Automation library · Money admin

Detect duplicate invoice PDFs from Gmail with Google Sheets

Started by an arriving email, and works across Gmail, Google Sheets and Slack. 9 steps, 1 branch: a working afternoon to understand properly.

Medium

9 stepsMedium: a working afternoon
1Branch: places the flow splits
0Loops or waits
3Services it connects to

The flow

Starts it 1Logic 3Service 5

The steps in the order they run, from what starts it.

  1. 1Gmail TriggerGmail triggerStarts it
  2. 2Extract from FileExtract From FileService
  3. 3Edit FieldsSetLogic
  4. 4HTTP RequestHttp RequestService
  5. 5Check Google SheetsGoogle SheetsService
  6. 6Code in JavaScriptCodeLogic
  7. 7Already Exists?IfLogic
  8. 8Slack: Alert FinanceSlackService
  9. 9Add to Master ListGoogle SheetsService

How it's built

Starts on
An arriving email
Steps
9, with 1 branch
Size
Medium: a working afternoon
Connects to
Gmail, Google Sheets, Slack
Model
None. This is plumbing, not judgement

Questions

What does it need to run?

An n8n account, plus your own Gmail, Google Sheets and Slack accounts. You connect your own accounts after importing it; none are included.

What starts it?

It starts on an arriving email.

Does it use AI?

No. Every step is fixed logic or a call to a service, so it does the same thing every time.

How long does it take to set up?

Plan an afternoon. 9 steps is enough that you should read each one before running it.

How do I import it?

Copy the workflow, open a new workflow in n8n and paste. The steps appear on the canvas, ready for your own accounts.

Before you run it

Nothing here has been tested by us. It is somebody's working automation, read and described from its own steps. Treat the connections it wants as a list of accounts it will touch, and read the 9 steps before you point it at anything that matters.