{"id":"acct-petty-cash-count-sheet","audience":"small-business","category":"finance-work","track":"finance","technique":"format","level":"beginner","title":"Fill in a petty cash count sheet and report the shortage","free":false,"task":"You're counting the petty cash box at a small shop. Write a prompt for a plain-text count sheet with these labels, one per line: \"Fund:\", \"Cash on hand:\", \"Receipts total:\", \"Total accounted for:\", \"Over/short:\". Each of the last three shows the math. Count each receipt number once, and report a shortage as is without adjusting or explaining it away. Under 70 words.","materialLabel":"Count notes from today's petty cash count (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"Petty cash count - Nov 6, 2026 - Maple Row Hardware\nCustodian: Beth. Counted by: Owner, with Beth present.\n\nFund (imprest) amount: $300.00\n\nCash in the box:\n  2 x $20 = $40.00\n  4 x $10 = $40.00\n  3 x $5 = $15.00\n  47 x $1 = $47.00\n  Coins: $0.50\n  Total cash: $142.50\n\nReceipts in the box (all dated since the last replenishment on Oct 16):\n  #4470  Office Depot  $65.00\n  #4471  Coffee supplies  $38.25\n  #4472  Postage  $29.80\n  #4471  Coffee supplies  $38.25  (photocopy of the first #4471 receipt, found stapled behind it)\n\nBeth said she may have lent $20 to a coworker last week, but there is no IOU in the box.","rules":[{"type":"plainText"},{"type":"maxWords","max":70}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Lists the five labels","patterns":["fund:","cash on hand","receipts total","over/short"]},{"label":"Asks for the math","patterns":["show","addition","math"]},{"label":"Counts receipts once","patterns":["once","duplicate","photocopy"]},{"label":"Blocks explaining away","patterns":["(don'?t|do not).*(adjust|count)"]},{"label":"Caps length","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","plain"]}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Counting the photocopy","why":"The AI adds the second #4471 receipt and shows $171.30.","fix":"Say: \"Count each receipt number once; a photocopy isn't a second receipt.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Wrong shortage","why":"The AI doesn't subtract total accounted for from the fund, or reports it as over.","fix":"Ask for \"fund minus total accounted for, and say short or over\".","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Explaining away the gap","why":"The AI counts Beth's possible loan or books the gap to expense.","fix":"Add: \"Don't adjust the difference or count the unproven loan.\"","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 line short.","checks":["maxWords"]}],"hint":"There's a duplicate receipt and a tempting excuse. Ask for the math on each line and tell the AI not to explain away the gap.","rubricLabels":["Receipts total shows $65.00 + $38.25 + $29.80 = $133.05, with the photocopied #4471 counted once","Total accounted for shows $142.50 + $133.05 = $275.55 and Over/short shows $300.00 - $275.55 = $24.45 short","Reports the $24.45 as short without adjusting it, and doesn't treat the possible $20 loan as an explanation or an accounted-for amount"]}