Turn a messy hours log into invoice lines with a scope cap

About this exercise

You're invoicing a client for October design work at $60/hour. Write exactly 3 numbered lines, one per project, each showing the hours added up x $60 = amount, then one unnumbered last line: Total due: $X. Leave out work from other months and apply the contract's hour cap. Plain text, under 70 words, nothing else.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

• Billing every line. The AI adds the September call, the coffee chat and November tweaks. Try: Add: "Only October billable work."
• Missing the cap. The AI bills all 9 template hours though the contract caps them at 8. Try: Add: "Cap social templates at 8 hours."
• Not asking to see the work. A client may question a bare number. Try: Add a line to copy: "1. Menu layout: 4 + 2.5 = 6.5h x $60 = $390"
• Leaving the ending open. The AI adds payment terms and a friendly note. Try: Add: "End with Total due: $X. Nothing after it."
• Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it. Try: Cap each line: "each line under 14 words."
• Forgetting where it goes. AI loves markdown tables and bold, which show up as clutter in an invoice tool's line items. Try: Add: "Plain text, no bold, headings or tables."

What a strong prompt includes

• Limits it to October
• Applies the cap
• Asks to show the math
• Sets a word limit
• Asks for plain text

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