ChatGPT prompt for bookkeeping

Help me prepare a bookkeeping workpaper for [BUSINESS TYPE] for the period [ACCOUNTING PERIOD]. My accounting basis is [ACCOUNTING BASIS], my chart of accounts or categories is [CHART OF ACCOUNTS], and the transaction data is below:
[TRANSACTION DATA]

Do not file returns, represent yourself as a CPA, create unsupported tax positions, or invent missing payees, invoices, tax treatment, account balances, or amounts. This is a preparation aid, not a substitute for a qualified bookkeeper, accountant, or tax professional. Flag matters requiring professional review, including sales tax, payroll, owner draws versus wages, fixed assets, loans, multi-state activity, foreign currency, or uncertain deductibility.

Create a transaction-by-transaction workpaper. For each line, preserve date, description, amount, and account. Propose one account classification from my chart of accounts, whether it is income, expense, asset, liability, equity, or transfer, whether it is deductible or taxable only if I supplied the relevant tax treatment, confidence level, and a brief rationale. Never treat transfers, loan proceeds, credit-card payments, owner contributions, or reimbursements as ordinary income or expense without evidence.

Then provide: (1) a reconciliation checklist comparing the transaction total to [STATEMENT OR BOOK BALANCE]; (2) a list of duplicates, missing documents, personal-business mixes, unusual transactions, and uncategorized items; and (3) a month-end journal-entry checklist for accruals, prepaid expenses, depreciation, inventory, and loan interest, marked “only if applicable.”

Output the workpaper as a Markdown table followed by an exceptions report and reconciliation checklist. Show arithmetic explicitly and keep assumptions in a separate section. Before answering, verify debits and credits are not implied without enough information, and confirm the transaction amounts total correctly by sign. Ask up to 3 clarifying questions only if a required input is missing.

Prepare a bank-reconciliation workpaper for [MONTH]. Bank statement ending balance: [BANK BALANCE]. Book cash balance: [BOOK BALANCE]. Outstanding checks, deposits in transit, fees, interest, and transaction lists: [RECONCILIATION DATA]. Show the adjusted bank balance and adjusted book balance with arithmetic. Identify unmatched transactions, duplicate entries, timing differences, and unexplained variances. Do not force a reconciliation or invent reconciling items. End with entries to consider, clearly marked as proposed and requiring support.

Organize these receipts and transaction notes for [BUSINESS] during [PERIOD]: [RECEIPTS AND NOTES]. Produce a table with date, vendor, amount, proposed account from [CHART OF ACCOUNTS], business purpose shown or missing, document quality, and follow-up needed. Flag meals, travel, mixed personal use, fixed assets, sales tax, and missing receipts for professional review where relevant. Do not decide tax deductibility unless my materials state the treatment. Keep unidentifiable vendors as unresolved.

Create a month-end close checklist for a [BUSINESS TYPE] using [ACCOUNTING BASIS] accounting. Current systems and accounts: [SYSTEMS AND ACCOUNTS]. Include bank and card reconciliations, revenue cutoff, vendor bills, payroll review, balance-sheet account review, document storage, exception sign-off, and close deliverables. Separate required monthly tasks from conditional tasks such as inventory counts, depreciation, accruals, sales tax, and loan interest. Assign each task an owner, evidence needed, and deadline. Do not assume tax filings or payroll rules.