Scan receipt images from Google Drive with Gemini and log to Google Sheets

Description

Who is this for

Freelancers, small business owners, and accountants who want to automate receipt management without manual data entry.

What this workflow does

This workflow monitors a Google Drive folder for new receipt images or PDFs. When a file is detected, it downloads and sends it to the Gemini AI API for OCR processing. Gemini extracts key details — date, store name, total amount, tax, payment method, and expense category — as structured JSON. The parsed data is appended to a Google Sheets spreadsheet, and the processed file is automatically moved to a separate folder. If more files remain, the workflow loops until all receipts are processed.

How to set up

Create two folders in Google Drive: one for unprocessed receipts and one for processed files
Create a spreadsheet with columns: date, store_name, total_amount, tax_amount, payment_method, category, source_file, original_file_id
Add your Gemini API key in n8n Settings → Variables as GEMINI_API_KEY
Connect Google Drive and Google Sheets OAuth2 credentials
Set folder IDs in the Watch Drive Folder, Check Remaining Files, and Move to Processed nodes
Set your spreadsheet ID in the Append to Sheet node

Requirements

Google account with Drive and Sheets access
Gemini API key (free tier available at Google AI Studio)

How to customize

Edit the prompt in the Gemini OCR node to add or change extracted fields
Adjust the polling interval in the Watch Drive Folder node
Modify expense categories in the prompt to match your accounting needs