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Plan a payment run under a cash cap and flag the shortfall

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

About this exercise

You're preparing the Nov 6 payment run for the controller. Pay anything due before the next run on Nov 20, take any early-pay discount, and keep to the cap. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting "Pay now:" (one per invoice, with the amount to pay), "Total:", "Cap:", "Over by:", "Hold to Nov 20:" and "Recommendation:". Do not decide what to do about a shortfall; the Recommendation line asks the controller to choose. Under 120 words.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Ignoring the minimum balance. The AI uses the full $30,000 as the cap. Try: Say: "Cap = bank balance minus the $5,000 minimum."
  • Missing the discount. The AI pays Northwind in full. Try: Add: "Take the 2% discount and show $12,000 - $240."
  • Deciding the shortfall. The AI skips an invoice on its own. Try: Add: "Do not choose; ask the controller to decide."
  • 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
  • Sets the cap rule
  • Applies the discount
  • Leaves the call to the controller
  • Caps length

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