Lead automation on n8n: Telegram, CRM and Google Sheets

The task

A small business took leads through a Telegram bot. After that, each lead was copied by hand: from the messenger into the CRM and into a spreadsheet. Manual copying took time, and leads got lost or duplicated. A manager found out about a deal status change only by opening the system.

A CRM is a system that tracks customers and deals; here it is Bitrix24. The bot, the CRM and Google Sheets had to be connected so that data moved between them without a person in the middle.

The solution

An automation hub on n8n, a workflow automation tool: chains of steps are assembled from ready-made blocks and run when an event happens. Four groups of workflows were built:

• Lead capture. A message from the Telegram bot reaches n8n, is split into fields and is created in the CRM.
• Sync. The same lead and its status are written to Google Sheets, for people who prefer a spreadsheet to a CRM.
• Notifications. When a deal changes status in Bitrix24, the responsible manager gets a Telegram message.
• Payment webhooks. An event from the payment system arrives in n8n and is recorded without manual reconciliation.

How it works

Telegram Trigger: receiving a message from the bot

The first node of the workflow is subscribed to the "message" event. As soon as a customer writes to the bot, n8n starts the chain. Every run is visible in the execution log, so checking whether a lead arrived does not require reading code.

Appending a row to Google Sheets

The Google Sheets node appends a new row to the end of the tracking sheet. Leads accumulate in a familiar format, and the spreadsheet remains a fallback record if the CRM is unavailable.

Bitrix24 and payment webhooks

A webhook is an address that one system calls on its own when an event happens in it. The bot, Bitrix24, the payment system and Google Sheets are not connected to each other directly: each one talks only to n8n. It receives the event, reshapes the data and passes it on. Replacing one system therefore does not break the others.

Workflows as files

An n8n workflow is exported as a JSON file. It is imported on another server, the Telegram and Google credentials are assigned, and the workflow is activated. Keys and tokens live in n8n itself, not in the workflow file.

Results

• A bot lead lands in the CRM and the spreadsheet by itself, with no manual copying.
• The manager is notified when a deal changes status.
• Payment events are handled by the same automation hub.
• n8n runs on the company's own server: no plan limits and no dependence on a third-party cloud.

Technologies and why

• n8n — workflow orchestration: connects the bot, the CRM, the spreadsheet and the payment system.
• Telegram API — receives customer leads and notifies managers.
• Bitrix24 — the client's CRM: deals and their statuses.
• Google Sheets — the tracking sheet for people who work in it.
• Webhooks — instant delivery of events between systems.

Status

In production. The workflows run in the client's n8n; the basic lead-capture workflow is kept in the repository as an export file. Other client details are not disclosed.