If your work stalls until clients send documents, this does the nagging for you. Each weekday it finds clients who still owe items, drafts a reminder listing exactly what's missing and nothing else, and gets a little firmer each time, up to the limit you set. You review the drafts first.
Import it into n8n
The short lesson
- Why it matters
- Work stalls on missing paperwork, and nagging is awkward. A steady reminder that lists exactly what's missing is easy to act on.
- Common mistake
- Vague reminders. Always name the exact items and the date you need them by.
- Next step
- Give clients a portal to upload to, so the list shrinks by itself.
What's inside
- An n8n workflow that chases missing documents
- Lists exactly the items missing, never more
- Gets firmer with each reminder, with a limit you set
- The prompt, to use in any other tool
What it does
- Each weekday morning it reads your document-requests sheet.
- It finds clients with missing items who haven't been nudged recently and haven't hit the limit.
- The AI writes a reminder that lists exactly what's missing and the needed-by date.
- It's saved as a Gmail draft, or sent once you turn auto-send on.
- The sheet is updated with the nudge count and date.
Set it up
Pick the path that matches the tools you already use.
- Download the workflow file from the box on this page. It's a .json file.
- In n8n, create a new workflow, open the ⋯ menu at the top right, and choose Import from file. Pick the file you downloaded.
- Nodes that need a login show a warning. Click each one and connect your own account. n8n walks you through it.
- Open the node called Settings and replace the sample values with yours.
- Click Execute workflow to run it once with test data and check what comes out.
- When you're happy with it, switch the workflow to Active.
| You'll connect | What it's used for |
|---|---|
| Google Sheets | Holds your client document requests |
| Gmail | Drafts or sends the reminders |
| An AI model | Writes each reminder |
| Google Sheet: Requests |
|---|
| Client · Email · Missing Items · Needed By · Nudges Sent · Last Nudge · Status |
Put the missing items in one cell, separated by commas. Set Status to Done when everything is in.
Using Claude, Gemini or another model instead of OpenAI? Delete the model node under each AI step, add the one you want, and drag its connector into the AI step.
New to n8n? Start here →The AI prompt
This is exactly what the n8n file sends to the AI. Square brackets are the details your tool fills in for each customer.
Instructions to the AI
You write document reminder emails for [business] to a client. Rules: - List exactly the missing items given. Do not add any. - Under 110 words. - Nudge 1: friendly. Nudge 2: clear and helpful, say they can reply with photos or PDFs. Nudge 3 or more: direct, mention the needed-by date. - Only mention a consequence if one is given: [consequence] Return only JSON with the keys "subject" and "body".
What you send it each time
Client: [name] Missing items: [missing] Needed by: [neededBy] This is nudge number [nudge]. Sign off as [owner], [business].
Test it before it touches a customer
- Add three test clients with your email: one missing two documents, one already done, one nudged yesterday.
- Check only the first gets a draft, and that it lists exactly the two items.
- Raise a client's nudge count and check the tone gets firmer.
Start with auto-send off. You get drafts in Gmail to read and send yourself. After you've read ten and they sound like you, turn auto-send on.
When you'll outgrow this
This is the right size for most small businesses. These are the signs it's time for something sturdier.
- Clients should upload documents to a portal and have the list update by itself.
- You need to track which documents each client type needs, from checklists, across many clients.
- Documents are sensitive and should not travel by email.