PTO Request Form Workflow

Overview

When an employee requests PTO, the request needs manager approval, calendar updates, and a record in your HR sheet. This workflow handles it all automatically, from the initial form submission to the final approval email.

What it does

• Triggers automatically when a PTO request form is submitted
• Validates the request and creates a PTO record in your Google Sheet
• Notifies the manager for approval
• Updates the shared team calendar with the PTO dates
• Sends approval or rejection emails to the employee
• Logs validation errors to an error log sheet for troubleshooting

What you need

• A Google Workspace account
• An n8n instance (self-hosted or cloud)
• A shared Google Calendar for PTO events

What's included

• n8n workflow JSON pre-configured and ready to import
• Google Apps Script connects your Google Form to the workflow
• Full setup guide covering everything from Google Cloud to n8n credentials
• Pre-made Google Sheet and Google Form templates. Copy them to your Drive and you're ready to go.

How to set it up

Setup takes around 30-45 minutes. Here's what's involved:

1. 1 Copy the Google Form and Google Sheet

   Visit tl-hr.com and enter your license key to access the configurator. Download your pre-configured workflow and copy the Google Form and Google Sheet templates provided.

   Important: copying does not carry over the connection between the form and sheet. You will need to reconnect them in Google Forms (Responses tab → Link to Sheets → Select the copied sheet).
2. 2 Create/Setup Google Cloud Project

   Enable the Gmail API and Google Sheets API in your Google Cloud Project. Google's official documentation covers how to enable APIs.

3. 3 Connect your credentials in n8n

   Add three credentials to your n8n instance: Gmail OAuth2, Google Sheets OAuth2, and the Google Service Account. Our setup guides walk you through each one step by step.

4. 4 Configure and download your workflow

   Enter your company details, webhook URL, calendar ID, spreadsheet ID, and credential IDs into the configurator. Download your pre-configured workflow JSON and Apps Script files.

5. 5 Import into n8n, add the Apps Script, and create the Error Log sheet

   Import the workflow JSON into n8n. Paste the Apps Script into your Google Sheet's script editor (Extensions → Apps Script), and create a sheet tab named "Error Log" in your Google Sheet. Run the setup() function once to register the form trigger.

   The workflow includes disabled error log nodes. After creating the "Error Log" sheet tab, enable those nodes in the n8n editor.
6. 6 Test the workflow

   Submit a test PTO request form and confirm the manager notification is sent, the calendar is updated, and the PTO record appears in your Google Sheet.