Numbers don't lie, but they don't explain themselves either. These prompts help you build cash flow projections, stress-test pricing strategies, and create financial models that actually inform decisions. Tested across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude so you know which model handles your money questions best.
| What you're trying to do | الأفضل لـ |
|---|---|
| Project cash flow for 12 months | Gemini |
| Develop or refine pricing strategy | Claude |
| Create an annual operating budget | ChatGPT |
| Calculate LTV, CAC, and margins | Gemini |
| Build a financial model for fundraising | ChatGPT |
| Find and cut unnecessary spending | Claude |
أوامر
Project cash flow for 12 months
Build a 12-month cash flow projection for my business. Business type: [industry and model] Monthly revenue: [current average] Revenue trend: [growing/flat/declining and by how much] Fixed costs: [list with amounts] Variable costs: [list with percentage of revenue] Upcoming expenses: [any large one-time costs] Cash on hand: [current balance] Create: 1. A month-by-month cash flow table with inflows, outflows, and net position 2. The month I'm most likely to face a cash crunch 3. Three scenarios: optimistic, realistic, pessimistic 4. Key assumptions listed explicitly so I can adjust them 5. A cash reserve recommendation and target amount 6. Two actions to improve cash flow this quarter
الأفضل لـ: GEMINI
Gemini produces the most spreadsheet-ready cash flow tables with proper formulas. Its scenario modeling is easy to adapt in Google Sheets without restructuring the layout.
Tested Feb 15, 2026
نصائح احترافية
Include payment terms with your biggest clients. A business can be profitable on paper and still run out of cash if clients pay on net-60 terms. AI misses this if you only share revenue numbers.
Develop or refine pricing strategy
Help me develop pricing for [product/service]. Current price: [amount or 'not yet set'] Cost to deliver: [per unit or per customer cost] Competitor pricing: [list 3-5 competitors and their prices] Target customer: [who buys this and their budget range] Value delivered: [what the customer gains in measurable terms] Goal: [maximize revenue / market share / premium positioning] Provide: 1. Three pricing models to consider (and which fits my business best) 2. A specific price recommendation with reasoning 3. Pricing psychology tactics to apply (anchoring, tiering, etc.) 4. A 3-tier pricing structure with feature differentiation 5. How to test the price without alienating existing customers 6. A pricing page layout recommendation with the 'nudge' tier highlighted
الأفضل لـ: CLAUDE
Claude provides the most nuanced pricing analysis, accounting for perceived value and market positioning. It considers the psychological impact of pricing on brand perception, not just margin math.
Tested Feb 15, 2026
نصائح احترافية
Share your competitor's pricing page URLs or describe their tiers. AI gives radically different advice when it understands the competitive pricing landscape vs. working in a vacuum.
Create an annual operating budget
Create an annual operating budget for my business. Business: [type and stage — startup/growing/established] Annual revenue target: [amount] Team size: [current and planned hires] Major initiatives: [what you're investing in this year] Last year's actual spending: [categories and amounts if available] Funding situation: [bootstrapped/funded/profitable] Build: 1. A budget template with all major categories and monthly allocations 2. Revenue projections broken down by source or product line 3. Headcount plan with fully-loaded cost per role 4. A 'must-have' vs. 'nice-to-have' split for discretionary spending 5. Variance thresholds: when to investigate overspending 6. A quarterly budget review process with specific questions to ask
الأفضل لـ: CHATGPT
ChatGPT creates the most comprehensive budget templates with realistic category breakdowns. It knows typical spending ratios by industry (e.g., SaaS companies spend 40% on R&D) and applies them automatically.
Tested Feb 15, 2026
نصائح احترافية
Build your budget bottom-up from planned activities, not top-down from a target number. Tell AI what you plan to DO this year, and let it calculate what that costs, rather than fitting activities into an arbitrary budget.
Calculate LTV, CAC, and margins
Help me understand the unit economics of my business. Product/service: [what you sell] Average sale price: [amount] Cost to acquire a customer: [ad spend, sales team cost, etc.] Cost to deliver: [fulfillment, COGS, support costs] Customer retention: [how long the average customer stays] Upsell/cross-sell rate: [percentage who buy more] Monthly active customers: [current count] Calculate and explain: 1. Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) with the formula used 2. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) breakdown 3. LTV:CAC ratio and what it means for my business 4. Gross margin and contribution margin per customer 5. Payback period: months to recoup acquisition cost 6. Three levers to improve unit economics, ranked by impact
الأفضل لـ: GEMINI
Gemini shows its math clearly and produces formulas you can plug into spreadsheets. Its unit economics calculations are the easiest to verify and update as your numbers change.
