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Compute an aging-based reserve and flag the account that needs a call

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

About this exercise

You're computing the general bad debt reserve for the controller. Write a prompt for plain text with exactly eight lines starting "Current:", "1-30:", "31-60:", "61-90:", "90+:", "Total general reserve:", "Change vs booked:" and "Flag:". Bucket lines show balance x rate = reserve. Exclude any customer the notes identify as a specific problem from the bucket math, and just list them in the Flag line with the amount. Don't propose a reserve for the flagged account. Under 100 words.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Reserving Orion in the buckets. The AI applies 50% to the whole 90+ bucket, $2,500. Try: Say: "Remove Orion Tools ($3,200) from 90+ before applying the rate."
  • Inventing a specific reserve. The AI proposes 100% for Orion or estimates a recovery. Try: Add: "Do not propose a reserve or recovery for it."
  • Skipping the math. The AI lists reserves without balance x rate. Try: Say: "Bucket lines show balance x rate = reserve."
  • Markdown extras. The AI adds bold labels, headings and a closing note. Try: Say: "Plain text, no bold. Output only the lines asked for."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and runs past word limits. Try: Ask for fewer words than the real cap and keep each line short.

What a strong prompt includes

  • Names the eight lines
  • Excludes the flagged customer
  • Asks for balance x rate
  • Bans proposing a reserve for it
  • Caps length

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