{"id":"acct-recurring-entries-day-checklist","audience":"accounting","category":"finance-work","track":"finance","technique":"format","level":"beginner","title":"Sort recurring close tasks into a dated checklist for October","free":false,"task":"You're building the October close checklist for the team. Write a prompt for plain text with one line per task in this form: \"[ ] Day N: task (owner)\", sorted by day then in the order listed, followed by a last line starting \"Skipped:\" naming any task that does not apply to October. Use the latest due days. Under 110 words.","materialLabel":"Source material (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"RECURRING CLOSE TASKS (business day numbers after month end)\n\n- Payroll accrual: Day 1, Sam\n- Depreciation entry: Day 2, Dana\n- Prepaid amortization: Day 2, Dana\n- Bank reconciliation: Day 3, Lee\n- AP accrual: Day 3, Sam\n- Utilities accrual: Day 3, Dana\n- Intercompany match: Day 4, Lee\n- Quarterly provision review: Day 5, Dana (quarter-end months only: March, June, September, December)\n\nChange notice from the controller, Oct 20: the utilities accrual moves to Day 4 because the utility now posts its bill later in the month.\n\nContext: October is not a quarter-end month. The close starts on Nov 2. Sam is out on Day 3 and has asked that his Day 3 task be reviewed by Lee; this does not change the owner on the checklist. The finished checklist will be printed and pinned at the team's desks.","rules":[{"type":"plainText"},{"type":"maxWords","max":110}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Shows the line format","patterns":["\\[ \\]","day n","(owner)"]},{"label":"Uses the change","patterns":["latest","change","moves"]},{"label":"Asks for Skipped","patterns":["skipped"]},{"label":"Sorts by day","patterns":["sort","order","day then"]},{"label":"Caps length","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","under \\d+"]}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Using the old utilities day","why":"The AI keeps Day 3.","fix":"Say: \"Use the latest due days, including the controller's change.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Including the quarterly task","why":"The AI lists all eight tasks.","fix":"Add: \"Skip tasks that do not apply to October and list them on a Skipped line.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Wrong line shape","why":"The AI writes a table or bullets.","fix":"Add: \"Each line like: [ ] Day 1: Payroll accrual (Sam).\"","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":"Checklists get the format from your example line. Tell the AI to apply the change notice and what to do with tasks that don't apply.","rubricLabels":["Seven lines each in the form \"[ ] Day N: task (owner)\" and sorted by day: Day 1 payroll accrual; Day 2 depreciation and prepaid; Day 3 bank reconciliation and AP accrual; Day 4 utilities accrual and intercompany match","The utilities accrual shows Day 4 with owner Dana (not Day 3)","The last line starts \"Skipped:\" and names the quarterly provision review, which is not in the checklist lines"]}