{"id":"acct-payment-run-cap-shortfall-decision","audience":"accounting","category":"finance-work","track":"finance","technique":"constraints","level":"advanced","title":"Plan a payment run under a cash cap and flag the shortfall","free":false,"task":"You're preparing the Nov 6 payment run for the controller. Pay anything due before the next run on Nov 20, take any early-pay discount, and keep to the cap. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting \"Pay now:\" (one per invoice, with the amount to pay), \"Total:\", \"Cap:\", \"Over by:\", \"Hold to Nov 20:\" and \"Recommendation:\". Do not decide what to do about a shortfall; the Recommendation line asks the controller to choose. Under 120 words.","materialLabel":"Source material (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"PAYMENT RUN - Fri Nov 6, 2026\n\nBank balance today: $30,000\nMinimum balance policy: keep $5,000 in the account.\nNext payment run: Fri Nov 20.\n\nOpen invoices:\n- Northwind Lumber: $12,000, due Nov 10, 2% discount if paid by Nov 8\n- Metro Electric: $6,500, due Nov 12 (utility, service shutoff after 30 days late)\n- Orion Supplies: $7,200, due Nov 18\n- CloudHost: $8,000, due Nov 25\n- Harbor Legal: $9,000, due Nov 30\n\nController notes: Northwind is our main lumber supplier and has offered the discount in writing. Metro Electric invoices on a 30-day cycle and has never charged late fees. Orion Supplies and CloudHost invoices were approved in the system on Nov 3. Harbor Legal is awaiting approval of the final bill.\n\nNote: no early-pay discount is offered by anyone other than Northwind.","rules":[{"type":"plainText"},{"type":"maxWords","max":120}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Names the six lines","patterns":["pay now","total","cap","over by","hold","recommendation"]},{"label":"Sets the cap rule","patterns":["minimum","5,000","cap"]},{"label":"Applies the discount","patterns":["discount","2%"]},{"label":"Leaves the call to the controller","patterns":["controller","do not decide","don'?t decide"]},{"label":"Caps length","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","under \\d+"]}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Ignoring the minimum balance","why":"The AI uses the full $30,000 as the cap.","fix":"Say: \"Cap = bank balance minus the $5,000 minimum.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Missing the discount","why":"The AI pays Northwind in full.","fix":"Add: \"Take the 2% discount and show $12,000 - $240.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Deciding the shortfall","why":"The AI skips an invoice on its own.","fix":"Add: \"Do not choose; ask the controller to decide.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"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":"Work out the cap first. If the invoices due before the next run don't fit, the AI should report the gap and ask a person to choose.","rubricLabels":["\"Pay now:\" lines show Northwind $12,000 - $240 = $11,760, Metro Electric $6,500 and Orion Supplies $7,200 (the three invoices due before Nov 20)","Total is $25,460, Cap is $25,000 ($30,000 - $5,000) and Over by is $460, and \"Hold to Nov 20:\" lists CloudHost and Harbor Legal","The Recommendation line asks the controller to choose between options (such as asking Orion to wait or going under the minimum balance) and does not itself pick an invoice to skip or pay late"]}