3. Creating your first lottery

This chapter walks you through one complete lottery, the simple way: a straightforward applicant file, the lottery wizard with its standard settings, and the "as soon as possible" start. Advanced options like weighting, exact-time scheduling, and column privacy controls have their own chapter (Chapter 8); you will not need any of them today.

Part 1: Prepare your applicant file

Your applicant file is a spreadsheet with one row per applicant. AuditDraw accepts two file types:

• .xlsx (an Excel workbook), or
• .csv (a "comma-separated values" file; every spreadsheet program can save one via "Save As" or "Export")

The file can be up to 10 MB, which comfortably fits even very large applicant lists.

What your file needs

• One sheet, with the data starting in the top-left cell (cell A1).
• A header row: the first row names each column.
• An applicant identifier column: one column that identifies each applicant. This can be a name, an email address, an application number, or any reference your organization already uses.
• At least 2 applicant rows below the header row.

That is the whole requirement. Here is a perfectly valid file:

About ticket numbers (two ways to go)

Every applicant in an AuditDraw lottery is drawn by a ticket number. You have two options, and both are equally valid:

• Let AuditDraw generate them (most common). Do nothing. If your file has no ticket column, AuditDraw automatically creates a unique, random ticket number for every applicant, and those numbers appear alongside each applicant in your results.
• Bring your own. If your program already assigns ticket or entry numbers, include them as their own column. Every value must be unique; the wizard checks this for you and will point out duplicates.

A file with your own ticket numbers might look like this:

Tip: Extra columns are fine. Any other columns in your file (addresses, program codes, notes) simply pass through untouched and reappear in your results. You do not need to remove them. Chapter 8 covers the optional controls for extra columns.

Important: Before you upload, give your file a quick once-over: every applicant present, no duplicate ticket numbers if you supply your own, and a header on every column. The wizard re-checks all of this, but a clean file makes everything faster.

Part 2: The lottery wizard

The wizard has four short steps: 1. Upload, 2. Details, 3. Columns, and 4. Schedule. You can leave and come back at any point; nothing runs until you complete the final step.

Step 1 of 4: Upload

1. Log in and click Lotteries in the top navigation.
2. Click the New Lottery button.
3. Drag your applicant file onto the upload area, or click browse for a file and pick it.

AuditDraw reads the file, checks its structure, and moves you to the next step automatically.

Step 2 of 4: Details

1. Lottery name: the wizard names the lottery after your file. Rename it to something your team will recognize, for example "Maple Court Waitlist Lottery, July 2026". This name appears on your reports and certificate.
2. Description (optional): a program name, property, or internal note, just for your own reference.
3. Click Save and continue.

Note: You will not be asked "how many winners". AuditDraw draws and ranks every applicant, one at a time, in a random order. Your results list every applicant in their drawn order, so you can fill however many spots you have, and your waitlist order is simply the rest of the list.

Step 3 of 4: Columns

AuditDraw has already looked at your file and made its best guess about what each column is. This step is just you confirming its work. Each column from your file appears as a card showing its header and a sample of its values.

1. Check that exactly one column is marked Applicant Identifier. If the wizard guessed wrong, use the role dropdown on the correct column to fix it.
2. If you brought your own ticket numbers, check that your ticket column is marked Ticket #. If you did not, there is nothing to do: AuditDraw will generate ticket numbers.
3. Leave everything else as it is. Other columns show Pass-through (no special role), which means they are carried into your results untouched.
4. At the bottom, confirm the applicant count: check the box reading "I confirm this file contains N applicant entries and the column roles above are correct." The number shown should match your expectations; if it does not, stop and check your file.
5. Click Confirm and continue.

Note: This step also shows an estimated processing time. Lotteries take time on purpose: every entry is drawn individually with its own timestamp, which is part of what makes the results auditable.

Step 4 of 4: Schedule

1. Choose As soon as possible. Your lottery is queued to start about 4 hours from now. (Choosing an exact date and time is covered in Chapter 8.)
2. Click Schedule and lock.
3. A confirmation window appears, because this is the point of no return: scheduling locks the lottery's applicant data and settings so that nothing can be altered before the drawing. Click Schedule it to confirm.

Important: After you schedule, the lottery cannot be changed or canceled from your account. If you spot a problem after scheduling (a wrong file, a missing applicant), contact us promptly at service@auditdraw.com and we will help.

That's it. The screen confirms "Your lottery is scheduled", and everything from here on happens automatically.

Part 3: What happens next

The confirmation email

Within a few minutes you will receive an email with the subject "Your lottery (name) is scheduled". It confirms the lottery name, the number of entries, and the scheduled start time, and includes a View this lottery button that takes you straight to the lottery's page.

Watching your lottery run (optional, and fun)

When the start time arrives, your lottery begins drawing on a dedicated, sealed server with no internet connection. You can watch it happen:

1. Log in and go to Lotteries. A running lottery appears under Running Now with a live progress bar.
2. Click the lottery to open its details page. The Live progress card shows a moving progress bar and a counter like "1,240 of 5,000 entries drawn". The page refreshes itself automatically; you do not need to do anything.

A typical lottery finishes in about two to three hours. You do not need to keep the page open; the results email will find you.

The results email and your secure download link

When the drawing completes, you receive an email with the subject "Your results are ready for (name)". It includes:

• A summary: lottery name, entry count, completion time, and your Certificate Key (more on that in Chapter 5).
• A Download your deliverables button. This is a secure link to your complete results archive, a single .zip file. For security, the link may ask you to sign in, and it only works for approved users on your account.

Your deliverables

The archive contains everything from the run in one file: the Agency Report, the Public Record Report, your results in Excel, CSV, and JSON formats, the live server logs, an untouched copy of your original source file, and your signed Certificate of Authenticity.

You can also download the key documents individually, any time, from the lottery's details page. Log in, go to Lotteries, open your completed lottery, and find the Deliverables section with four downloads:

Important: the 30-day archive window. The Results archive (.zip) is available for 30 days after the lottery completes; its row on the details page shows the exact "Available until" date. Download it promptly and store it with your program records. The three PDF documents (Agency Report, Public Record Report, and Certificate) remain available on the details page after the archive window closes.

Note: Shortly after your lottery completes, its invoice arrives by email. That is normal and expected; Chapter 4 picks up right there.