Automate income and expense tracking in Google Sheets via Telegram

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2/3/2026

Who’s it for

This template is perfect for freelancers, small business owners, or financial assistants who want to record and approve financial transactions like income and expenses directly from Telegram, without opening a spreadsheet manually.

It’s also useful for teams that require a supervisor to approve expenses before they’re finalized.

What it does

This workflow allows users to:

Start a conversation via Telegram using the /start command.
Choose to record an income or expense.
Submit transaction data using a structured format.
Store the data into Google Sheets in real time.
For expenses, automatically notify a supervisor for approval.
The supervisor can Approve ✅, Reject ❌, or View Details 👁.
Sends feedback to the user based on supervisor action.

🔧 How it works

Telegram Bot Trigger: Captures user input via message or inline button callback.
Message Detection Logic: Differentiates between text input and button interactions.
Switch Node: Routes the message type:
- /start: Displays income/expense buttons.
- Input text: Validates formatting and parses data.
- Callback: Handles approval/rejection process.
Google Sheets Integration: Appends or updates entries in different sheets based on the data type.
Notifications:
- User gets feedback (recorded, pending, approved, rejected).
- Supervisor receives inline button options for approval.

Google Sheets Details

You will need a Google Sheet with the following two worksheets:

Sheet 1: income Sheet 2: Sheet1 (Default tab for expenses)

📱 Telegram Setup Instructions

Create a bot using @BotFather.
Save the bot token.
Go to n8n Credentials → Telegram API and add:
- Access Token = your bot token
In Telegram, send /start to your bot.
Make sure your bot has enabled privacy mode (or disabled, if used in a group).

💡 For the approval flow, update the node Send Approval Request with the correct chatId of the supervisor's Telegram account. You can hardcode a static ID (e.g., "123456789") or pull from a variable if dynamic.

🛠 Requirements

| Tool | Description | | -------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | | n8n (Cloud or Self-hosted) | Use latest stable version | | Telegram Bot | For user input and notifications | | Google Sheets | To store income and expense records | | Google OAuth2 Credentials | Required for Google Sheets node |

⚙️ How to customize the workflow

Change the chat ID for supervisors in the node Send Approval Request.
Modify the text or add new buttons in the inline keyboard node.
Update Google Sheet ID and tab names if you’re using different sheets.
Customize the approval logic, for example, route to different teams.

✅ Setup Steps

Import the workflow JSON into your n8n instance.
Configure Telegram API credential with your bot token.
Connect your Google Sheets OAuth2 credential.
Replace Google Sheet document ID and tab names with your own (via UI or “Expression” mode).
Deploy and activate the workflow.

Automate Income and Expense Tracking in Google Sheets via Telegram

This n8n workflow provides a simple yet powerful way to track your income and expenses directly from Telegram, automatically categorizing and recording them in a Google Sheet. It streamlines personal finance management by turning quick Telegram messages into structured data entries.

What it does

Listens for Telegram Messages: The workflow is triggered whenever a new message is received in a configured Telegram chat.
Processes Message Content: It extracts the text from the Telegram message.
Categorizes Transaction (Conceptual): While not explicitly defined in the provided JSON, a common pattern for such a workflow would involve using a "Code" node to parse the message and determine if it's an income or expense, and potentially extract details like amount and category.
Records in Google Sheets: Based on the processed message, it adds a new row to a specified Google Sheet, likely including details such as date, type (income/expense), amount, description, and category.
Confirms via Telegram: After successfully recording the transaction, it sends a confirmation message back to the Telegram chat.

Prerequisites/Requirements

n8n Instance: A running n8n instance (cloud or self-hosted).
Telegram Bot: A Telegram bot token and chat ID configured as an n8n credential. You'll need to create a bot via BotFather in Telegram.
Google Account: A Google account with access to Google Sheets, configured as an n8n credential.
Google Sheet: A Google Sheet set up with appropriate columns (e.g., Date, Type, Amount, Description, Category) to store your income and expense data.

Setup/Usage

Import the Workflow:
- Copy the provided JSON code.
- In your n8n instance, go to "Workflows" and click "New".
- Click the "Import" button (cloud icon) and paste the JSON.
Configure Credentials:
- Telegram Trigger & Telegram Node:
  - Click on the "Telegram Trigger" node and then the "Telegram" node.
  - Under "Credentials", select an existing Telegram Bot API credential or create a new one.
  - For a new credential, provide your Telegram Bot Token (obtained from BotFather).
  - Ensure the Telegram Trigger is configured to listen to the correct chat.
- Google Sheets Node:
  - Click on the "Google Sheets" node.
  - Under "Credentials", select an existing Google Sheets credential or create a new one (OAuth2 recommended for ease of use).
  - For a new credential, follow the n8n instructions to connect your Google account.
Configure Google Sheets Node:
- In the "Google Sheets" node, specify the "Spreadsheet ID" and "Sheet Name" where you want to record your transactions.
- Ensure the "Operation" is set to "Append Row" or a similar action to add new data.
- Map the data fields from the previous nodes (e.g., from the "Code" node's output) to the columns in your Google Sheet.
Configure Code Node (Optional, but recommended for categorization):
- The "Code" node (ID 834) is currently empty in the provided JSON. You would typically add JavaScript code here to:
  - Parse the incoming Telegram message text.
  - Extract the transaction type (income/expense), amount, and description.
  - Implement logic to categorize the transaction (e.g., based on keywords).
  - Format the data for Google Sheets.
Activate the Workflow:
- Once all credentials and node settings are configured, click the "Activate" toggle in the top right corner of the n8n editor to set the workflow live.

Now, whenever you send a message to your Telegram bot in the configured chat, the workflow will process it and add the details to your Google Sheet.

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