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Log expenses by texting a Telegram bot

Send "12.50 lunch" to your bot and it's saved to a Google Sheet instantly.

Medium Saves ~3 hours/month Finance & AdminBy Flowngn team

Works with n8n · Make · Zapier

Get paid faster Get organized

How it works

Trigger: Telegram — new message to your bot
  1. Receive the message from your Telegram bot.
  2. Read the amount and note from text like "taxi 40".
  3. If it's valid, add a row to your "Expenses" sheet and confirm with ✅.
  4. If not, reply with an example of the right format.

Diagram

truefalseTNew messageTelegram Trigger{ }Parse expenseCode⑂Valid expense?IfGAdd to ExpensesGoogle SheetsTConfirmTelegramTExplain formatTelegram
Trigger App Logic Code

Code

JavaScript used in the Code step — already included in the template below.

Parse expense · Code node
// Understands messages like "12.50 lunch", "taxi 40" or "coffee 3,5".
const msg = $input.first().json.message;
const text = (msg.text || "").trim();
const match = text.match(/\d+(?:[.,]\d+)?/);

if (!match) {
  return [{ json: { valid: false, chatId: msg.chat.id } }];
}

const amount = parseFloat(match[0].replace(",", "."));
const note = text.replace(match[0], "").trim() || "expense";

return [{
  json: {
    valid: true,
    chatId: msg.chat.id,
    date: new Date(msg.date * 1000).toISOString().slice(0, 10),
    amount,
    note,
  },
}];

Build it

Pick your tool — same automation, step by step.

Copy and paste straight into an n8n canvas (Ctrl+V), or download and use Import from File. Then connect your own credentials and replace every YOUR_… placeholder.

Workflow JSON
Show code (210 lines)
{
  "name": "Log expenses by texting a Telegram bot (Flowngn)",
  "nodes": [
    {
      "parameters": {
        "content": "## Log expenses by texting a Telegram bot\nSend \"12.50 lunch\" to your bot and it's saved to a Google Sheet instantly.\n\n**Setup**\n1. Open each node and connect your own credentials.\n2. Replace every YOUR_… placeholder.\n3. Test once, then activate.\n\nFree template from Flowngn",
        "height": 260,
        "width": 340
      },
      "id": "3da33d1f-b8e3-42d1-aace-213b83d434e0",
      "name": "Setup notes",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        -420,
        -60
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "updates": [
          "message"
        ],
        "additionalFields": {}
      },
      "id": "3da33d1f-b8e3-42d1-aace-213b83d434e0",
      "name": "New message",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.telegramTrigger",
      "typeVersion": 1.1,
      "position": [
        0,
        0
      ],
      "webhookId": "3da33d1f-b8e3-42d1-aace-213b83d434e0"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "jsCode": "// Understands messages like \"12.50 lunch\", \"taxi 40\" or \"coffee 3,5\".\nconst msg = $input.first().json.message;\nconst text = (msg.text || \"\").trim();\nconst match = text.match(/\\d+(?:[.,]\\d+)?/);\n\nif (!match) {\n  return [{ json: { valid: false, chatId: msg.chat.id } }];\n}\n\nconst amount = parseFloat(match[0].replace(\",\", \".\"));\nconst note = text.replace(match[0], \"\").trim() || \"expense\";\n\nreturn [{\n  json: {\n    valid: true,\n    chatId: msg.chat.id,\n    date: new Date(msg.date * 1000).toISOString().slice(0, 10),\n    amount,\n    note,\n  },\n}];"
      },
      "id": "3da33d1f-b8e3-42d1-aace-213b83d434e0",
      "name": "Parse expense",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
      "typeVersion": 2,
      "position": [
        300,
        0
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "conditions": {
          "options": {
            "caseSensitive": true,
            "leftValue": "",
            "typeValidation": "loose"
          },
          "conditions": [
            {
              "id": "c1",
              "leftValue": "={{ $json.valid }}",
              "rightValue": "",
              "operator": {
                "type": "boolean",
                "operation": "true",
                "singleValue": true
              }
            }
          ],
          "combinator": "and"
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "id": "3da33d1f-b8e3-42d1-aace-213b83d434e0",
      "name": "Valid expense?",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.if",
      "typeVersion": 2.2,
      "position": [
        600,
        0
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "operation": "append",
        "documentId": {
          "__rl": true,
          "value": "YOUR_SPREADSHEET_ID",
          "mode": "id"
        },
        "sheetName": {
          "__rl": true,
          "value": "Expenses",
          "mode": "name"
        },
        "columns": {
          "mappingMode": "defineBelow",
          "value": {
            "date": "={{ $json.date }}",
            "amount": "={{ $json.amount }}",
            "note": "={{ $json.note }}"
          }
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "id": "3da33d1f-b8e3-42d1-aace-213b83d434e0",
      "name": "Add to Expenses",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.googleSheets",
      "typeVersion": 4.5,
      "position": [
        900,
        0
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "chatId": "={{ $('Parse expense').item.json.chatId }}",
        "text": "=✅ Saved {{ $('Parse expense').item.json.amount }} — {{ $('Parse expense').item.json.note }}",
        "additionalFields": {
          "appendAttribution": false
        }
      },
      "id": "3da33d1f-b8e3-42d1-aace-213b83d434e0",
      "name": "Confirm",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.telegram",
      "typeVersion": 1.2,
      "position": [
        1200,
        0
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "chatId": "={{ $json.chatId }}",
        "text": "Send an amount and a note, for example \"12.50 lunch\" or \"taxi 40\".",
        "additionalFields": {
          "appendAttribution": false
        }
      },
      "id": "3da33d1f-b8e3-42d1-aace-213b83d434e0",
      "name": "Explain format",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.telegram",
      "typeVersion": 1.2,
      "position": [
        900,
        220
      ]
    }
  ],
  "connections": {
    "New message": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Parse expense",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Parse expense": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Valid expense?",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Valid expense?": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Add to Expenses",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ],
        [
          {
            "node": "Explain format",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Add to Expenses": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Confirm",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    }
  },
  "pinData": {},
  "settings": {
    "executionOrder": "v1"
  },
  "meta": {
    "templateCredsSetupCompleted": false
  },
  "tags": []
}

Open in the playground to edit →

Tips

  • Add a monthly Schedule flow that totals the sheet and texts you the summary.

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