LEDES Error BF120: Incorrect LEDES Header

What This Error Means

You are uploading a LEDES invoice, but the first line of the file (called the header) is not written correctly.

The header is the very first line in the file.
It tells Brightflag what type of LEDES format you are using.

If the header does not match an accepted format exactly, you will receive error BF120.

Brightflag only supports these two headers:

• LEDES98BI V2[]

• LEDES1998B[]

If the first line says anything else, the file will be rejected.

How to Resolve It

Step 1: Open the File

Open your LEDES file in:

• Notepad (Windows), or

• TextEdit (Plain Text mode) (Mac)

Do not open it in Word.

Step 2: Check the First Line

Look at the very first line in the file.

It must say exactly one of the following:

LEDES98BI V2[]

or

LEDES1998B[]

Important:

• There must be no extra spaces.

• There must be no missing characters.

• The text must match exactly.

Step 3: Save in UTF-8 Format

When saving the file:

• Make sure the encoding is set to UTF-8.

• Then save the file.

(UTF-8 is a standard text format. Most text editors allow you to select this when saving.)

Step 4: Upload Again

Return to Brightflag and upload the corrected file.

Fixing BF120 will usually also resolve BF111 – No Invoices Uploaded, if both errors appear.