Prompts
Find the difference between receipts and a ledger
You describe the columns and paste three invented rows, and it returns numbered steps, the formula for each one, and what each assumption breaks if it is wrong.
What may go into it: Only after identifying details are removed
The prompt
Answer in [ANSWER LANGUAGE], even if the material below is in another language. My receipts and my spreadsheet do not agree, and I can upload neither of them. I will describe the spreadsheet instead. Real rows are never pasted here, so do not ask me for them and do not ask me to upload a file. Columns and what each one holds: [LIST THE COLUMN NAMES AND WHAT EACH CONTAINS] Three invented rows in the same shape as the real ones: [PASTE THREE FAKE ROWS] What does not match: [DESCRIBE THE DIFFERENCE: the two totals differ, a receipt has no row, a row has no receipt, one payment is split across two receipts, mixed digits: ١٢٣ alongside 123, two currencies, dates written in two formats] Rules: 1. Work only from my description and the invented rows. Never invent a figure of mine, and never assume a total. 2. If a step cannot be done without seeing my data, say so and tell me what to look at myself. 3. Order the steps so that the cheapest check comes first. Give me, in this order: A. Numbered steps, in the order I should do them, each one narrowing down where the difference is. B. The formula or the script for each step that needs one, and which program it is for. C. The assumptions you made about my spreadsheet, as a list, and for each one, what it silently breaks if it is wrong. D. What to check after each step, including the row count and the total before and after.
Opens a new chat in that tool with this prompt already typed in. Fill in every box first, and read the line at the top about what may go into it.
20 minutes · Gives you numbered steps · How much to paste at once: Describe the columns and paste three invented rows only, which is a short paste. If the steps stop before section D, ask for the rest instead of guessing the missing steps.
Read the answer against the checks below before you use it in anything that leaves your organisation.
What to fill in
- Write the language you want the steps in, for example Arabic, Kurdish or English, into [ANSWER LANGUAGE].
- Fill [LIST THE COLUMN NAMES AND WHAT EACH CONTAINS] with column names only, never the contents.
- Fill [PASTE THREE FAKE ROWS] with rows you invented yourself, in the same shape as the real ones.
- Fill [DESCRIBE THE DIFFERENCE] with whatever in that list applies to your own file.
Before you trust the answer
- Work on a copy of the spreadsheet. Always.
- Read section C before you run anything. A wrong assumption about a date format or a currency hides rows instead of reporting them.
- Run one step at a time, and compare the row count and the total after each one.
When it goes wrong
It will hand you a formula that assumes one date format or one currency, and that formula will drop every row using the other one without showing an error.
Tools this is written for
Written 2026-09-01Nobody has run this prompt in this language yet, so read the answer twice.
- Never for sensitive materialHas a free versionWorks in Iraq
- Never for sensitive materialHas a free versionWorks in Iraq
- Only approved or redacted sensitive materialHas a free versionWorks in Iraq
Where to go next
- The task this belongs toCleaning and analyzing data
- Staying safeClassify the material first
Written forGrants and operationsResearcher or analyst