May 8, 2026
How to Extract Data From Invoices in n8n
How to Extract Data From Invoices in n8n
Ståle Zerener
Manually keying in invoice data is slow, error-prone, and not a great use of anyone's time. In this guide, we'll build an n8n workflow that automatically extracts key information from invoices.
The workflow pulls invoices from email, uses AI to extract fields like invoice number, date, line items, and totals, and writes the structured data to a spreadsheet. It also includes human-in-the-loop validation, so you can review and correct extractions before they're committed, making it suitable for production use cases.
By the end, you’ll have a fully automated invoice processing pipeline up and running in under 10 minutes — no code required. Watch the video below or follow the step-by-step guide to get started.
What we'll build
The workflow we'll set up in this guide comes with the following key features:
Feature | |
|---|---|
Document data extraction | ✅ |
Automatic validation of extracted data | ✅ |
Human-in-the-loop validation | ✅ |
Automatic retraining | ✅ |
Clone the n8n workflow
To get started, clone the n8n workflow template using the button below and paste it into a new, empty workflow in n8n.
Once imported, your workflow should look something like this:
n8n workflow
Clone the Cradl AI agent
Click below to clone a Cradl AI invoice extraction agent. If you don't have an account yet, one will be created for you automatically.
Once cloned, your agent should look something like this:
Screenshot of Cradl AI agent.
Configure the nodes
To get the workflow up and running, you'll need to configure credentials for three nodes:
Cradl AI Double-click the Cradl AI node in n8n and enter your credentials. You'll find them in your Cradl AI account under the n8n trigger settings. Copy in the Client ID and Client Secret, then select your agent from the dropdown.
Gmail Connect your Gmail account and set up email filters to match your setup. If you have a shared inbox for invoices, for example, add to:invoices@mycompany.com to the Search filter parameter. This node can also be swapped out for OneDrive, Google Drive, or any other trigger that fits your use case.
Google Sheets Connect your Google account and map the fields extracted by Cradl AI to the corresponding columns in your spreadsheet. When you're done, it should look something like this:
Google Sheets field mapping.
Take it for a spin!
With everything configured, you're ready to take it for a spin. Send a sample invoice to the email address you set up, and the workflow will kick off automatically.
Human-in-the-loop.
On your first run, the AI will be conservative about what it approves automatically, so don't be surprised if you're asked to confirm the extracted values. This is expected behavior. As you validate more documents, the model becomes more confident and fewer extractions will require manual review.
If you want to speed up this process, or dial back automatic approvals, you can adjust the automation thresholds manually in Cradl AI.
Wrapping up
That's all it takes to build a fully automated invoice processing pipeline in n8n. From Gmail to structured, validated data in Google Sheets with no code required.
From here, the natural next step is to add more advanced processing logic. For example, you can match extracted data against master data from a SQL database to validate suppliers, PO numbers, or line items. The more validation logic you add, the more reliable the process becomes — and the fewer manual checks you'll need downstream.