSP Processing Forms section. File submission transactions that are to be processed in the current quarter must be initiated before midnight on the cut off date (Eastern Standard Time).

For the quarterly PSP claim schedule, please refer to the ‘Quarterly PSP Claim Schedule’ in the PSP Processing Forms section accessible via the Payphone Service Provider menu.

How do I submit a file?

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There are two ways to submit a file.

1. If you created your own file, you can submit it using the File Submission page under the Quarterly Load Submission section.

2. If you do not have a file created, you can create your file on-line and submit it at the same time. For guidelines on how to create and submit your file on-line, please refer to the section Creating and submitting your file on-line.

The following section explains how to submit a file that has already been created.

1. Access the NPC website https://www.npc.cc.

2. Select the Payphone Service Provider drop down menu and select Log In.

3. On the Log In page, select the appropriate User Type, PSP or AGGR. Enter your User Name and Password, and click on the Login button.

4. After successful login, again select the Payphone Service Provider drop down menu and select ‘Quarterly Load Submission’. The ‘Load File Submission Status Report’ page is displayed. This page displays the status of previously submitted files, if any, for the current processing quarter. At the bottom of the page you should see a ‘Submit A File’ button as shown below. Click on the ‘Submit A File’ button.

5. The ‘File Submission’ page is displayed. Select the claim quarter you are submitting the file for and click on the ‘Browse…’ button. Please note that if you are attempting to submit a file after the current quarter load window has passed, the list of available claim quarters will reflect only those quarters that will be valid during the next load file processing cycle.

6. This will display the ‘Choose file’ dialog window similar to the figure below. Navigate to the desired directory and select the file you want to submit and click on the ‘Open’ button.

7. This will complete the ‘File’ field with the location of the file as shown. Click on the ‘Upload’ button.

8. If you have completed the required fields (claim quarter and the file location) and the file selected is a valid file, then the file is successfully submitted. The page is refreshed and a message ‘File uploaded successfully’ is displayed. If you haven’t completed the required fields, you are alerted with the appropriate message to complete the missing information. During the submission, the NPC checks for virus infections and rejects any virus-infected files. In such cases, a message is displayed alerting you of the virus infections.

9. If the submission is successful, you should see the file listed on the File Submission Status Report page. You can access this page using the ‘Click here to check load submission status’ link at the top of the File Submission page. Generally, the last file submitted is listed at the bottom of the list as shown. Please note that once a file is submitted, you may only cancel the processing of the file when it is in a ‘PENDING’ status. Once the status indicates that it is processing, you cannot delete it or remove it from the list. To cancel a ‘PENDING’ file, please refer to the Can I delete a file I just submitted? section.

What happens after I submit a file?

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Once the file is successfully submitted, it is queued in the NPC internal system for processing. For more information on the submission status please refer to the Submission Status section.

Can I delete a file I just submitted?

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A file can only be deleted if it is still in the queue waiting to be picked up for processing by the NPC internal system. A file in this situation will have a status of ‘PENDING’ which will allow the file to be cancelled/deleted.

Below the list of files, you will find the following link which will take you to the ‘Pending Load Files’ page.

Under the first column titled ‘Cancel/Delete’, select the ‘Cancel’ link on the row of the pending load file you wish to cancel so it does not get loaded. A confirmation popup will display with the file name shown to verify your decision.

Submission Status

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You can periodically check the status of the load submission file(s) by accessing the File Submission Status Report page. This page lists all the submission files and their status for a given quarter in a chronological order. This page lists the following details about the submission file: file name, file type, submission time, status, ANIs loaded, error file (if any), data rows rejected, and the time the status was last updated.

What does a status code mean?

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Once a submission file is processed the NPC sends an e-mail notification to the primary contact of the AGGR or PSP who submitted the file, that the file has been processed. The notification does not include the status of the processed file. It is the responsibility of the primary contact person to check the status of the processed file by accessing the NPC website.

Every status code represents a stage in the load process while the submission file is being processed. The following table lists the different status codes and their descriptions.

Status Code

Code Description

INCOMPLETE

The original file size does not match the uploaded file size.

INFECTED

The file is infected with a virus.

PENDING

The Load file submitted is ready to be processed.

REJECTED

The Load file submitted was rejected during processing.

CANCELLED

The Load file in a PENDING condition was cancelled by the user. The user did not want the file to be loaded.

ERRORS

The Load file submitted was loaded and some of the data rows have ERRORS.

LOADED

The Load file submitted was loaded successfully. None of the data rows has errors.

INCOMPLETE

This status code indicates that the size of the file uploaded does not match the size of the file the NPC received. This may happen due to network transmission errors. In this case you will have to re-submit the file.

