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Work out early-payment discount dates and amounts from the terms

  • For Small business owners
  • You practice Giving the right context
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Beginner

About this exercise

You're deciding the order of payments for a small business. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting "Discount deadline:", "Pay by discount date:", "Full amount due:" and "Net due date:", each with the math. Terms are measured from the invoice date, not the date it arrived. Facts only: no advice on whether to take the discount. Under 60 words. No bullets or numbering.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Counting from the received date. The AI starts the 10 days on Nov 9 and gets Nov 19. Try: Say: "Count days from the invoice date, not the date received."
  • Giving advice. The AI recommends paying early or waiting for cash. Try: Add: "Facts only. Do not advise."
  • Missing the discount amount. The AI writes 'save 2%' without the dollars. Try: Say: "Show the discount in dollars."
  • 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 four lines
  • Counts from the invoice date
  • Shows the discount math
  • Bans advice
  • Caps length

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