{"id":"acct-overhead-applied-vs-actual-lines","audience":"accounting","category":"finance-work","track":"finance","technique":"verification","level":"intermediate","title":"Compute applied overhead and the under-applied amount for the year","free":false,"task":"You're closing the year for a small manufacturer. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting \"Overhead rate:\", \"Applied overhead:\", \"Actual overhead:\", \"Difference:\" and \"Job 214:\". Use the rate set in January for the whole year. Say whether the difference is under-applied or over-applied. Show the math. Under 80 words.","materialLabel":"Source material (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"OVERHEAD APPLICATION - FY2026\n\nJanuary plan: estimated annual overhead $120,000; estimated direct labor hours 8,000.\nOverhead is applied to jobs using direct labor hours.\n\nYear-end results:\n- Actual direct labor hours: 7,500\n- Actual overhead cost incurred: $118,000\n\nJob 214: used 120 direct labor hours.\n\nNotes: in July the production manager revised the hours estimate to 7,600 for planning, but the January rate stays in use for the year; the revised figure was not used to change the rate. Applied overhead means the amount charged to jobs during the year. The controller will decide how the under-applied or over-applied amount is handled; this exercise only measures it. Overhead includes factory rent, utilities, supervisor pay and equipment depreciation.","rules":[{"type":"plainText"},{"type":"maxWords","max":80}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Names the five lines","patterns":["overhead rate","applied overhead","actual overhead","difference","job 214"]},{"label":"Uses the January rate","patterns":["january","rate"]},{"label":"Applies actual hours","patterns":["actual (direct labor )?hours","7,500"]},{"label":"Asks under or over","patterns":["under-applied","over-applied"]},{"label":"Caps length","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","under \\d+"]}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Using the revised hours","why":"The AI recalculates the rate with 7,600 hours.","fix":"Say: \"Use the January rate all year.\"","checks":["r0","r2"]},{"title":"Using budgeted hours for applied overhead","why":"The AI applies 8,000 hours.","fix":"Add: \"Applied = actual hours x the rate.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Missing under or over","why":"The AI gives the difference without a label.","fix":"Add: \"Say under-applied or over-applied.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"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":"The rate is fixed in January. Applied overhead uses actual hours; say which direction the difference runs.","rubricLabels":["The five lines start Overhead rate:, Applied overhead:, Actual overhead:, Difference: and Job 214: in that order, and Overhead rate shows $120,000 / 8,000 = $15 per hour","Applied overhead shows 7,500 x $15 = $112,500 and Actual overhead shows $118,000, and Difference shows $118,000 - $112,500 = $5,500 under-applied","Job 214 shows 120 x $15 = $1,800, and the July revised hours estimate of 7,600 is not used"]}