INFECTED

This status code indicates that the submitted file is infected with a known virus. Your file will be deleted from the NPC system. You will have to re-submit a virus-free file.

PENDING

This is the initial status when a file is successfully submitted to the website, i.e. file is complete and is free of any known viruses. This status indicates that the submission file is queued in the NPC internal system and is ready to be processed.

REJECTED

This status code indicates that the entire file has been rejected during processing due to non-compliance with the load submission business rules or file format specifications. No data rows were loaded. For more information please refer to the section Common reasons for data row errors or file rejection. You will have to re-submit the file.

CANCELLED

This status code indicates the user cancelled a PENDING file that was just submitted and waiting to be loaded. The file was deleted and never picked up by the system to be loaded.

ERRORS

This status indicates that the file has been loaded but errors were found during the loading process. The data rows with errors are written to an error file. This file can be downloaded from the File Submission Status Report page. The error file name itself is a link to the file and the file can be downloaded using the following guidelines.

· Click on the file using the left mouse button and save the file when it opens in a text editor. OR

· Click on the file using the right mouse button and select ‘Save target as’ from the popup menu.

After downloading the error file, you have the option to create a new file with the corrected data rows and resubmit before the submission cut-off date. NOTE: Do NOT forget to put in a header record as the first record on the corrected file.

How to read the error file

The error file contains three columns i.e., line number, error code and data row.

Column

Comments

Line Number

The line number of the data row in the submitted file that was found to be in error.

Error Code

The error code assigned will help identify the issue found with the data row or file. An explanation of the error codes can be found in the 'Error Code' document available on the NPC website.

Data Row

This will be the actual data row that was found to be in error.

Here is an example of an error file:

LINE ERROR DATA

NUMBER CODE ROW

0000000001 ERR-102 7063599750

0000000002 ERR-102 7066789709

0000000003 ERR-102 7066789707

0000000004 ERR-102 7066789739

0000000005 ERR-102 7066789729

0000000006 ERR-102 7066789730

0000000007 ERR-102 7066789716

0000000008 ERR-102 7064562471

LOADED

This status indicates that the file has been processed successfully without any errors.

Common reasons for data row errors or file rejection

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The common reasons that the NPC may reject your file or data rows are as follows:

· The spacing (column position) is incorrect.

· Missing or multiple AGGR header records or the AGGR header record does not contain an Alpha ‘A’ in 1st position.

· Missing PSP header record or the PSP header record does not contain an Alpha ‘O’ and four zeros.

· The header record does not contain your PSP ID, or the PSP ID is incorrect.

· The State Code is not the standard two character postal abbreviation (i.e. Ohio must be OH).

· The Zip Code is not in the correct position or not the correct number of digits.

· There are tabs, extra blank lines, titles or column headings in your file.

· The file is infected with a known virus.

· The file name has special characters in it. (&, (), |, <, >, *,?, [], ~, -, @,!, “, ‘, and \)

Problem Reporting

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If you are experiencing any technical difficulties while submitting or retrieving your files, you can report the problem using the ‘Report Problems’ page under the Payphone Service Provider Menu.

How to report a problem

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Use the following guidelines to report any problems while browsing the NPC website.

1. To access the ‘Report Problems’ page, select the menu item ‘Report Problems’ from the ‘Payphone Service Provider’ Menu. You may have to login if you have not already done so.

2. The ‘Report Problems’ page is displayed as shown below.

3. All the fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required fields. You must complete all the required fields to report a problem.

4. Select the type of problem you are experiencing from the ‘Problem Type’ dropdown list. If your problem type is not one of the options listed, select the ‘other’ option. Enter any comments specific to your problem in the comments field. The NPC strongly recommends adding comments specific to the problem. Comments help the NPC quickly isolate the problem and also expedite the resolution process.

5. Complete the contact information fields i.e. first name, last name, e-mail address and daytime phone number. This information is needed in the event the NPC needs to contact you.

6. After completing all the required fields, click on the ‘Report Problems’ button to submit the information. A message is displayed acknowledging the submission of your problem.

Questions, Comments or Concerns

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If there are any questions, comments or concerns regarding the content of this document please contact the NPC for resolution and clarification.

Line number (Ln) and column positions (Col)

Show/Hide Format Characters Toggle button

Spaces are shown as dots with Format turned on

Line feed or paragraph format character

Click here to go to the Data Submission Worksheet

Click here to go to the File Submission page.

Click here to go to the File Submission page.

After the submission, use this link to see if the file is listed on the status page.

Click the ‘Cancel’ link to delete the pending load file.

National Payphone Clearinghouse Room 121-1090, 221 East 4th St., Cincinnati, OH 45202

Phone: 513-397-6260, Fax: 513-721-COIN(2646), E-mail: npc@cinbell.com