n8n Lead Capture: Google Sheets + Business Hours Gmail Replies

Capture every website enquiry, log it in Google Sheets, and auto-reply in business hours—then alert the owner (with spam-safe handling)

This n8n workflow turns new form submissions into a complete lead pipeline: it validates and prioritizes each enquiry, records it in Google Sheets, sends a business-hours-aware Gmail auto-reply (only for non-spam leads), and emails the business owner with full details.

What this workflow does

• Receives a new lead submission from an n8n Form trigger.
• Normalizes & validates lead details, calculates priority from keywords, determines whether the enquiry is outside business hours, and flags likely spam.
• Spam handling: if the submission looks like spam, it appends the lead to Google Sheets (including spam status) and stops—no auto-reply or owner alert is sent.
• Returning contact detection: for non-spam leads, it searches prior rows in Google Sheets by email to identify returning contacts and counts how many times they have reached out.
• Logs the lead: appends an entry to the Google Sheets “Leads” tab with fields like Lead ID, Received At, Name, Email, Phone, Service, Message, Source, Priority, After Hours, Status, Times Contacted, and Notes.
• Auto-replies via Gmail: sends a tailored HTML email to the lead based on business hours and whether they are returning.
• Owner alert via Gmail: sends an HTML alert email to the business owner including lead details plus quick mailto/tel links.

Use cases

• Service businesses that want instant follow-up from website inquiries while respecting business hours.
• SaaS operators who need a reliable lead log for returning customers and priority scoring.
• Automation engineers building an n8n lead capture system with spam detection and owner visibility.

Technical details

• n8n Form trigger
• Google Sheets (OAuth2) with a configured spreadsheet URL and a required “Leads” tab
• Gmail (OAuth2) to send HTML auto-replies and owner alerts
• Logic nodes: if, set, code, plus supporting nodes (e.g., sticky note)

Setup required: create the Google Sheet with the specified headers, provide Google Sheets OAuth2 credentials, set the Config sheet URL, and connect Gmail OAuth2 credentials along with owner email, business name, and timezone.