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Write the journal lines for selling a piece of equipment

  • For Small business owners
  • You practice Asking for a format you can use
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Beginner

About this exercise

You're booking the sale of a used delivery van. Write a prompt for plain text starting with two lines, "Net book value:" and "Gain or loss:", each with the math, then one line per journal line in the form "Dr 1000 Cash 3,424", then a last line "Check:" with the debit and credit totals added. Keep sales tax out of the gain. Under 100 words. No bullets.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Putting sales tax in the gain. The AI computes gain on $3,424 and reports $924. Try: Add: "Sales tax excluded from the gain; it is a payable."
  • Unbalanced entry. The AI leaves out accumulated depreciation or the tax payable line. Try: Say: "Include every account affected, and end with a Check: line."
  • Using market value. The AI values the van from the owner's comment. Try: Add: "Ignore the owner's comment about market value."
  • 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 first lines
  • Excludes sales tax from gain
  • Gives the journal format
  • Asks for the check
  • Caps length

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