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Generate employee numbers and ID cards with Google Sheets and Gmail

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Created by: Khairul Muhtadin || khmuhtadin
Khairul Muhtadin

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Last update 5 days ago

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New hire, new ID card, zero paperwork chaos. Called with an employee ID, this workflow looks up the employee in Google Sheets, assigns a unique employee number, renders a PDF ID card, and routes it to printing, a GA task, or digital activation. Every step logged.

Last updated: September 2026.

Quick overview

This workflow is called with an employee ID, looks up the employee in Google Sheets, ensures they have a unique employee number, and then creates or updates an ID card record, renders a PDF via an HTTP service, and optionally triggers printing or a GA task while logging events.

How it works

  1. Receives a workflow call containing an employee_id and looks up the matching employee in the Google Sheets “Employees” sheet.
  2. If the employee number is missing, generates a new employee number, checks for collisions in Google Sheets, and updates the employee row with the new value.
  3. If the employee photo URL is missing, appends an “ID Cards” record with waiting_photo, creates a photo-request task in the “Tasks” sheet, and sends a request email via Gmail.
  4. If a photo is available, finds any existing ID card row in the Google Sheets “ID Cards” sheet, generates or reuses a card ID and verification token, and creates or updates the ID card record.
  5. Sends an HTTP request to the ID card renderer service to generate a PDF using the employee data and verification URL.
  6. If rendering succeeds, updates the ID card row with the digital_file_url, reads print_mode from the Google Sheets “Config” sheet, then either sends a print job via HTTP, creates a GA print task in Google Sheets, or marks the card as digitally activated, and finally appends an “id_card_generated” event.
  7. If rendering fails, marks the ID card as failed, appends an “id_card_render_failed” event, and stops the workflow with an error.

Setup

  1. Add Google Sheets OAuth2 credentials and set ONBOARDING_SHEET_URL to your onboarding spreadsheet containing the “Employees”, “ID Cards”, “Tasks”, “Events”, and “Config” sheets.
  2. Add Gmail OAuth2 credentials and set ONBOARDING_HR_EMAIL to the recipient address for photo request emails.
  3. Set environment variables for ID_CARD_RENDERER_URL (PDF renderer endpoint) and ID_CARD_VERIFY_BASE_URL (public base URL used to build verification links).
  4. If using vendor printing, set PRINT_VENDOR_URL, and set the print_mode value in the “Config” sheet to PRINT_API, GA_TICKET, or DIGITAL_ONLY.

Quick Answers

What if there is no photo yet?
The card is marked waiting_photo, a task goes to the Tasks sheet, and HR gets a request email.
How is the card delivered?
Per print_mode: vendor print API, GA ticket, or digital-only activation.
What if rendering fails?
The card is marked failed with an event logged, and the workflow stops with an error.

Additional info

Built with n8n. Need an assessment on your business? Feel free to reach out at https://khmuhtadin.com/consultation/