Track personal finances in Google Sheets with AI agent via Slack

!Workflow Overview Who's it for This workflow is perfect for individuals who want to maintain detailed financial records without the overhead of complex budgeting apps. If you prefer natural language over data entry forms and want an AI assistant to handle the bookkeeping, this template is for you. It's especially useful for: - People who want to track cash and online transactions separately - Anyone who lends money to friends/family and needs debt tracking - Users comfortable with Slack as their primary interface - Those who prefer conversational interactions over manual spreadsheet updates What it does This AI-powered finance tracker transforms your Slack workspace into a personal finance command center. Simply mention your bot with transactions in plain English (e.g., "₹500 cash food, borrowed ₹1000 from John"), and the AI agent will: 1. Parse transactions using natural language understanding via Google Gemini 2. Calculate balance changes for cash and online accounts 3. Show a preview of changes before saving anything 4. Update Google Sheets only after you approve 5. Track debts (who owes you, who you owe, repayments) 6. Send daily reminders at 11 PM with current balances and active debts The workflow maintains conversational context using PostgreSQL memory, so you can say things like "yesterday's transactions" or "that payment to Sarah" and it understands the context. How it works Scheduled Daily Check-in (11 PM) - Fetches current balances from Google Sheets - Retrieves all active debts - Formats and sends a Slack message with balance summary - Prompts you to share the day's transactions AI Agent Transaction Processing When you mention the bot in Slack: Phase 1: Parse & Analyze - Extracts amount, payment type (cash/online), category (food, travel, etc.) - Identifies transaction type (expense, income, borrowed, lent, repaid) - Stores conversation context in PostgreSQL memory Phase 2: Calculate & Preview - Reads current balances from Google Sheets - Calculates new balances based on transactions - Shows formatted preview with projected changes - Waits for your approval ("yes"/"no") Phase 3: Update Database (only after approval) - Logs transactions with unique IDs and timestamps - Updates debt records with person names and status - Recalculates and stores new balances - Handles debt lifecycle (Active → Settled) Phase 4: Confirmation - Sends success message with updated balances - Shows active debts summary - Includes logging timestamp Requirements Essential Services: - n8n instance (self-hosted or cloud) - Slack workspace with admin access - Google account - Google Gemini API key - PostgreSQL database Recommended: - Claude AI model (mentioned in workflow notes as better alternative to Gemini) How to set up 1. Google Sheets Setup Create a new Google Sheet with three tabs named exactly: Balances Tab: | Date | CashBalance | OnlineBalance | TotalBalance | |------|--------------|----------------|---------------| Transactions Tab: | TransactionID | Date | Time | Amount | PaymentType | Category | TransactionType | PersonName | Description | AddedAt | |----------------|------|------|--------|--------------|----------|------------------|-------------|-------------|----------| Debts Tab: | PersonName | Amount | Type | Datecreated | Status | Notes | |-------------|--------|------|--------------|--------|-------| Add header rows and one initial balance row in the Balances tab with today's date and starting amounts. 2. Slack App Setup 1. Go to api.slack.com/apps and create a new app 2. Under OAuth & Permissions, add these Bot Token Scopes: - appmentions:read - chat:write - channels:read 3. Install the app to your workspace 4. Copy the Bot User OAuth Token 5. Create a dedicated channel (e.g., personal-finance-tracker) 6. Invite your bot to the channel 3. Google Gemini API 1. Visit ai.google.dev 2. Create an API key 3. Save it for n8n credentials setup 4. PostgreSQL Database Set up a PostgreSQL database (you can use Supabase free tier): 1. C