Extract Expenses from Emails and Add to Google Sheet

Workflow Name

Extract Expenses from Emails and Add to Google Sheet

Key Features and Highlights

This workflow automatically filters emails in the inbox containing keywords such as "expenses" or "receipt," extracts receipt attachments, and parses key data including date, description, category, currency, and amount. It then appends the extracted expense information to a specified Google Sheet, enabling automated organization and archiving of expense data.

Core Problems Addressed

Traditional expense management often requires manually downloading email attachments, reading receipt details, and entering data into spreadsheets—a cumbersome process prone to errors. This workflow significantly improves expense entry efficiency by automatically reading emails and intelligently parsing receipts, reducing manual operations and minimizing the risk of omissions.

Use Cases

• Automated organization of employee reimbursement documents by corporate finance departments
• Automatic aggregation of expense vouchers for freelancers or small businesses
• Any scenario requiring extraction and archiving of data from email receipts

Main Process Steps

1. Check New Emails: Connect to the mailbox (e.g., Gmail) and read new emails in the inbox.
2. Set Keyword Variables: Define email subject keywords (e.g., "expenses," "receipt") to filter relevant emails.
3. Filter Email Subjects: Use regex matching to determine if email subjects contain specified keywords.
4. Parse Receipt Attachments: Invoke the Mindee receipt parsing API to extract expense details from attachments.
5. Organize Column Data: Format extracted information such as date, description, category, currency, and amount.
6. Add to Google Sheet: Append the organized expense data to the designated Google Sheets spreadsheet.

Involved Systems or Services

• Gmail (accessed via IMAP protocol to read emails)
• Mindee Receipt Recognition API (intelligent parsing of receipt attachments)
• Google Sheets (online spreadsheet for storing expense data)

Target Users and Value

• Finance personnel and accountants, enhancing expense reimbursement processing efficiency
• Business managers, enabling automated consolidation and analysis of expense data
• Freelancers and small business owners, simplifying financial management workflows
• Any users relying on email receipts for expense tracking and management, reducing manual entry workload while improving data accuracy and timeliness