Accrue unbilled legal fees from a range using the midpoint policy

About this exercise

You're accruing October legal fees. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting "Range:", "Midpoint:", "Already billed:", "Accrual:", "Entry:" and "Open question:". Policy: when a vendor gives a range with no best estimate, accrue the midpoint; if it is unclear whether an estimate includes amounts already billed, assume it does and ask the vendor to confirm. Show the math. The Open question is one question for the law firm, not a conclusion. Under 110 words.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

• Accruing the full midpoint. The AI books $17,500 on top of the $6,000 invoice. Try: Add: "Assume the estimate includes amounts already billed; subtract them."
• Using the low end. The AI accrues $15,000. Try: Add: "Policy: accrue the midpoint of a range."
• Skipping the question. The AI states the estimate includes the invoice as a fact. Try: Add: "Open question: ask the firm to confirm."
• 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 part short.

What a strong prompt includes

• Names the six lines
• Applies the midpoint policy
• Subtracts amounts billed
• Names the accounts
• Caps length

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