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
Back to top
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?
Back to top
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
Back to top
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
Back to top
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
Back to top
(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
Back to top
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?
Back to top
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?
Back to top
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?
Back to top
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?
Back to top
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
Back to top
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?
Back to top
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
Back to top
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
Back to top
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
Back to top
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
Back to top
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:
[email protected]