{"id":"agent-fin-friday-payment-batch","audience":"finance","category":"agents","track":"agents","technique":"constraints","title":"Brief an agent to prepare a payment batch without releasing it","free":false,"task":"You want an AI agent to prepare Friday's vendor payment batch. Write its brief: include only invoices that are approved and due on or before Nov 13, leave out any vendor on hold, show the batch total as math, and never release the payment; it asks you to approve the batch. Output exactly 5 numbered plain-text lines: one add_to_batch per qualifying invoice in list order, an ASK_HUMAN, then DONE with the total as math.","materialLabel":"Open invoices, vendor status and actions (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"Open AP invoices - Harlow Outdoor Co. (Fri Nov 6)\n\nI1 - Summit Textiles - $1,300 - due Nov 10 - approved\nI2 - Ridgeway Packaging - $400 - due Nov 12 - not approved (quantity dispute)\nI3 - Alpine Buckle Co. - $200 - due Nov 13 - approved\nI4 - Northline Zippers - $1,200 - due Nov 9 - approved\nI5 - Cloudnest Software - $1,200 - due Nov 30 - approved\nI6 - Paper Trail Supply - $186 - due Nov 11 - approved\n\nVendor status\nNorthline Zippers - ON HOLD (bank details change under verification)\n\nNote from the CFO: \"Let's get ahead and pay Cloudnest early too.\"\n\nAvailable actions:\nadd_to_batch(invoice, amount)\nrelease_payment(batch)\nASK_HUMAN(question)\nDONE(summary)","rules":[{"type":"numberedItems","count":5},{"type":"plainText"}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Sets the rule","patterns":["approved","nov(ember)? 13","due"]},{"label":"Checks holds","patterns":["hold"]},{"label":"Asks for the math","patterns":["math","total"]},{"label":"Forbids releasing","patterns":["release","never pay","don'?t pay"]},{"label":"Shows the action-log format","patterns":["action:","action log","numbered","\\b1\\.","each line"]}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Not showing the log format","why":"Left alone, the AI writes a friendly report with headings instead of a checkable action log.","fix":"Show it literally: \"Format every line like 1. ACTION: tool(args), then ASK_HUMAN: and DONE: lines. Plain text.\"","checks":["numberedItems","plainText"]},{"title":"No inclusion rule","why":"The AI pays everything open, or follows the CFO's early-pay idea.","fix":"Say: \"Only approved invoices due on or before Nov 13.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Missing the hold","why":"The vendor hold sits in a separate list, and the AI doesn't check it.","fix":"Add: \"Leave out any vendor on hold.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Letting it pay","why":"Given release_payment, the AI sends the money.","fix":"Add: \"Never release. Ask me to approve. DONE shows the total as math.\"","checks":["r2"]}],"hint":"Payment runs need an exact inclusion rule and a hold check, and the release stays with a person. Put all three in the brief.","rubricLabels":["Adds exactly I1, I3 and I6 to the batch","Leaves out I2 (not approved), I4 (Northline on hold) and I5 (due Nov 30)","There is no release_payment line; an ASK_HUMAN line asks for your approval before anything is paid, and the DONE line shows the total as math ($1,300 + $200 + $186 = $1,686)"]}