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Write AR collection templates for three aging buckets

  • For Accountants
  • You practice Setting limits and rules
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Intermediate

About this exercise

Your AR team needs reusable emails for the 1-30, 31-60 and 61-90 day buckets, following the collections practice. Write a prompt for three templates headed exactly "1-30 days:", "31-60 days:" and "61-90 days:", each using the fields [Customer], [Invoice #], [Amount] and [Due date]. Riverbend stopped charging late fees in 2025 and never mentions collection agencies. Plain text, under 300 words in total.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Reusing the old template. The AI picks up the 2023 wording, late fee and collection-agency threat included. Try: Say: "We stopped late fees in 2025 and never mention collection agencies or legal action."
  • Generic escalation. The AI invents its own escalation steps instead of the team's actions per bucket. Try: Ask: "Follow the practice for each bucket: reminder, ask for a date in writing, then credit hold."
  • No reusable fields. The AI writes for a made-up customer with made-up amounts. Try: List the fields: "Use [Customer], [Invoice #], [Amount], [Due date] in brackets."
  • Markdown and long emails. Templates come back with bold headers and long paragraphs. Try: Say: "Plain text, each template under 70 words, headed exactly 1-30 days: etc."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. Three emails easily run past a total word limit. Try: Cap each template on its own, well under a third of the total.

What a strong prompt includes

  • Names the three buckets
  • Lists the fields
  • Rules out late fees and threats
  • Follows the practice
  • Sets length and format

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