Tested Feb 15, 2026
نصائح احترافية
Include ALL acquisition costs, not just ad spend. Sales team salaries, free trial costs, and content marketing expenses all count. Most businesses underestimate CAC by 2-3x, which makes unit economics look better than they are.
Build a financial model for fundraising
Help me build a financial model for [purpose: fundraising / board presentation / planning]. Business: [description and stage] Revenue model: [how you make money] Current metrics: [MRR, growth rate, churn, etc.] Projection period: [3 years / 5 years] Key assumptions: [growth rate, hiring plan, market size] Funding needed: [amount if raising] Build: 1. A P&L projection (revenue, COGS, gross margin, operating expenses, EBITDA) 2. Key driver assumptions table with high/mid/low scenarios 3. Headcount plan mapped to revenue milestones 4. A sensitivity analysis: which assumptions have the biggest impact 5. Charts that tell the story investors want to see 6. Common questions investors will ask about these numbers (and answers)
الأفضل لـ: CHATGPT
ChatGPT builds the most investor-ready financial models with the standard structure VCs expect. It knows current market benchmarks for SaaS, marketplace, and e-commerce metrics.
Tested Feb 15, 2026
نصائح احترافية
Build the model backward from the outcome investors care about: when do you break even or hit profitability? Then fill in the assumptions needed to get there. Investors spot models built to justify a number vs. models built from first principles.
Find and cut unnecessary spending
Analyze my business expenses and find savings. Monthly expenses by category: [List each category with amount: payroll, software, rent, marketing, etc.] Revenue: [monthly revenue] Team size: [number of employees] Growth stage: [pre-revenue / growing / profitable] Expenses I think are too high: [what concerns you] Expenses I can't cut: [non-negotiable costs] Provide: 1. Benchmark comparison: how my spending compares to similar businesses 2. Top 5 expense reduction opportunities with estimated savings 3. Which costs are investments (grow revenue) vs. overhead (keep lights on) 4. Vendor renegotiation scripts for the top 3 highest expenses 5. Software audit: which subscriptions to consolidate or cancel 6. A monthly expense review checklist to prevent cost creep
الأفضل لـ: CLAUDE
Claude gives the most honest expense analysis, distinguishing between costs that look cuttable but aren't and costs that look necessary but should be questioned. It won't just tell you to 'cut marketing' without understanding the ROI.
Tested Feb 15, 2026
نصائح احترافية
Export your actual bank or accounting data rather than estimating. Most people forget subscriptions, one-time charges, and fees that add up. Real data reveals spending patterns your memory won't.
Based on actual testing — not assumptions. See our methodology
Gemini
Best for spreadsheet-ready financial tables, cash flow projections, and unit economics calculations. Produces clean formulas you can plug directly into Google Sheets.
Results from Gemini 2.0 Flash · Tested Feb 15, 2026ChatGPT
Best for investor-ready financial models and comprehensive budget templates. Knows industry spending benchmarks and creates structures VCs and board members expect to see.
Results from GPT-4o · Tested Feb 15, 2026Claude
Best for pricing strategy and expense analysis. Provides nuanced recommendations that consider market positioning and long-term implications, not just short-term margin optimization.
Results from Claude 3.5 Sonnet · Tested Feb 15, 2026Grok
Gives direct, no-nonsense money advice while consistently including appropriate disclaimers. Strong at identifying wasteful spending patterns, though less detailed on complex investment strategies than GPT-4o.
Results from Grok 2 · Tested Feb 15, 2026Never trust a single scenario. Always ask AI for optimistic, realistic, and pessimistic projections. A single forecast gives you false confidence. Three scenarios give you a range to plan around.
Update your model monthly, not quarterly. Financial models rot fast. A model that's 3 months old is fiction. Block 30 minutes monthly to update actuals and adjust assumptions.
Separate 'investments' from 'expenses' in your thinking. Marketing spend that brings customers is an investment with measurable ROI. Office snacks are an expense. AI will treat them the same unless you explicitly categorize them.