Library › Finance AI › Accountants

Record a write-off against the allowance and show the balances

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

About this exercise

You're recording a customer write-off that has been approved. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting "Entry:", then two journal lines in the form "Dr 1250 Allowance 1,800", then "AR after:", "Allowance after:" and "Income effect:". The company uses the allowance method. Show the math on the balances. Don't suggest an expense entry. Under 80 words. No bullets or numbering.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Debiting bad debt expense. The AI books the write-off to 6810. Try: Add: "Allowance method: debit the allowance, not expense. Do not mention 6810."
  • Reducing only AR. The AI doesn't reduce the allowance. Try: Say: "Allowance after: $7,300 - $1,800 = $5,500."
  • Wrong income effect. The AI says net income falls by $1,800. Try: Add: "Income effect: none at write-off."
  • 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

  • Names the lines
  • Gives the journal form
  • Shows the balance math
  • Bans an expense entry
  • Caps length

Practice this now ↑

Related exercises