n8n workflow template

n8n expense receipt processing template

This n8n expense receipt processing template reads a receipt photo with Google Vision, asks GPT-4o-mini to extract the merchant, date, total and category, checks every field in code, and records the expense. Anything over your limit, too old, unclear or duplicated is flagged instead of guessed.

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From $109.99
One-time purchase. No retainer. Setup guide included.
  • The workflow file: n8n workflow (JSON)
  • A step-by-step setup guide (PDF) with a verified cost breakdown
  • Failure handling: error log with the raw data, a separate Slack failure alert, and a clean response
  • No credentials included. You connect your own accounts

Make version: coming soon

What this workflow does

  1. Receives a receipt as a link or base64 image, with who sent it and why, and rejects unauthorised or malformed requests
  2. Reads the text with Google Vision OCR, the cheap plain-text feature rather than a form parser
  3. Asks GPT-4o-mini for the merchant, date, currency, total, tax and category as strict JSON, then checks every field in code
  4. Approves clean receipts and flags the rest (over your limit, too old, future date, low confidence, unknown category) with the reasons, alerting Slack
  5. Never saves the same receipt twice, and emails the submitter what was recorded or asks for a clearer photo

If something fails

  • Every step retries three times automatically
  • If the AI is unavailable the receipt is saved as needs review with the start of the OCR text, never lost and never guessed
  • The receipt text is treated as untrusted: the AI is told to ignore instructions inside it and everything it returns is validated by code

Apps and accounts you need

  • n8n
  • Google Cloud Vision
  • OpenAI (GPT-4o-mini)
  • Google Sheets
  • An email account (SMTP)
  • Slack

What it costs to run

ItemCost
n8n (self-hosted)Free software plus roughly $5 to $7 per month for a small server.
n8n Cloud StarterRoughly $20 to $24 per month for 2,500 executions.
Google Cloud VisionFirst 1,000 receipts a month free, then $1.50 per 1,000. Needs a Google Cloud project with billing enabled. Checked October 2026.
OpenAI GPT-4o-mini$0.15 per million input tokens and $0.60 per million output tokens, a small fraction of a cent per receipt. Checked October 2026.
Email sendingUse your own email provider. Resend, for example, is free up to 3,000 emails per month (100 per day).
Google Sheets and Slack$0 on free plans.

Set a monthly spending limit in your OpenAI account so a runaway caller can never run up a bill. Receipts must be images; PDFs are not read by this template.

Who it is for

Useful for small teams, freelancers and bookkeepers who collect receipts by photo and want them organised without typing. A Make version is coming soon.

Why a Conviq template

Each template is built to a production standard: failure handling is real, every cost is listed before you buy, and nothing ships with credentials. Browse all n8n workflow templates, learn about our n8n automation services, or have us tailor one as a custom automation project.

Frequently asked questions

How accurate is it?
It reports its own confidence, and anything below your threshold, over your limit or unclear is marked needs review for a person to check. Clean receipts are approved automatically.
Can a receipt trick the AI?
The receipt text is treated as untrusted data and every field the AI returns is validated by code before it is accepted, so text on a receipt cannot approve itself.
Is there a Make version?
A Make version is coming soon. The n8n version is available now.

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