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41.3. I'm Seeing a Discrepancy in My Report's Year-To-Date Column - What Are Some Possible Causes?

FEC Form 3X Column B Discrepancies

Here are some potential causes for why you may be seeing discrepancies with your report's YTD column:

• There may be transactions duplicating. Typically, the easiest way to tell if this is the case is by checking the report's validation file. If there are any transactions duplicating, that will most likely result in a validation error.
• If column A totals are correct, and the discrepancy is only in column B, then it's possible that data from a previous reporting period may have changed (transactions could have been added/deleted/edited since a previous report was filed). For example, if you previously filed a report that covers Jan 1 through Jan 31, but then add a new transaction dated within that time frame and don't amend that report, then the report following that one will likely not account for that newly added transaction. This will often result in the following report's starting cash on hand amount being incorrect, thus affecting its ending balances as well.
• If you have a refund dated in the current calendar year, but it is meant to be refunding a contribution that was received last year, that can often also result in column B discrepancies. In this scenario, there are two potential solutions:
  • A). The refund entry will need to be linked to the contribution from the previous year. This can be done by opening the refund entry, scrolling down to the Add Transaction Links section, and then using the options there to search for and link the entry to the original contribution.
  • B). If you are seeing a discrepancy due to a refund, and there is a contribution on your current period's report, then marking the Force Itemize box on that entry can also allow the system to calculate totals correctly.

Please note: the list above are just some of the more common reasons why discrepancies can happen, but there may be others that were not included here. If you are seeing a discrepancy on your report and are unable to track down the causes, please reach out to us for more assistance.