Purposes of disbursement
Committees must keep a record of each disbursement, including the disbursement's purpose. The purpose is a brief but specific description of why the disbursement was made, such as "dinner expense" or "postage."
As a general rule, consider whether a person who is not associated with the committee could easily discern why the disbursement was made by reading the name of the recipient and the purpose.
Please note that the lists below are not exhaustive and were revised on 8/21/2018.
Inadequate purposes of disbursement
| Admin. | Event Expense | Operating Expenses |
| Administrative Expenses (to vendor) | Event Reimbursement | Other Expenses |
| Advance | Event Supplies (to an individual) | Outreach |
| Advocacy | Expense Reimbursement | Outside Services |
| Benefits (to an individual) | Expenses | Overhead |
| Bonus | Fees | Party Development |
| Bounty | Field | Payment |
| Campaign Expense | Fundraising (to an individual) | Political Consulting |
| Campaign Material | Fundraising Event (to an individual) | Production |
| Caucus | Fundraising Expense (to an individual) | Professional Fees |
| Charges | Fundraising Fees (to an individual) | Professional Fees – Consulting |
| Coalition Building | Fundraising Supplies (to an individual) | Professional Services |
| Collateral and Collateral Materials | General Advice | Promotional Material |
| Commission | General GOTV | Publication |
| Compensation | General or Generic Consulting | Push Card |
| Constituent Outreach | Generic Campaign Activity | Reimbursement |
| Consultant | Get-Out-The-Vote or GOTV | Rendered Services |
| Consulting | Gifts | Retainer (to an individual) |
| Consulting Non-FEA | GOTV Expenses | Revenue Shares |
| Consulting Service | GOTV Labor | Services or Services Rendered |
| Contract | Grassroots Materials | State Convention |
| Contract Labor | In-Kind (unless an adequate purpose is provided on the Schedule A receipt) | Supplies (to an individual) |
| Contractual Services | Invoice | Support |
| Convention Expenses | Issue Advocacy | Technology |
| Convention Services | Labor | Transfer (Based on type of committee and relationship with the recipient) |
| Costs | Literature | Utilities (to an individual) |
| Delegate | Meeting (to an individual) | Voter Bounty |
| Delegate Expenses | Meeting Expenses (to an individual) | Voter Contact |
| Design | Meeting Supplies (to an individual) | Voter Drive |
| Discount Fees | Miscellaneous Expense | Voter ID or Voter Identification |
| Election Day/ Night Expense (to an individual) | Miscellaneous or Misc. | Voter Registration |
| Entertainment | Office Expense (to an individual) | Voter Turnout |
| Equipment or Equipment Rental (to an individual) | Office Services | Worker |
| Event | Office Supplies (to an individual) |
Adequate purposes of disbursement
| Accounting/ Accounting Services | Fee (to a financial institution/processor) | Photography Services |
| Administrative Levy | Filing Fee- Candidate | Pins |
| Administrative Services (to an individual) | Food and/or Beverage(s) | Polling |
| Advertising - Radio, TV, Newspaper, or Print | Fundraiser – Food/ Beverages/ Rental/ Entertainment | Postage |
| Airfare | Fundraising (to a vendor) | Posters |
| Ballot Fee/ Ballot Access Fee | Fundraising Commission | Printing |
| Bank Fee/ Bank Charge | Fundraising Event (to a vendor) | Processing Fee(s) |
| Bonus - Per Contract | Fundraising Expense/ Fundraising Fees (to a vendor) | Registration/Registration Fee |
| Cab Fare/ Taxi Fare | Fundraising supplies (to a vendor) | Rent |
| Caging and Escrow | Garnishment | Research/ Research Services |
| Campaign Event | GOTV Phone Calls | Residential Security Expenses |
| Campaign Literature | Graphic Design | Salary |
| Canvassing | Hand Bills/ Cards | Sample Ballots |
| Car Rental | Interest Charges | Security |
| Catering | Internet Service | Service Fee (to a financial institution/processor) |
| Check Fee | Legal/ Legal Fees/ Legal Services | Shipping |
| Childcare Expenses (Campaign Related) | Letterhead/Envelopes/ Stationary | Signs |
| Compliance/ Reporting/ Filing Services | List Acquisition | Slate Card Mailer |
| Computer (Equipment/ Programming/ Support) | Lodging/ Hotel | Slate Card(s) |
| Constituent Gifts/ Donor Gifts/ Staff Gifts/ Supporter Gifts | Logo Design | Software/Software Licensing |
| Consultant (see Adequate Consultant Purposes) | Meal(s) | Subscription |
| Copying/ Copies | Media | Survey/ Survey Research |
| Courier Service | Meeting/ Meeting Expense/ Meeting Supplies (to a vendor) | Sustaining Membership – Phone Bank |
| Credit Card Fee/ Merchant Fee | Mileage/ Mileage Reimbursement | Taxes |
| Cybersecurity Expenses | Office Equipment/ Office Equipment Rental | Technical/Computer Support |
| Database Services | Office Supplies/ Office Expense (to a vendor) | Teleconferencing Services |
| Delivery/ Delivery Services | PAC Newsletter | Telephone/ Phone/ Cell Phone/ Mobile Phone Service |
| Direct Mail Services | PAC Postage | Translation Fee |
| Direct Marketing | Palm Cards | Transportation |
| Door Hangers | Parking | Travel |
| Door-to-Door Get-Out-the-Vote (GOTV) | Payroll | Utilities (to a vendor) |
| Election Day/ Night Venue (to vendor) | Payroll Processing Fees | Wages |
| Equipment/ Equipment Rental (to vendor) | Per Diem/ Petty Cash/ Stipend | Web Hosting |
| Event Sponsor/ Program Sponsor/ Table Sponsor | Petitioning | Website Services |
| Exit polling | Phone Banks (to a vendor) | Win Bonus |
| Facility/Room Rental | Phone Bill | Year-End Bonus |
Adequate consultant and consulting purposes
While “Consulting” is not an acceptable purpose, specifying the type of consulting services provided can help to ensure that the purpose is considered adequate. Please see examples in the table (purposes can be disclosed as “Consultant – (specific)” or as “(specific) Consulting”).
| Accounting Consulting | Fundraising Consulting | Media Consulting |
| Administrative Consulting | General Campaign Consulting | Microtargeting Consulting |
| Campaign Consulting | GOTV Consulting | Political Strategy Consulting |
| Communications Consulting | Internet Consulting | Polling Consulting |
| Compliance Consulting | Issue(s) Consulting | Research Consulting |
| Design Consulting | Legal Consulting | Strategic Planning Consulting |
| Digital Consulting | Logistics Consulting | Strategy Consulting |
| Financial (finance) Consulting | Management Consulting |