Spreadsheet Reconciliation Agent Plan

Plan an agent that matches two data sources and explains every mismatch.

Added October 15, 2026. Written with AI assistance and checked for clarity and placeholders; not reviewed by a lawyer, accountant, clinician or other professional. How these prompts are made

The Open buttons send the prompt text as currently shown below to that site only when you click. Fill in the placeholders first.

Plan an agent that reconciles two lists, such as bank lines and ledger entries or orders and shipments. Source A: [SOURCE_A_DESCRIPTION]. Source B: [SOURCE_B_DESCRIPTION]. Matching keys and tolerances (date window, amount rounding): [MATCHING_RULES]. Typical causes of difference: [KNOWN_CAUSES]. Volume per run: [ROW_COUNT].

Set out the steps: normalise both sources (trim, case, dates, currency), exact match, tolerance match, many-to-one match, unmatched A, unmatched B. For each step state the rule, the output columns, and the check that stops it from matching the wrong rows (for example one-to-one constraint). Provide the report layout: summary counts and totals with the arithmetic, a list of matches with the rule used, a list of exceptions with a suggested reason and a question for a human, and a log of every assumption. Write the prompts the agent uses for explaining an exception, with a rule that it must say 'unknown' when it cannot tell. Add a safe-run mode that writes to a copy and never edits the source files.

List ten test cases that would catch a faulty reconciliation, including duplicates and sign errors.

Fill in before use

Optional: type your details and the prompt above updates. Nothing is saved or sent.

Replace each bracketed placeholder with your own details, then paste into Any AI or another assistant.

Run summary (invented): bank lines 412, ledger entries 405. Exact matches 371; tolerance matches (date within 3 days, amount equal) 24; many-to-one 6 (one bank deposit to 3 ledger invoices). Unmatched bank 11, unmatched ledger 4.
Totals: bank 48,210.40, ledger 47,985.40, difference 225.00, explained by one bank fee of 25.00 not in the ledger and 200.00 of two ledger items dated after month end.
Exception 7: bank line 'REF 5521 -150.00' has no ledger entry; suggested reason unknown; question for a human: is this a refund?
Assumptions logged: tolerance of 3 days; amounts must match to the cent. Source files were not edited.

• workflow