{"id":"fpa-monthly-churn-mrr-three-month-lines","audience":"fpa","category":"finance-work","track":"finance","technique":"verification","level":"intermediate","title":"Project three months of MRR with churn on opening balance","free":false,"task":"You're projecting recurring revenue for the CRO. Write a prompt for plain text with four lines starting \"Month 1:\", \"Month 2:\", \"Month 3:\" and \"Change:\". Each month line shows opening MRR minus churn plus new MRR equals closing MRR. Churn is 2% of that month's opening MRR (the annual 24% figure is not used). The Change line gives closing Month 3 minus the starting MRR. Round to whole dollars. Under 90 words.","materialLabel":"Source material (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"MRR PROJECTION INPUTS - starting Nov 1, 2026\n\nStarting MRR (Oct 31 close): $500,000\nNew MRR added per month (from the signed-and-scheduled pipeline): $15,000\n\nChurn:\n- Monthly gross churn assumption: 2% of the month's opening MRR\n- The dashboard headline reads \"Annual churn 24%\". This is the same assumption stated per year and must not be applied again on top of the monthly rate.\n\nNot included in this projection: expansion revenue, price increases and pipeline that is not yet scheduled.\n\nOwner: the CRO asked for a simple view for the Nov 12 forecast call. The projection will be compared with the board plan, which assumed MRR of $520,000 by Jan 31. The finance team will refine it once the December renewal list is final.","rules":[{"type":"plainText"},{"type":"maxWords","max":90}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Names the four lines","patterns":["month 1","month 2","month 3","change"]},{"label":"Sets churn on opening MRR","patterns":["opening","2%"]},{"label":"Excludes the annual rate","patterns":["24%","annual","not"]},{"label":"Asks for rounding","patterns":["whole dollar","round"]},{"label":"Caps length","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","under \\d+"]}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Applying churn to the start balance","why":"The AI takes 2% of $500,000 every month.","fix":"Say: \"Churn is 2% of each month's opening MRR.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Using the annual rate","why":"The AI uses 24% a month or stacks both.","fix":"Add: \"The annual 24% is the same assumption; do not apply it.\"","checks":["r0","r2"]},{"title":"Skipping the equation","why":"The AI gives only closing numbers.","fix":"Add: \"Each line: opening - churn + new = closing.\"","checks":["r0","r1"]},{"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":"Churn compounds because each month's opening balance changes. Spell out the formula per line.","rubricLabels":["Month 1 shows $500,000 - $10,000 + $15,000 = $505,000","Month 2 shows $505,000 - $10,100 + $15,000 = $509,900 and Month 3 shows $509,900 - $10,198 + $15,000 = $514,702","The Change line shows $514,702 - $500,000 = $14,702, and churn is not applied a second time as 24%"]}