{"id":"acct-consulting-retainer-earned-entry-lines","audience":"accounting","category":"finance-work","track":"finance","technique":"format","level":"beginner","title":"Split a retainer into earned and unearned and write the entry","free":false,"task":"You're recording October activity on a consulting retainer. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting \"Retainer received:\", \"Earned in October:\", \"Unearned balance:\", \"Entry:\" and \"Check:\". Earned counts billable hours only at the contract rate. Out-of-pocket expenses are billed separately and are not drawn from the retainer. Show the math. Under 80 words.","materialLabel":"Source material (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"CLIENT RETAINER - Brightwater Foods\n\nRetainer received Oct 1: $10,000 (recorded in Unearned Revenue, account 2400)\nContract rate: $150 per billable hour\n\nOctober time report:\n- Total hours logged: 20\n- Non-billable internal training hours inside that total: 2\n- Billable hours: 18\n\nOut-of-pocket expenses paid for the client in October: $320 (travel). Under the contract these are invoiced separately at cost and are not taken out of the retainer.\n\nAccounts: Unearned Revenue (2400), Consulting Revenue (4100), Accounts Receivable (1200)\n\nNote: the project lead said \"the client is happy and will probably top up the retainer in December.\" No top-up has been agreed. The controller reviews retainer balances at each month-end. Revenue is recognized when the hours are worked, not when cash is received.","rules":[{"type":"plainText"},{"type":"maxWords","max":80}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Names the five lines","patterns":["retainer received","earned in october","unearned balance","entry","check"]},{"label":"Counts billable hours only","patterns":["billable"]},{"label":"Excludes expenses","patterns":["expenses","separately","leave out"]},{"label":"Names the accounts","patterns":["2400","4100"]},{"label":"Caps length","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","under \\d+"]}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Counting all logged hours","why":"The AI bills 20 hours.","fix":"Say: \"Earned counts billable hours only.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Drawing expenses from the retainer","why":"The AI subtracts the $320.","fix":"Add: \"Expenses are billed separately; leave them out.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Wrong accounts","why":"The AI debits cash or receivables.","fix":"Add: \"Debit Unearned Revenue 2400; credit Consulting Revenue 4100.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Missing labels","why":"The AI writes a paragraph.","fix":"Add: \"Five lines with these exact labels.\"","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 part short.","checks":["maxWords"]}],"hint":"Only the billable hours reduce the retainer. Say what to count and what stays out.","rubricLabels":["The five lines start Retainer received:, Earned in October:, Unearned balance:, Entry: and Check: in that order","Earned in October shows 18 x $150 = $2,700 (not 20 hours) and Unearned balance shows $10,000 - $2,700 = $7,300","Entry debits Unearned Revenue 2400 and credits Consulting Revenue 4100 for $2,700, and the $320 expenses and any December top-up are not included"]}