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Walk from the AP ledger to the vendor statement balance in two steps

  • For Accountants
  • You practice Catching mistakes and made-up facts
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Advanced

About this exercise

You're reconciling a vendor statement to the AP ledger. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting "AP ledger:", "Add INV-91:", "Adjusted AP:", "Add INV-88:", "Vendor statement:" and "Open item:". Show each step as an equation. Add only an invoice the receiving log supports in the first step; the second step is the vendor's invoice we cannot support. The Open item line names the question for the vendor and the owner of the decision, and does not say whether to pay. Under 110 words.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Adding both invoices at once. The AI jumps from $11,900 to $14,200. Try: Say: "Add INV-91 first (receiving supports it), then INV-88 separately."
  • Recommending payment. The AI tells AP to pay or hold INV-88. Try: Add: "Do not say whether to pay; name the decision owner."
  • Missing the vendor question. The AI leaves out the proof of delivery request. Try: Add: "Open item: the question for the vendor."
  • Missing labels. The AI writes a table or paragraph. Try: Add: "Six lines with these exact labels in order."
  • 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
  • Orders the two steps
  • Asks for equations
  • Leaves the decision to a person
  • Caps length

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