{"id":"fpa-rule-of-40-lines","audience":"fpa","category":"finance-work","track":"finance","technique":"grounding","level":"beginner","title":"Compute the Rule of 40 score using the company's definition","free":false,"task":"You're preparing a KPI line for the board deck. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting \"Revenue growth:\", \"EBITDA margin:\", \"Rule of 40 score:\" and \"Gap to 40:\", each with the math. The company defines the score as year-over-year revenue growth plus EBITDA margin, in percentage points. Facts only: no advice. Under 60 words. No bullets or numbering.","materialLabel":"Metrics page and definitions (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"FY26 YTD METRICS - Pinecrest Software (as of Sep 30)\n\nRevenue, YTD FY26: $9,300,000\nRevenue, YTD FY25: $7,500,000\nARR growth, year over year: 28%\nEBITDA, YTD FY26: $837,000\nOperating margin: 5%\n\nCompany definition (KPI glossary): Rule of 40 score = year-over-year revenue growth % + EBITDA margin %, using the same YTD period. Revenue growth uses recognized revenue, not ARR.\n\nThe CEO mentioned in the last all-hands: \"We're basically at 40 if you count ARR growth.\" That's not the glossary definition.","rules":[{"type":"plainText"},{"type":"maxWords","max":60},{"type":"maxBullets","max":0}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Names the four lines","patterns":["revenue growth","ebitda margin","rule of 40 score","gap to 40"]},{"label":"Uses recognized revenue","patterns":["recognized","not arr","glossary"]},{"label":"Asks for arithmetic","patterns":["arithmetic","math"]},{"label":"Bans advice","patterns":["no advice","facts only"]},{"label":"Caps length","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","plain"]}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Using ARR growth","why":"The AI uses the CEO's 28% and reports 37.","fix":"Say: \"Use recognized revenue growth, not ARR growth.\"","checks":["r0","r2"]},{"title":"Using operating margin","why":"The AI adds the 5% operating margin.","fix":"Add: \"EBITDA margin = EBITDA / revenue.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Adding advice","why":"The AI suggests how to reach 40.","fix":"Add: \"Facts only, no advice.\"","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"]},{"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":"Two growth numbers and two margins are in the notes. Name the ones the glossary uses, with the line labels.","rubricLabels":["Revenue growth line shows ($9,300,000 - $7,500,000) / $7,500,000 = 24.0% (recognized revenue, not the 28% ARR growth)","EBITDA margin line shows $837,000 / $9,300,000 = 9.0%","Rule of 40 score line shows 24.0 + 9.0 = 33.0 and Gap to 40 line shows 40 - 33.0 = 7.0 points, with no advice"]}