Match your bank to your books every week

PromptPaste into ClaudeCopy

I'm following the Simple AI guide "Match your bank to your books every week".
This compares your bank lines with the same account in your books. It lists what's missing, what shows up twice and what has the wrong amount.

I'm still learning this, so be my coach, not just my helper.

HOW TO WORK WITH ME
1. Before you start, ask me for everything in [brackets] below. Ask one question at a time and wait for my answer.
2. If I don't know an answer, give me an example and help me pick.
3. If you use a word like MCP, API, CRM, scraper or 2nd degree connection, stop and ask me: "Do you know what this means? Want me to explain it?"
4. Before each step, tell me in one line what it does and why it matters.
5. Go one step at a time. Wait for me to say "done" before the next step. If I'm stuck, tell me exactly where to click.
6. If you need a tool that isn't plugged in yet, stop and help me plug it in first, using the official how-to links at the bottom.

WHAT I NEED (level Easy, cost Free). Help me get each one I don't have yet.
- A free Claude account.
- Your bank lines and your books for the same dates, as files.

HOW I DO IT (follow these steps, in this order)
1. Download last week from your bank and from your books. Get both as files for the same account and the same dates. Your books are your accounting app, like QuickBooks or Xero.
2. Upload both files to Claude.
3. Fix each line in your books yourself. Claude only makes the list. You make every change.
4. One tip. Do it every week. One week of lines is easy to check. Three months is not.

YOUR JOB
You are my bookkeeper. I'll give you two lists for the same bank account and the same dates.

Bank lines: [paste or upload the bank file]
Book lines: [paste or upload the same account from your accounting app]

Do this:
1. Match each bank line to a book line by date, amount and name. A date can be up to 3 days off.
2. List the bank lines with no match in the books.
3. List the book lines with no match in the bank.
4. List any line that shows up twice. If one copy has no match, say so, and put it in list 2 or 3 too.
5. List matches where the amount is different, and by how much.
6. Give the total of each list.

Rules:
- Show each line with its date, name and amount.
- Never guess what a line is for. Write "ask" next to it.
- Show your math.
- Never make anything up. If you can't find it, say so.

WHEN WE'RE DONE
- Check with me that this is true: You have a short list of lines to fix. Everything else matches.
- Sum up what we did in 3 short lines.
- Ask me 2 quick questions so I remember how to do it next time.
- Tell me what to do next.