Age reconciling items and escalate those over 60 days

About this exercise

You're closing the operating account reconciliation on Nov 6, 2026. Write a prompt for plain text with one line per reconciling item, oldest first, formatted "Item - N days - $amount - Escalate or Monitor", then a last line starting "Escalated total:" with the addition. Age runs from the item date to Nov 6. Escalate items more than 60 days old. Don't guess who or what an unidentified item belongs to. Under 110 words. No bullets or numbering.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

• Attributing the deposit. The AI repeats the preparer's guess that Delgado paid. Try: Add: "Call it unidentified; do not say who it belongs to."
• Miscounting days. The AI counts from the wrong date or by months. Try: Say: "Age = calendar days from the item date to Nov 6."
• Escalating by amount. The AI escalates the biggest item (the $2,200 deposit). Try: Add: "Escalate if more than 60 days old, otherwise Monitor."
• 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

• States the date and age rule
• Gives the line format
• States the 60-day rule
• Bans guessing
• Caps length

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