Automated Finance Tracker with Gmail, Google Sheets, and GPT-4o Monthly Reports

This n8n workflow automates the process of tracking financial transactions from your Gmail inbox, logging them into a Google Sheet, and generating a monthly financial summary using OpenAI (GPT-4o).

What it does

This workflow simplifies personal or small business finance tracking by automating several key steps:

1. Schedules Monthly Execution: The workflow runs on a predefined schedule (e.g., once a month) to generate a financial report for the previous month.
2. Fetches Transactions from Gmail: It retrieves all emails from your Gmail inbox that match specific criteria (e.g., "from:yourbank@example.com subject:transaction").
3. Extracts Transaction Data: A custom JavaScript function processes the fetched emails to extract relevant transaction details such as date, description, amount, and category.
4. Categorizes Transactions with AI: For each transaction, it uses OpenAI (GPT-4o) to intelligently categorize the expense or income based on the transaction description.
5. Logs Data to Google Sheets: The extracted and categorized transaction data is then appended as new rows to a specified Google Sheet.
6. Generates Monthly Financial Report: After processing all transactions for the month, it uses OpenAI (GPT-4o) to generate a comprehensive summary report, including insights into spending patterns, income, and overall financial health.
7. Sends Monthly Report via Email: The generated financial report is then sent to a specified email address, providing a convenient monthly overview.

Prerequisites/Requirements

To use this workflow, you will need:

• n8n Instance: A running n8n instance.
• Gmail Account: Configured with credentials in n8n to allow reading emails.
• Google Sheets Account: Configured with credentials in n8n and a target spreadsheet where transaction data will be logged.
• OpenAI API Key: An OpenAI API key with access to GPT-4o (or a compatible model) for transaction categorization and report generation.
• Email Account for Reports: An email account configured in n8n to send the monthly financial reports (e.g., via SMTP).

Setup/Usage

1. Import the Workflow:

   • Download the provided JSON file.
   • In your n8n instance, click "Workflows" in the left sidebar.
   • Click "New" and then "Import from JSON".
   • Paste the JSON content or upload the file.

2. Configure Credentials:

   • Gmail Node: Set up your Gmail OAuth2 credentials.
   • Google Sheets Node: Set up your Google Sheets OAuth2 credentials and specify the Spreadsheet ID and Sheet Name.
   • OpenAI Node: Set up your OpenAI API Key credential.
   • Send Email Node: Configure your SMTP or other email sending credentials.

3. Customize Nodes:

   • Cron Node (ID: 7): Adjust the schedule to your preference (e.g., "Every 1st day of the month at 08:00").
   • Gmail Node (ID: 356): Update the "Query" field to filter for your specific financial transaction emails (e.g., from:("yourbank@example.com" OR "anotherbank@example.com") subject:(transaction OR payment OR statement)).
   • Function Node (ID: 14): This node contains custom JavaScript logic for parsing email content. You might need to adjust this script based on the specific format of your bank's transaction emails to accurately extract date, description, amount, and type (income/expense).
   • OpenAI Nodes (ID: 840):
     • The first OpenAI node is used for categorization. Review its prompt to ensure it effectively categorizes your transactions.
     • The second OpenAI node generates the monthly report. Customize its prompt to define the desired structure and content of your financial summary.
   • Google Sheets Node (ID: 18): Ensure the "Sheet Name" and "Spreadsheet ID" are correctly set to your target Google Sheet.
   • Send Email Node (ID: 11): Update the "To" email address, "From" email address, and customize the email subject and body as needed.

4. Activate the Workflow: Once all configurations are complete, activate the workflow by toggling the "Active" switch in the top right corner of the workflow editor.

The workflow will now automatically run on its schedule, process your financial emails, update your Google Sheet, and send you a monthly financial report.