The prompt
Score 10 of 10, Excellent
Use it when A big order or client could make your year or overstretch you, and you want the cash, capacity and risk checked before you say yes.
- {{business}}
- {{opportunity}}
- {{current_business}}
- {{requirements}}
- {{client_notes}}
Full prompt and why it works
Prompt
Help me think through whether {{business}} should take on the large order or client below, so I can decide with the cash, capacity and risk in front of me. I do not want a yes or no from you; I want the numbers and the questions that should decide it. The opportunity (what they want, volumes, price, timing, payment terms, contract length): """ {{opportunity}} """ My current business (monthly revenue, monthly overheads, gross margin, biggest customers and their share, cash in the bank, team and capacity): """ {{current_business}} """ What I would need to deliver it (extra staff, materials, equipment, upfront costs), with costs: {{requirements}} What I already know about the client (references, how they treat suppliers): {{client_notes}} Produce: 1. Profit on the deal: revenue minus direct costs, with the calculation. If a cost runs longer than the deal, such as a 12-month lease for a 4-month job, count all of it against the deal and say so. 2. Cash timing: a month-by-month table from the start until I am paid, with the columns Month, Deal cash out, Deal cash in, Usual monthly result (from my current business), Running cash, starting from my current cash. Use the payment terms as stated, show the lowest point and whether my cash covers it, and add one line showing the lowest point if they pay a month late. 3. Capacity: whether my team and equipment can deliver it alongside current work, using my figures. 4. Dependence: this client's share of my revenue over the next 12 months, as a calculation, for example "60,000 / (180,000 + 60,000) = 25%". 5. Risks: up to 5, each with what could reduce it, such as a deposit, staged payments or a smaller first order. 6. Questions to ask the client, and contract questions for a lawyer: up to 5 each. 7. What would have to be true for this to be a good deal: up to 4 statements. Rules: - Use only my figures, and do not invent industry norms. - Do not give legal advice on the contract; put contract points in the lawyer questions. A good answer shows the lowest cash point clearly enough that I could take it to my bank. Keep it under 450 words outside the table. If key figures such as payment terms or delivery costs are missing, list them first and work with the rest.
Variables
- {{business}}
- Your business in a few words, for example "our four-person print shop".
- {{opportunity}}
- The order or client: what, how much, price, timing, payment terms and length of commitment.
- {{current_business}}
- Monthly revenue, monthly overheads, gross margin, top customers and their share, cash, team and current workload.
- {{requirements}}
- Extra people, materials, equipment or upfront spending the deal needs, with costs and how long each commitment lasts.
- {{client_notes}}
- What you know about how they pay and work with suppliers, or "nothing yet".
Why it works
- Who it's for. It is built for a decision you make, so it delivers the numbers and conditions rather than a yes or no from the model.
- What good looks like. A month-by-month cash table, including your normal business and a pays-a-month-late line, shows the lowest point before the client pays, the number that sinks small businesses that win big orders.
- If unsure. Missing payment terms or costs are listed first, so you know which parts of the analysis are still open before relying on it.