ai-ledger

AI Project Memory Starter Template

A reusable folder structure for AI-assisted accounting projects that survive session resets.

What This Is

When working with Claude on accounting workflows, long sessions can lose context – and new sessions start with no memory of prior work. This template solves that problem with three simple Markdown files that act as your project’s external memory.

See Article 08: Why Claude “Forgets” for the full explanation.

Structure

ai-project-memory/
  CLAUDE.md             instructions for Claude
  plan.md               project blueprint
  status_update.md      rolling progress tracker

  data/
    raw/                original source files (never modified)
    processed/          cleaned or transformed data

  src/                  scripts and logic files

  outputs/              generated reports and results

  docs/                 notes, memos, reference material

How to Use

  1. Copy this folder into your own project
  2. Edit plan.md with your project objective, rules, and steps
  3. Edit CLAUDE.md with any project-specific instructions
  4. Start a Claude session and say: “Read plan.md and status_update.md. Summarize current state and confirm next step.”

The Three Memory Files

File Purpose When to Update
plan.md Defines the project scope, rules, and steps At project start; revise as scope changes
status_update.md Tracks completed work, outputs, issues, next steps After each major milestone
CLAUDE.md Instructions for how Claude should behave At project start; adjust as needed

Example Prompts

Start a session:

Read plan.md and status_update.md. Summarize where we left off and what the next steps are.

Save progress:

Update status_update.md with what was completed, output file locations, any issues, and next steps.

End a session:

Before we stop, update status_update.md with a full summary of today’s session.

From PythonMuse – Practical Python, AI, and automation for accounting and finance teams.

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