05 Independent automation project · 2026
Booking & Deposit Automation
An automation that watches booking emails and handles the deposit follow-up for a small business: reminders, checks and confirmations.
The idea at a glance. There is no public screenshot, so this illustration stands in for one.
How it works
Each booking gets one tracked deposit, and a person makes the final call.
Read the email
Spots a real new booking and ignores cancellations or odd messages.
GmailSkip duplicates
The same booking arriving twice never creates a second deposit.
n8nTrack progress
A spreadsheet records the deposit, reminders and proof of payment.
Google SheetsOwner approves
Only the owner can confirm payment before the customer is confirmed.
Forms + emailIt follows each booking from start to finish, including the awkward cases: duplicate emails, reminders, cancellations and owner approval.
01 Problem
Why this exists
Taking a deposit sounds simple until reminders, payment proof, duplicate emails, cancellations and the owner's approval all have to stay in sync. Doing it by hand makes mistakes easy and follow-ups hard to track.
The prototype is built for a beauty studio that takes bookings online. The idea is that the business gets the result, with deposits chased and confirmed, without having to run the automation themselves.
02 My part
What I built
Built an automation that reads booking emails and tracks each deposit.
Handled the awkward cases: duplicate emails, late payments, cancellations and rejections.
Sent reminders and only confirmed bookings after the owner approved the payment.
Kept passwords and private business details out of the shared code.
Tested it thoroughly, including problems that only showed up with a real spreadsheet.
03 Approach
How I approached it
Track the booking, not just the emails
Reminders and confirmations follow the actual state of each booking, not guesswork about timing.
Test what can go wrong
Duplicates, cancellations and odd emails are tested, not just the ideal demo.
Keep secrets out
Logins and business details are added only when it's set up for a real client.
04 Result
Where it is now
A working, tested automation with a public version and a demo that can be run locally.
It isn't running for a real business yet. Connecting real email accounts and business details still needs a proper trial.
Next: Run a full trial with a test spreadsheet before connecting a real business's bookings.