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Summarize team expenses by category and flag a missing receipt

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

About this exercise

You're summarizing expense lines for a manager, Kim. Write a prompt for a markdown table with columns Category | Total, one row per category in alphabetical order, then a line starting "Total:" with all category totals added, and a line starting "Missing receipts:" naming the line and amount. No commentary. Under 90 words.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Wrong category totals. The AI drops a parking or taxi line. Try: Say: "Add every line in each category, to the cent."
  • Splitting Meals. The AI creates Client meals and Team meals rows. Try: Add: "Do not split Meals."
  • Missing the receipt flag. The AI never mentions the line with no receipt. Try: Add: 'A line starting "Missing receipts:" with the date, description and amount.'
  • Total line without addition. The AI shows only the total. Try: Add: "Total: with the four totals added."
  • 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
  • Asks for alphabetical order
  • Asks for the total line
  • Asks for the missing receipt line
  • Limits output

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