Monitor suspicious transactions using Google Sheets, Groq AI and Gmail alerts

Transaction Monitoring Workflow

> n8n, Google Sheets, Groq AI & Gmail Alerts

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This workflow automatically monitors daily transactions stored in Google Sheets, detects suspicious activity based on defined thresholds, generates AI-based risk analysis, updates records and sends alert emails.

Quick Implementation Steps

1. Connect your Google Sheets account and map transaction columns.
2. Ensure transaction data includes amount, date and row_number.
3. Configure threshold (₹50,000) for high-value transactions.
4. Connect Groq AI model for risk analysis.
5. Set up Gmail credentials and recipient email.
6. Run the workflow manually or via trigger.

What It Does

This workflow automates the monitoring of transaction data by fetching records from Google Sheets and processing only today’s transactions. It ensures that missing dates are automatically updated, keeping the dataset clean and consistent.

It then calculates key transaction metrics such as total transactions, total transaction amount and the number of high-value transactions exceeding ₹50,000. These metrics help identify unusual transaction patterns.

When suspicious activity is detected (based on defined thresholds), the workflow uses AI to generate a short risk explanation. It updates the transaction record with this analysis and sends an email alert to notify the team for further investigation.

Who It's For

• Finance teams monitoring daily transactions
• Fraud detection and compliance teams
• Startups managing payment logs
• Businesses using Google Sheets as a transaction database
• Developers building automated monitoring systems

Requirements

• n8n account (self-hosted or cloud)
• Google Sheets account with transaction data
• Gmail account for sending alerts
• Groq API access (for AI analysis)
• Transaction sheet must include:
• transaction_id
• amount
• date
• row_number

How It Works & Setup Guide

1. Trigger the Workflow

• Uses a Manual Trigger node to start the workflow.

2. Fetch Transaction Data

• Google Sheets node fetches all transaction records.

3. Update Missing Dates

• If the date field is empty, it assigns today’s date automatically.

4. Filter Today’s Transactions

• Filters records where transaction date equals today’s date.

5. Calculate Metrics

• Code node calculates:
• Total transactions
• Total transaction amount
• High-value transactions (> ₹50,000)

6. Prepare Data

• Set node organizes and prepares fields for further processing.

7. Detect Suspicious Activity

• IF condition checks:
• High-value transactions ≥ 5

8. AI Risk Analysis

• If suspicious:
• Groq AI generates a 2–3 line risk explanation using transaction metrics.

9. Merge AI Output

• Combines AI-generated insights with transaction data.

10. Update Google Sheet

• Marks transactions as:
• Suspicious = Yes/No
• Adds reason (AI-generated or NA)

11. Send Email Alert

• Gmail node sends summary including:
• Total transactions
• High-value transactions
• Total amount
• Risk analysis

How To Customize Nodes

• Threshold Change

• Modify 50000 value in Code node to adjust high-value limit.

• Suspicious Condition

• Update IF node condition (> 5) to change sensitivity.

• AI Prompt

• Edit prompt in "Generate Risk Analysis" node to customize explanation style.

• Email Content

• Modify subject/message in Gmail node for branding or formatting.

• Sheet Columns

• Adjust mapping if your sheet structure differs.

Add-Ons

• Add Slack/WhatsApp alerts instead of email
• Store flagged transactions in a separate sheet/database
• Add weekly/monthly summary reports
• Integrate with dashboards (Power BI, Looker Studio)
• Add anomaly detection using historical trends

Use Case Examples

1. Detecting fraud in daily payment transactions
2. Monitoring unusual spikes in high-value transactions
3. Alerting finance teams about risky transaction patterns
4. Automating compliance checks for financial audits
5. Tracking suspicious activities in fintech applications

There can be many more use cases depending on business needs and customization.

Troubleshooting Guide

Issue	Possible Cause	Solution
No data processed	Sheet not connected properly	Recheck Google Sheets credentials
Date filter not working	Incorrect date format	Ensure ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD)
No email received	Gmail not configured	Verify Gmail OAuth credentials
AI not generating output	Groq API issue	Check API key and model setup
Wrong rows updated	row_number mismatch	Ensure correct mapping in update nodes

Need Help?

If you need help setting up this workflow, customizing it or adding advanced features like dashboards, integrations or fraud detection logic, feel free to reach out to our n8n workflow experts at WeblineIndia.

We can help you:

• Deploy and configure workflows
• Customize AI prompts and logic
• Build scalable automation systems
• Create similar workflows tailored to your business

Let us help you automate smarter.