A Starter Set of Prompts and Reusable Templates

A prompt is the instruction you give the tool. Wikipedia treats prompt engineering as the craft of shaping everyday-language inputs so a model returns the output you want.¹ For you, a good prompt is a short brief with blanks.

Below are six you can copy. Each uses square-bracket blanks. Fill them in yourself, check the result, then send it from your own account.

The parts of a good prompt

Every template here has the same four parts. Say who the message is from and who it's for. Give the facts as blanks. Say how it should sound and how long it should be. Then say what it must not do.

US government guidance puts one rule of plain language first: write for your audience.² So tell the tool who reads the message. "A café owner reading on a phone" gets a better draft than "a client".

The same guidance recommends active voice.² Add "use active voice" to a prompt when drafts come out stiff.

Six starter prompts

Missing documents

Write a short, friendly email from a bookkeeper to [client type]. Ask for [list of missing items] by [date and year]. Give one sentence on why. Offer a photo by reply. Under one hundred words. Don't add facts, fees or warnings.

Welcome message

Write a welcome email from a bookkeeper to a new client who runs [type of business]. Say [name of person] will handle their work, documents go to [address or portal], and they'll hear from me by [date]. Plain words. No fees. No tax advice.

What-we-need list

Turn this list into a tick-box checklist a business owner can follow. Group it under short headings. Use only the items I give: [paste items]. Don't add any.

Monthly cut-off reminder

Write a brief reminder for clients that I need this month's documents by [day, date and year]. Anything later goes into the next month. Warm, not stern. Under eighty words. Don't change the date.

Transaction query

Write a short email asking a client what one payment was for. Details: [date], [amount], [payee]. Ask one question only. Don't suggest an answer. Don't mention tax. Offer a one-line reply.

Rewrite my rough note

Rewrite my note below as a clear message to a client. Keep every fact as I wrote it. Shorten it. Use short sentences and active voice. Don't add or remove information. My note: [paste, with names removed].

Adding an example

Wikipedia says a prompt can include examples the model learns from within the same chat.¹ Got a voice of your own? Paste an email you wrote and add: "Match this tone."

Remove client names and figures from the example first. Here's the reason, in full.

Keeping your set

A shared document or notes file is enough. For each template, store:

• The prompt with its blanks
• A line on when to use it
• A line on what to check in the result
• The date you last updated it

Add the version that worked best. If a draft needs the same fix twice, put the fix into the template.

The Australian privacy regulator wants AI products reviewed on a regular basis, not set up and forgotten.³ The same idea fits your template set. Every so often, try each one and read the output again.

Always check the result

The same regulator page warns that outputs can be wrong or untrue.³ So read each draft against your records before sending. Check names, amounts, dates and any promise it makes.

The pages on chasing documents, onboarding, reminders and query emails explain what to look for in each message type.