Extract & Categorize Receipt Data with Google OCR, OpenRouter AI & Telegram

Effortlessly track your expenses with MoneyMate, an n8n workflow that transforms receipts into organized financial insights.

Upload a photo or text via Telegram, and let MoneyMate extract key details—store info, transaction dates, items, and totals—using Google Vision OCR and AI-powered parsing via OpenRouter.

It categorizes expenses (e.g., Food & Beverages, Transport, Household) and delivers a clean, emoji-rich summary back to your Telegram chat. Handles zero-total errors with a friendly nudge to double-check inputs.

Perfect for freelancers, small business owners, or anyone seeking hassle-free expense management. No database required, ensuring privacy and simplicity. Deploy MoneyMate and take control of your finances today!

Key Features

• 📱 Telegram Integration: Input via photo or text, receive summaries instantly.
• 📸 Receipt Scanning: Converts receipt images to text using Google Vision API.
• 🤖 AI Parsing: Categorizes transactions with OpenRouter’s AI analysis.
• 🛡️ Privacy-First: Processes data on-the-fly without storage.
• ⚠️ Smart Error Handling: Catches zero totals with user-friendly prompts.
• 📊 Flexible Categories: Supports Income/Expense and custom expense types.

Ideal For

• Budget-conscious individuals managing personal finances.
• Entrepreneurs tracking business expenses.
• Teams needing quick, automated expense reporting.

Pre-Requirements

• n8n Instance: A running n8n instance (cloud or self-hosted).
• Credentials:
  • Telegram: A bot token and webhook setup (obtained via BotFather). For more information, please refer to Telegram bots creation
  • Google Cloud: A service account with Google Vision API enabled and API key. For more informations, please refer to Google cloud Vision
  • OpenRouter: An account with API access for AI language model usage.
• Telegram Bot: A configured Telegram bot to receive inputs and send summaries.

Setup Instructions

• Import Workflow: Copy the MoneyMate workflow JSON and import it into your n8n instance using the "Import Workflow" option.
• Set Up Telegram Bot: Create a bot via BotFather on Telegram to get a token and set up a webhook. For detailed steps, refer to n8n’s Telegram setup guide.
• Configure Credentials:
  • In the Telegram Trigger, Send Error Message, and Send Expense Summary nodes, add Telegram API credentials with your bot token.
  • In the Get Telegram File and Download Image nodes, ensure Telegram API credentials are linked.
  • In the Google Vision OCR node, add Google Cloud credentials with Google Vision API access.
  • In the OpenRouter AI Model node, set up OpenRouter API credentials.
• Test the Workflow: Send a test receipt photo or text (e.g., "Lunch 50,000 IDR") via Telegram and verify the summary in your chat.
• Activate: Enable the workflow in n8n to run automatically for each input.

Customization Options

• Add Categories: Modify the AI Categorizer node to include new expense types (e.g., Entertainment).
• Change Output Format: Adjust the Format Summary Message node to include more details like taxes or payment methods.
• Switch AI Model: In the OpenRouter AI Model node, select a different OpenRouter model for better parsing.
• Store Data: Add a Google Sheets node after Parse Receipt Data to save expense records.
• Enhance Errors: Include an email notification node after Check Invalid Input for failed inputs.

Why Choose MoneyMate?

Save time, reduce manual entry, and gain clarity on your spending with MoneyMate’s AI-driven workflow. Ready to streamline your finances? Get MoneyMate now!