Ask a new vendor for its tax form without giving tax advice

About this exercise

You're in accounts payable. A new vendor sent its first invoice, and you can't pay it until its W-9 form is on file. Write a prompt for a short plain-text email to the vendor contact. It asks for the completed W-9, says to upload it through the vendor portal and not by email, gives the date the form is needed to make the next payment run, and says nothing about taxes or withholding. Under 90 words; sign off exactly "Priya, Accounts Payable".

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

• Accepting the emailed form. The AI follows Dana's offer and asks for the form by email. Try: Say: "Ask them to upload it in the portal, never by email."
• Missing the deadline. The AI says "soon" instead of the real cutoff date. Try: Add: "Give Nov 16 as the date and say what happens to invoice 5521."
• Drifting into tax talk. The AI explains why W-9s are needed or what to enter. Try: Add: "Say nothing about taxes or withholding."
• 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 form and the portal
• Gives the deadline
• Bans tax talk
• Fixes the sign-off
• Caps length

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