All campaign finance transactions must be validated and filed in the ORESTAR elections reporting system. Failing to validate and file a transaction by the transaction’s due date may result in a civil penalty.

A cash expenditure is an expense drawn from the committee’s bank account by check, credit card, debit card, or by an electronic funds transfer. For the full legal and procedural requirements for reporting campaign finance transactions, see the Campaign Finance Manual.

Required Information

To file a Cash Expenditure transaction, you’ll need the following information:

• Date the expenditure was made
• Amount of the expenditure
• Payment method (including the check number if applicable)
• Payee’s name, city, and state
• Description of the expense

Steps to File a Cash Expenditure

1. Log into ORESTAR and navigate to your committee’s Private Workshop.
2. Click on the Campaign Finance button to the right of the committee name. The page will default to the committee’s Account Summary page.
3. Click on the Transactions tab to go to your Transaction Queue.
4. Click on Add to enter a new transaction.
5. Enter the data into the fields from top to bottom.
6. Enter the transaction date by clicking the button to the right of the Transaction Date field. A calendar will appear. Use the arrows to toggle between months or years. The date of the expenditure
   1. The check date
   2. The date the funds are transferred
   3. The date the committee’s debit or credit card was used.
7. Select Transaction Type: Expenditure and the Subtype: Cash Expenditure.
8. In the Contributor/Payee field, enter the name of the individual or entity that the committee is paying. To add a new address book entry, click the Add button to the right of the field.
9. In the Payment Method field, select the form of payment. If selecting check, provide the check number in the field to the right.
10. In the Amount field, enter the amount of the expenditure without a dollar sign.
11. Select a Purpose from the drop-down list or enter a description in the Description field. You must state what the funds were paid for.
12. The Notes field is optional and will not display to the public.
13. If required, associate the transaction with a previously-reported accounts payable transaction.
14. After completing all required fields, click on Validate near the top of the page.
15. Click File. Read the Attestation and click File again.