Automation library · Data collection

Track restaurant food waste with Telegram and Google Sheets

Started by an incoming Telegram message, and works across Google Sheets and Telegram. 15 steps, 1 branch: a working afternoon to understand properly.

Medium

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15 stepsMedium: a working afternoon
1Branch: places the flow splits
0Loops or waits
2Services it connects to

The flow

Starts it 2Logic 6Service 7

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

  1. 1Telegram message inTelegram triggerStarts it
  2. 2Schedule Sunday 20:00Schedule triggerStarts it
  3. 3CONFIGSetLogic
  4. 4Parse message (no AI)CodeLogic
  5. 5Route by actionSwitchLogic
  6. 6Append waste entry to sheetGoogle SheetsService
  7. 7Read waste logGoogle SheetsService
  8. 8Read ingredient pricesGoogle SheetsService
  9. 9Ask to resend the entryTelegramService
  10. 10Confirm in chatTelegramService
  11. 11Warn that the sheet write failedTelegramService
  12. 12Merge log and pricesMergeLogic
  13. 13Build waste reportCodeLogic
  14. 14Format report messageCodeLogic
  15. 15Send reportTelegramService

How it's built

Starts on
An incoming Telegram message
Steps
15, with 1 branch
Size
Medium: a working afternoon
Connects to
Google Sheets, Telegram
Model
None. This is plumbing, not judgement

Questions

What does it need to run?

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

What starts it?

It starts on an incoming Telegram message.

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. 15 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 15 steps before you point it at anything that matters.