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Check cardholder spending against single and monthly limits

  • For Accountants
  • You practice Asking for a format you can use
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Intermediate

About this exercise

You're reviewing October purchase card activity. Write a prompt for a markdown table with columns Holder | Total | Over $2,000 monthly limit | Over $500 single limit, one row per holder. The third column says Yes or No; the fourth gives the count of transactions over $500 (exactly $500 is not over). Then one line starting "Total spend:" with the addition. Don't comment on intent or justify any purchase. No commentary. Under 90 words.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Counting the $500 transaction. The AI counts Ravi's $500 purchase as over the limit and gets 3. Try: Add: "Exactly $500 is not over."
  • Wrong totals. The AI mis-adds a holder's transactions. Try: Say: "Total = the holder's transactions added."
  • Repeating explanations. The AI includes 'urgent client orders'. Try: Add: "Do not mention the holders' explanations or intent."
  • Wrong columns. The AI drops the count and uses Yes/No for both. Try: Say: "Monthly column Yes or No; single-limit column a count."
  • 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 columns
  • States the $500 edge case
  • Asks for the total line
  • Bans explanations
  • Limits output

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