{"id":"agent-free-overdue-invoice-reminders","audience":"freelancers","category":"agents","track":"agents","technique":"context","title":"Brief an assistant to chase only the right overdue invoices","free":false,"task":"You're a freelance designer and want an AI assistant to chase late payments. Write its brief: draft (never send) a reminder only for invoices that are past due, unpaid and not disputed, with the subject exactly \"Reminder: INV-### was due [date]\"; never add late fees; and ask you about anything unclear. Today is Nov 6, and something the tracker doesn't show yet: Harbor & Vine paid INV-104 by bank transfer yesterday. Output a plain-text numbered action log of at most 5 lines, ending with a DONE line that names which invoices got reminders.","materialLabel":"Invoice tracker and actions (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"Invoice tracker - Wren Okafor Design (exported Nov 6)\n\nINV-101 | Pinecone Studio | $1,200 | due Sep 30 | unpaid\nINV-102 | Tidewater Co. | $2,000 | due Oct 15 | unpaid | note: client disputes scope of round 3, call booked Nov 10\nINV-103 | Quill Media | $600 | due Oct 25 | unpaid | note: check arrived in mail Nov 3, not deposited yet\nINV-104 | Harbor & Vine | $800 | due Oct 20 | unpaid\nINV-105 | Moss Lane Bakery | $450 | due Nov 15 | unpaid\n\nContacts:\nPinecone Studio - Ada Ruiz, ada@pineconestudio.co\nHarbor & Vine - Tom Bell, accounts@harborandvine.com\nTidewater Co. - Lisa Chen, lisa@tidewaterco.com\nQuill Media - Omar Sayed, omar@quillmedia.net\nMoss Lane Bakery - Bea Moss, bea@mosslane.com\n\nAvailable actions:\ndraft_email(to, subject, body)\nsend_email(to, subject, body)\napply_late_fee(invoice, amount)\nmark_paid(invoice)\nASK_HUMAN(question)\nDONE(summary)","rules":[{"type":"maxBullets","max":5},{"type":"plainText"},{"type":"maxWords","max":140}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Shares the payment you know about","patterns":["inv-104","harbor","paid yesterday","bank transfer"]},{"label":"Skips disputes","patterns":["disput"]},{"label":"Says draft, never send","patterns":["draft","never send","don'?t send"]},{"label":"Sets the subject line","patterns":["subject"]},{"label":"Says how to finish","patterns":["done","stop","finish","last line","end with"]}],"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":["maxBullets","plainText"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting and runs long, especially when it explains each step.","fix":"Cap each line instead: \"each line under 20 words, no explanations.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Leaving out what only you know","why":"The tracker still says INV-104 is unpaid. The AI will nag a client who paid yesterday unless you tell it.","fix":"Add: \"Harbor & Vine paid INV-104 yesterday. Don't remind them.\"","checks":["r0","r2"]},{"title":"Ignoring the notes column","why":"The AI may nag a client in a dispute or one whose check already arrived.","fix":"Add: \"Skip disputed invoices and any with a note that payment arrived.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"No subject format","why":"The AI writes chatty subjects like \"Friendly follow-up!\" that clients skim past.","fix":"Say: \"Subject exactly: Reminder: INV-### was due [date].\"","checks":["r0"]}],"hint":"The tracker is a day behind your bank account. Tell the assistant what you know, which notes rule an invoice out, and the exact subject to use.","rubricLabels":["Drafts exactly one reminder, for INV-101 (Pinecone Studio), with the subject \"Reminder: INV-101 was due Sep 30\" (or the same wording with the date written slightly differently)","No reminder goes to Harbor & Vine (paid yesterday), Tidewater (disputed), Quill Media (check received) or Moss Lane (not due), and there is no send_email or apply_late_fee line","The last line is a DONE line naming INV-101 as the only invoice that got a reminder"]}