{"id":"acct-capitalize-or-expense-table","audience":"accounting","category":"finance-work","track":"finance","technique":"constraints","level":"intermediate","title":"Decide capitalize or expense for five purchases against the policy","free":false,"task":"You're reviewing five purchases against the capitalization policy. Write a prompt for a markdown table with columns Item, Cost, Decision and Reason, one row per purchase in the order listed. Decision must be exactly Capitalize, Expense or Ask Controller (use Ask Controller for anything the policy does not cover). Reason is under 8 words. Cost is the amount that would be recorded. Under 130 words.","materialLabel":"Source material (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"CAPITALIZATION POLICY (fixed assets)\nCapitalize an item if its cost is $2,500 or more per unit and it is expected to last more than one year. Costs needed to bring the asset to working condition (delivery and installation) are included in its cost. Items below $2,500 per unit are expensed even when bought in groups. Software licenses and leased assets are covered by separate policies, not this one.\n\nPURCHASES - October 2026\n1. Five laptops, $1,400 each, bought together for $7,000\n2. Conference room display, $3,800 (invoice includes delivery)\n3. Server rack $2,900 plus installation by the vendor $600\n4. One-year maintenance contract on the display, $450\n5. Three-year software license for design tools, $9,000\n\nNote from IT: \"The five laptops will be used for at least four years.\" The purchasing manager asked whether grouping the laptops would let them be treated as one asset.","rules":[{"type":"maxWords","max":130}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Names the columns","patterns":["item","cost","decision","reason"]},{"label":"Gives the three labels","patterns":["capitalize","expense","ask controller"]},{"label":"Says per unit","patterns":["per unit","threshold"]},{"label":"Caps the reason","patterns":["8 words","under 8"]},{"label":"Caps length","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","under \\d+"]}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Capitalizing the grouped laptops","why":"The AI adds the five laptops into $7,000.","fix":"Say: \"Apply the threshold per unit, even when bought in groups.\"","checks":["r0","r1"]},{"title":"Leaving out installation","why":"The AI records the rack at $2,900.","fix":"Add: \"Include installation in cost.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Deciding the software","why":"The AI capitalizes the license on its own.","fix":"Add: \"Use Ask Controller for anything the policy does not cover.\"","checks":["r0","r2"]},{"title":"Long reasons","why":"The AI writes full sentences in the table.","fix":"Add: \"Reason under 8 words.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"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 part short.","checks":["maxWords"]}],"hint":"The policy is the grader. Spell out the threshold, the per-unit test, and what to do when the policy is silent.","rubricLabels":["The table has five rows in order with decisions Expense, Capitalize, Capitalize, Expense, Ask Controller","The server rack row shows a cost of $3,500 ($2,900 plus $600 installation) and the laptops row says each laptop is below the $2,500 threshold","Every Reason is under 8 words, the software license row uses Ask Controller because separate policy applies, and no row calls the laptops one asset"]}