Telegram Expense Tracker and Query with AI and Google Sheets

This n8n workflow provides a powerful and intuitive way to track and query your expenses directly from Telegram, leveraging the capabilities of a large language model (LLM) and storing data in Google Sheets. It allows users to log new expenses or ask questions about their spending through a simple chat interface.

What it does

1. Listens for Telegram messages: The workflow is triggered by incoming messages to a configured Telegram bot.
2. Determines User Intent: An AI Agent (powered by an OpenAI Chat Model) analyzes the incoming message to understand if the user wants to:
   • Add a new expense: If the message contains details about an expense.
   • Query expenses: If the message asks a question about past expenses.
3. Processes Expense Addition:
   • If the intent is to add an expense, the AI Agent extracts relevant details (e.g., amount, category, description).
   • These details are then formatted and appended as a new row to a specified Google Sheet.
   • A confirmation message is sent back to the user via Telegram.
4. Processes Expense Query:
   • If the intent is to query expenses, the AI Agent formulates a query based on the user's request.
   • It then retrieves relevant data from the Google Sheet.
   • The retrieved data is summarized and presented back to the user in a readable format via Telegram.
5. Handles Unknown Commands: If the AI cannot determine the user's intent, it provides a helpful message via Telegram, guiding the user on how to interact with the bot.
6. Maintains Conversation Context: A Simple Memory node helps the AI Agent remember previous interactions within a conversation, improving the relevance of responses.

Prerequisites/Requirements

To use this workflow, you will need:

• n8n instance: A running n8n instance.
• Telegram Bot: A Telegram bot token (obtained from BotFather).
• OpenAI API Key: An API key for OpenAI (or a compatible LLM service configured as an OpenAI Chat Model).
• Google Sheets Account: Access to a Google Sheets document where expenses will be stored. You'll need to configure credentials for n8n to access your Google Sheet.

Setup/Usage

1. Import the workflow: Download the JSON provided and import it into your n8n instance.
2. Configure Credentials:
   • Telegram Trigger & Telegram Node: Set up your Telegram Bot API credentials.
   • OpenAI Chat Model: Configure your OpenAI API Key credentials.
   • Google Sheets: Set up your Google Sheets OAuth2 or API Key credentials.
3. Customize Google Sheet:
   • Specify the Spreadsheet ID and Sheet Name in the "Google Sheets" node where you want to store and retrieve expense data. Ensure your sheet has appropriate headers (e.g., "Date", "Amount", "Category", "Description").
4. Activate the workflow: Once configured, activate the workflow.
5. Interact via Telegram:
   • To add an expense: Send messages like "Spent $50 on groceries", "Lunch cost 15 dollars today", "Bought a book for $20, category education".
   • To query expenses: Ask questions like "How much did I spend on food last month?", "What were my expenses in January?", "Show me all travel expenses".

This workflow provides a convenient and intelligent way to manage your personal or business expenses using natural language through Telegram.