Extract invoice data from PDFs with AI - Google Sheets Email alerts

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2/3/2026

Built by Setidure Technologies This smart n8n automation extracts invoice details from PDF files uploaded to Google Drive using AI, logs them to a Google Sheet, and notifies the billing team via email — all without manual intervention.

⚠️ Note: This workflow requires a self-hosted n8n instance with LangChain, LLM, and Google integrations configured.

📦 What This Workflow Does Monitors a Google Drive folder for new invoice uploads

Extracts text and parses key invoice details using LLM via LangChain

Logs extracted data into a Google Sheet (Invoice Database)

Generates a summary email using GPT-4O-MINI (Greenie)

Sends the email to the billing team via Gmail

✅ Prerequisites A Google Drive folder to monitor for PDF uploads

A Google Sheet named Invoice Database with the following columns:

Invoice Number, Client Name, Client Email, Client Address, Client Phone, Invoice Date, Due Date, Total Amount

Service account or OAuth credentials for:

Google Drive

Google Sheets

Gmail

LangChain + Ollama integration for LLM responses

🔧 Step-by-Step Setup Instructions Clone this workflow into your self-hosted n8n instance

Set up credentials:

Google Drive (for folder trigger)

Google Sheets (for data logging)

Gmail (for sending email)

Ollama (local LLM) or any connected LangChain provider

Configure the trigger node to watch your specific Invoice Uploads folder

Update the Google Sheet node with your Invoice Database sheet URL and column mapping

Test with a sample invoice to validate the AI extraction and email generation

🔄 Workflow Steps

Step 1: Trigger on New File in Google Drive

Node Name: Watch for New Invoices Type: Google Drive Trigger

Event: fileCreated

Triggers when a new PDF file is uploaded to a designated folder

Step 2: Download the Uploaded File

Node Name: Download Invoice PDF Type: Download Binary

Downloads the invoice file from Google Drive

Step 3: Extract Raw Text from PDF

Node Name: Extract PDF Text Type: Extract from File

Extracts unstructured text content from the downloaded PDF

Step 4: Parse Invoice Fields Using AI

Node Name: Parse Invoice Data with LLM Type: LangChain Agent

LLM is prompted to extract:

Invoice Number

Client Name, Email, Address, Phone

Invoice Date, Due Date, Total Amount

Fields not found are skipped

Step 5: Log Extracted Data to Google Sheet

Node Name: Log to Invoice Database Type: Google Sheets

Appends a new row with the extracted fields to the Invoice Database spreadsheet

Step 6: Create Email Notification via LLM

Node Name: Generate Billing Email Summary Type: LangChain Agent (GPT-4O-MINI)

Prompt instructs AI to:

Act as “Greenie” from Green Grass Corp

Inform billing that a new invoice was processed

Confirm logging into the Invoice Database

Step 7: Send the Email to Billing Team

Node Name: Email Billing Team Type: Gmail Send

To: billing@example.com

Subject and body injected from LLM output

Step 8: End Workflow Gracefully

Node Name: End Type: No Operation

Used to cleanly terminate the flow

🧠 Example Output (Email)

Subject: New Invoice Logged – Client: ABC Corp

Hi Billing Team,

A new invoice has been received and processed automatically. The following details have been extracted and logged into the Invoice Database:

Invoice Number: INV-1024
Client: ABC Corp
Amount: $1,450
Due Date: July 15, 2025

Please review the Invoice Database for full details.

Regards,
Greenie
Green Grass Corp

Extract Invoice Data from PDFs with AI, Google Sheets, and Email Alerts

This n8n workflow automates the process of extracting key information from PDF invoices, storing it in a Google Sheet, and sending email notifications. It leverages AI models for intelligent data extraction and integrates with Google Drive, Google Sheets, and Gmail to streamline invoice processing.

What it does

This workflow simplifies invoice management by performing the following steps:

Monitors Google Drive for new PDFs: It acts as a trigger, listening for new PDF files uploaded to a specified Google Drive folder.
Extracts text from PDF: When a new PDF is detected, it extracts the raw text content from the PDF file.
Extracts structured data using AI: It then uses an AI-powered Information Extractor (likely a Langchain node with either OpenAI or Ollama as the underlying LLM) to parse the extracted text and identify specific invoice details (e.g., invoice number, vendor, total amount, date, line items).
Stores extracted data in Google Sheets: The structured invoice data is then appended as a new row to a designated Google Sheet.
Sends email alerts: Finally, it sends an email notification (via Gmail) with the extracted invoice details, providing an alert about the newly processed invoice.

Prerequisites/Requirements

To use this workflow, you will need:

n8n Instance: A running n8n instance.
Google Account: A Google account with access to:
- Google Drive: To store incoming PDF invoices and trigger the workflow.
- Google Sheets: To store the extracted invoice data.
- Gmail: To send email notifications.
AI Model Credentials:
- OpenAI API Key OR
- Ollama Instance: A running Ollama instance if you choose to use the Ollama Model node.
PostgreSQL Database (Optional): If the "Postgres PGVector Store" node is intended for active use (it's currently disconnected in the provided JSON, but present), you would need access to a PostgreSQL database with the pgvector extension enabled.

Setup/Usage

Import the workflow: Download the provided JSON and import it into your n8n instance.
Configure Google Credentials:
- Set up Google OAuth2 credentials for Google Drive, Google Sheets, and Gmail nodes. Ensure these credentials have the necessary permissions to read from Drive, write to Sheets, and send emails.
Configure AI Model Credentials:
- For the "OpenAI" node, provide your OpenAI API Key.
- If using the "Ollama Model" node, ensure your Ollama instance is accessible from n8n and configure the connection details.
Configure Google Drive Trigger:
- Specify the Google Drive folder ID that the workflow should monitor for new PDF uploads.
Configure Information Extractor:
- Define the schema or prompt for the "Information Extractor" node to accurately identify and extract the desired invoice fields (e.g., invoice number, vendor name, amount, date, etc.) from the PDF text.
Configure Google Sheets Node:
- Specify the Google Sheet ID and the sheet name where the extracted data should be appended. Map the output fields from the "Information Extractor" to the corresponding columns in your Google Sheet.
Configure Gmail Node:
- Set the recipient email address, subject, and body for the notification emails. You can use expressions to include extracted invoice data in the email content.
Activate the workflow: Once all credentials and nodes are configured, activate the workflow. It will now automatically process new PDF invoices uploaded to your specified Google Drive folder.

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