thinkhard.SI

Prompt repository Finance & accounting

List month-end accruals and prepayments for review

You are closing the month and need costs incurred but not yet billed, and amounts paid in advance, turned into proposed entries.

Registry no.
FIN-019
Collection
Finance & accounting
Laid out for
Any chat model
Score
10 out of 10
Blanks to fill
6
Added

Finance & accountingAny chat

The prompt

Score 10 of 10, Excellent

Use it when You are closing the month and need costs incurred but not yet billed, and amounts paid in advance, turned into proposed entries.

  • {{period_end}}
  • {{reviewer}}
  • {{period_facts}}
  • {{prior_entries}}
  • {{accounts_and_basis}}
  • {{threshold}}
Full prompt and why it works
Prompt
Prepare a list of proposed month-end accrual and prepayment entries for {{period_end}}, for {{reviewer}} to review and post. The aim is that this month's costs land in this month, even when the bill arrives later or was paid earlier, so that profit for the month is neither overstated nor understated.

What we know (bills received after month-end, contracts and recurring costs, work done but not yet billed, payroll dates, payments made in advance):
"""
{{period_facts}}
"""

Last month's accruals and prepayments, if any:
"""
{{prior_entries}}
"""

Our accounts and accounting basis: {{accounts_and_basis}}
Smallest amount worth accruing: {{threshold}}

Produce:
1. Proposed entries: a table with the columns Item, Type (accrual, new prepayment, prepayment release, reversal), Debit account, Credit account, Amount, Calculation, Evidence. Show every calculation, for example "Annual insurance 9,600 paid in March / 12 months = 800 for April".
2. Check: total debits and total credits, which must match, and the net effect of the entries on this month's expenses.
3. Reversals: last month's accruals that should reverse because the bill has now arrived, and any that are still open.
4. Below threshold: items under the smallest amount (applied per item, per month), with their amounts.
5. Questions for the reviewer: facts that would change an amount.

Rules:
- Use only the amounts, dates and accounts given. Do not estimate a cost from what similar businesses pay; if an amount is unknown, propose no figure and put the item in the questions. If an amount is given as approximate, use it, label it "estimate from notes", and ask for the final figure.
- Where a cost covers part of a month, prorate by calendar days unless it follows working days (such as hourly wages), and say which you used.
- If no account in our list fits, write "Account to confirm".
- This is a proposal for review. Do not describe any entry as final, and do not comment on tax treatment.

A good list lets the reviewer post each entry without reopening the invoices. Keep everything outside the tables under 200 words. If our basis is cash accounting, say at the top that accruals do not normally apply and ask whether the reviewer still wants them listed.

Variables

{{period_end}}
The month-end date, for example "April 30".
{{reviewer}}
Who reviews and posts the entries, for example "our outside accountant".
{{period_facts}}
Everything relevant to this month's costs: late bills with their dates and amounts, contracts, unbilled work, prepayments.
{{prior_entries}}
Last month's accrual and prepayment entries, or "none".
{{accounts_and_basis}}
The account names to use and whether your books are on an accrual or cash basis, for example "accrual; Accrued expenses 2100, Prepaid expenses 1300".
{{threshold}}
The smallest amount you bother accruing, for example "500", or "none".

Why it works

  • What good looks like. Every entry carries its calculation and evidence, and the check shows the net effect on the month's expenses, so the reviewer can test each line before posting.
  • What to avoid. No cost is estimated from what other businesses pay; an unknown amount becomes a question, and an approximate one is labeled as an estimate.
  • If unsure. If the books are on a cash basis, it stops and asks first, since accruals may not belong there at all.

How to use it

  1. Press Fill in variables and type your details into each blank. What you type stays in this browser.
  2. Copy the filled prompt into the AI tool you already use, such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, or open it in the Grader or the Prompt Tester here.
  3. Before you rely on it, try it on three or four real examples. The Prompt Tester runs them all at once and shows which ones go wrong.
Use it from code

Get this prompt as JSON from the free REST API, with your own text in the blanks, or let an AI assistant fetch it through the MCP server. No key.

curl -s https://thinkhard.si/api/v1/prompts/month-end-accruals-list

With the MCP server added to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or VS Code, call get_prompt with {"prompt": "month-end-accruals-list"}, or just ask for it by name.