Prompting
Writing better prompts
Because the App Builder works from plain language, the quality of what you get out is shaped by how you describe what you want. In general, prompts that name a specific metric, a time range, and a grouping ("monthly revenue by product line for the last 6 months") produce more useful first drafts than open-ended ones ("show me how we're doing"). It also helps to say what the application is for - a board report has different needs (clean, presentation-ready, high-level) than an internal monitoring dashboard (dense, frequently updated, detail-heavy) - even when the underlying data is the same. Start with the question your app should help answer. “Help our finance team track overdue invoices” gives Statement a clearer purpose than “Build a finance dashboard.” Mentioning the audience also helps explain the level of detail you want. Name the data source, reporting period, and figures you need. For example: “Use QuickBooks data to show unpaid invoices, grouped by customer, with amounts and due dates.” If you mean a particular account or uploaded file, name it explicitly. Describe the presentation when you have a preference: “Put the total outstanding amount at the top, followed by a customer breakdown and an invoice table.” You can request specific charts or a short written summary, then refine the layout through follow-up messages. State recurring updates separately and include the timezone: “Refresh this app every Monday at 9 a.m. India time.” If you also want a summary sent somewhere, specify the connected app and exact recipient or destination.
Example prompts
Example promptsThese examples are adapted from the project’s test scenarios and sample apps. Founder - track subscription growth“Create a Subscription Growth dashboard using our Stripe data.” Bring recurring revenue, revenue trends, and plan performance into one view for reviewing how the business is growing. Finance team - review collections“Show billed revenue, collected revenue, and uncollected billed revenue for July 2026.” Compare what was billed with what was collected to support the monthly finance review. Virtual CFO - prepare a client cash review“Show opening cash balance, closing cash balance, and net cash flow for April through June 2026.” Use the client’s connected data to review how their cash position changed during the quarter.
Common mistakes
Make the question specific. “Show me the numbers” leaves the metric, source, and time period unclear. Try “Show monthly revenue from Stripe for the last six months” to give Statement a clear starting point. Make the relevant data available. Connect the service or select the uploaded file your request depends on. If several connected services could answer the question, name the one you want Statement to use. Separate the reporting period from the update schedule. “Show last month’s revenue” defines which figures to retrieve. “Refresh this app every Monday at 9 a.m. India time” defines when to update them. Include both when you want a recurring view. Specify where automated results should go. “Send this to the team” leaves the destination unclear. Name the connected app and exact recipient or channel so Statement has the details needed to prepare the delivery.