Telegram Receipt Logging to Google Sheets (VAT-ready) with n8n

Log German receipt photos from Telegram into VAT-ready Google Sheets—automatically with n8n

Turn messy receipt images into structured, German tax-ready expense rows. With this Telegram Receipt Logging to Google Sheets (VAT-ready) with n8n workflow, you send a receipt photo in Telegram, and it extracts the data using OpenAI Vision, stores the image in Google Drive, and appends a correctly handled Ausgaben entry to your Google Sheets—including VAT/deductibility logic and duplicate detection.

What this workflow does

• Telegram trigger + access control: It triggers on incoming Telegram messages or button callbacks and only processes chat IDs configured in the workflow.
• Receipt data extraction (OpenAI Vision): When you send a receipt photo, it downloads the image and uses GPT-4o-mini vision to extract key fields like merchant, date, gross/net, VAT, currency, and payment method.
• Quality checks: If required fields are missing or the receipt is unreadable, it replies in Telegram requesting a clearer photo.
• Google Drive storage: For readable receipts, it creates a descriptive filename, uploads the image to Google Drive, and continues processing.
• Cost center classification + German tax notes: It calls OpenAI again to classify the expense into a cost center and generate German tax-related notes, including deductibility and VAT recoverability flags.
• VAT-ready calculations: It calculates deductible amounts and VAT fields in-code using German rules (including net vs. gross deduction base and VAT blocking cases), generates a tracking ID, and checks for likely duplicates in Google Sheets.
• Duplicate handling: If a duplicate is suspected, it posts a Telegram warning with “Add anyway” or “Ignore”. Otherwise, it appends the row to the Ausgaben tab and sends a confirmation with buttons.

Use cases

• VAT-ready expense logging for freelancers and SaaS operators directly from Telegram.
• Automated receipt triage when multiple people submit receipts to a shared bot.
• Reducing duplicate entries with Telegram-based approval for “Add anyway”.

Technical details

• n8n nodes / tools: set, code, switch, Telegram, sticky note, Google Drive.
• AI: OpenAI Vision using GPT-4o-mini vision for structured receipt extraction and classification.
• Output: Updates Google Sheets (logs to the Ausgaben tab) with VAT/deductibility handling and duplicate detection.