Library › Finance AI › Accountants

Record a customer deposit and the part earned by month end

  • For Accountants
  • You practice Catching mistakes and made-up facts
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Intermediate

About this exercise

You're recording a customer deposit and its first revenue. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting "Oct 20:" and "Jan 31:", each followed by journal lines in the form "Dr 1000 Cash 5,000", then lines starting "Earned:", "Remaining deposit:" and "Check:". Revenue is recognized as the work is performed, using the project manager's percent complete. Under 90 words. No bullets or numbering.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Booking the deposit to revenue. The AI credits revenue on Oct 20, as the rep suggests. Try: Add: "Deposits are liabilities until earned."
  • Applying 60% to the project price. The AI earns 60% x $12,500 = $7,500. Try: Say: "Apply the 60% to the deposit only."
  • No balance check. The AI doesn't show both entries balance. Try: Add: "Check: debits equal credits on each entry."
  • 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

  • Gives the entry dates
  • Gives the line form
  • Asks for earned and remaining
  • Bans the rep's idea
  • Caps length

Practice this now ↑

Related exercises