{"id":"acct-bad-debt-reserve-by-bucket","audience":"accounting","category":"finance-work","track":"finance","technique":"constraints","level":"advanced","title":"Compute an aging-based reserve and flag the account that needs a call","free":false,"task":"You're computing the general bad debt reserve for the controller. Write a prompt for plain text with exactly eight lines starting \"Current:\", \"1-30:\", \"31-60:\", \"61-90:\", \"90+:\", \"Total general reserve:\", \"Change vs booked:\" and \"Flag:\". Bucket lines show balance x rate = reserve. Exclude any customer the notes identify as a specific problem from the bucket math, and just list them in the Flag line with the amount. Don't propose a reserve for the flagged account. Under 100 words.","materialLabel":"AR aging, reserve rates and notes (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"AR AGING AND RESERVE - Oct 31, 2026, Kestrel Home Goods\n\nBucket | AR balance | Reserve rate\nCurrent | $120,000 | 1%\n1-30 days past due | $40,000 | 3%\n31-60 | $20,000 | 10%\n61-90 | $8,000 | 25%\n90+ | $5,000 | 50%\nTotal AR: $193,000\n\nCurrently booked allowance for doubtful accounts: $7,000.\n\nCollector notes:\n- Orion Tools ($3,200, in the 90+ bucket) filed for bankruptcy on Oct 20. Sales thinks we may recover something but nobody has contacted the trustee.\n- Hartwell Printing ($1,800, in the 90+ bucket) is slow but has promised payment in November.\n- Everything else is routine.\n\nPolicy: the general reserve is computed on aging buckets. Customers with a known specific problem, such as bankruptcy, are evaluated individually by the controller, outside the bucket calculation.","rules":[{"type":"plainText"},{"type":"maxWords","max":100}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Names the eight lines","patterns":["current:","total general reserve","flag:"]},{"label":"Excludes the flagged customer","patterns":["orion","exclude","remove"]},{"label":"Asks for balance x rate","patterns":["balance x rate","x rate"]},{"label":"Bans proposing a reserve for it","patterns":["(do not|don'?t).*(propose|reserve)"]},{"label":"Caps length","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","plain"]}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Reserving Orion in the buckets","why":"The AI applies 50% to the whole 90+ bucket, $2,500.","fix":"Say: \"Remove Orion Tools ($3,200) from 90+ before applying the rate.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Inventing a specific reserve","why":"The AI proposes 100% for Orion or estimates a recovery.","fix":"Add: \"Do not propose a reserve or recovery for it.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Skipping the math","why":"The AI lists reserves without balance x rate.","fix":"Say: \"Bucket lines show balance x rate = reserve.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Markdown extras","why":"The AI adds bold labels, headings and a closing note.","fix":"Say: \"Plain text, no bold. Output only the lines asked for.\"","checks":["plainText"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting and runs past word limits.","fix":"Ask for fewer words than the real cap and keep each line short.","checks":["maxWords"]}],"hint":"A policy carves a known bad account out of the formula. Name the exclusion, the line labels and what not to estimate.","rubricLabels":["Has the eight labeled lines in order, and the bucket lines show $120,000 x 1% = $1,200, $40,000 x 3% = $1,200, $20,000 x 10% = $2,000 and $8,000 x 25% = $2,000","90+ line excludes Orion Tools: ($5,000 - $3,200 = $1,800) x 50% = $900; Total general reserve shows $7,300 and Change vs booked shows $7,300 - $7,000 = +$300","Flag line lists Orion Tools $3,200 (bankruptcy, Oct 20) as excluded for the controller to evaluate, and proposes no reserve amount or recovery estimate for it"]}