Track Expenses from Telegram to Google Sheets with GP-4.1 Mini

# Telegram Expense Tracker to Google Sheets with GPT-4.1 [.jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsSs1EF1lQg) > A lightweight automation that lets users log daily expenses via a Telegram bot and instantly saves them into Google Sheets—perfect for anyone looking to manage spending on the go with AI-powered structure and ease. ## ☀ Who's it for This workflow is for anyone who wants to log their daily expenses by simply chatting with a Telegram bot. Ideal for: - Individuals who want a quick way to track spending - Freelancers who log receipts and purchases on the go - Teams or small business owners who want lightweight expense capture ## ℹ How it works / What it does 1. **User sends a text message on Telegram** describing an expense _(e.g., “Bought coffee for 50k at Highlands”)_ 2. **Message format is validated** - If the message is **text**, it proceeds to GPT-4.1 Mini for processing. - If it's **not text** (e.g., image or file), the bot sends a fallback message. 3. **OpenAI GPT-4.1 Mini parses the message** and returns: - `relevant`: true/false - `expense_record`: structured fields (date, amount, currency, category, description, source) - `message`: a friendly confirmation or fallback 4. **If valid**: - The bot replies with a fun acknowledgment - The data is saved to a connected Google Sheet 5. **If invalid**: - A fallback message is sent to encourage proper input ## ⚙ How to set up ### 1. Telegram Bot Setup - Create a bot using [BotFather](https://t.me/botfather) on Telegram - Copy the bot token and paste it into the `Telegram Trigger` node ### 2. Google Sheet Setup - Create a Google Sheet with these columns: ``` Date | Amount | Currency | Category | Description | SourceMessage ``` - Share the sheet with your n8n service account email ### 3. OpenAI Configuration - Connect the `OpenAI Chat Model` node using your OpenAI API key - Use GPT-4.1 Mini as the model - Apply a system prompt that extracts structured JSON with: - `relevant`, `expense_record`, and `message` ### 4. Add Parser - Use the `Structured Output Parser` node to safely parse the JSON response ### 5. Conditional Logic Nodes - `Is text message?` - Checks if the message is in text format - `Supported scenario?` - Checks if `relevant = true` in the LLM response ### 6. Final Actions - **If relevant**: - Send confirmation via Telegram - Append row to Google Sheet - **If not relevant**: - Send fallback message via Telegram ## 📌 Requirements - Telegram bot token - OpenAI GPT-4.1 Mini API access - n8n instance (self-hosted or cloud) - Google Sheet with access granted to n8n - Basic understanding of n8n node configuration ## © How to customize the workflow | Feature | How to Customize | |---------|------------------| | Add multi-currency support | Update system prompt to detect and extract different currencies | | Add more categories | Modify the list of categories in the system prompt | | Track multiple users | Add `username` or `chat ID` column to the Google Sheet | | Trigger alerts | Add Slack, Email, or Telegram alerts for specific expense types | | Weekly summaries | Use a cron node + Google Sheet query + Telegram message | | Visual dashboards | Connect the sheet to Looker Studio or Google Data Studio | Built with Telegram + GPT-4.1 Mini + Google Sheets + n8n

Platform

n8n

Category

Business Operations & ERPs

Price

Free

Creator

Trung Tran

• Finance Workflow
• if
• code
• telegram
• stickyNote
• googleSheets
• agent
• telegramTrigger
• lmChatOpenAi
• outputParserStructured