{"id":"acct-po-over-budget-routing-lines","audience":"accounting","category":"finance-work","track":"finance","technique":"constraints","level":"beginner","title":"Check a purchase order against remaining budget and route it","free":false,"task":"You're checking a new purchase order before approval. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting \"Remaining budget:\", \"PO amount:\", \"Over by:\" and \"Routing:\". Remaining budget is annual budget minus spend to date minus open commitments. Routing is exactly \"Needs director approval\" if the PO exceeds the remaining budget, otherwise \"Within budget\". Don't mention the supplier's price deadline. Under 60 words. No bullets or numbering.","materialLabel":"Budget status and PO request (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"PO REQUEST CHECK - Facilities, Nov 6, 2026\n\nAnnual budget for the line (6450 Repairs): $20,000\nSpend to date: $13,200\nOpen commitments (issued POs not yet invoiced): $2,600\n\nNew PO request: replacement dock door, Corbel Industrial, $4,800.\n\nPolicy: a PO that exceeds the remaining budget on its line needs director approval before it is issued. Remaining budget = annual budget - spend to date - open commitments.\n\nNote: the buyer says the supplier's price is only good until Friday and asks to issue the PO now. Approval requirements don't depend on the price deadline.","rules":[{"type":"plainText"},{"type":"maxWords","max":60},{"type":"maxBullets","max":0}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Names the four lines","patterns":["remaining budget","po amount","over by","routing"]},{"label":"Gives the formula","patterns":["annual budget - spend"]},{"label":"Quotes the routing words","patterns":["needs director approval","within budget"]},{"label":"Bans the deadline","patterns":["(do not|don'?t).*(deadline|price)"]},{"label":"Caps length","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","plain"]}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Ignoring open commitments","why":"The AI computes $6,800 remaining and says within budget.","fix":"Say: \"Remaining = budget - spend to date - open commitments.\"","checks":["r0","r2"]},{"title":"Echoing the price deadline","why":"The AI mentions the supplier's Friday deadline.","fix":"Add: \"Do not mention the supplier's price deadline.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Free-form routing","why":"The AI writes 'should probably get approval'.","fix":"Quote the exact routing words.","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","maxBullets","r1"]},{"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":"A PO check subtracts commitments, then routes with exact words. Give the formula and the bans.","rubricLabels":["The line starting \"Remaining budget:\" shows $20,000 - $13,200 - $2,600 = $4,200","The line starting \"PO amount:\" shows $4,800 and the line starting \"Over by:\" shows $4,800 - $4,200 = $600","The line starting \"Routing:\" is exactly \"Needs director approval\" and the output never mentions the supplier's Friday price deadline"]}