How to Track Shopify Refunds in Google Sheets with N8n

Dashboard > New Workflow

Create New N8n Workflow

Start a new workflow in N8n to capture Shopify refund events. This workflow will trigger whenever a refund is processed in your Shopify store.

1. 1Click 'New Workflow' from your N8n dashboard
2. 2Name it 'Shopify Refunds to Sheets'
3. 3Click 'Save' to create the workflow

Add Node > Trigger > Webhook

Add Shopify Webhook Trigger

Configure N8n to listen for Shopify refund events. The webhook trigger will fire immediately when refunds occur in your store.

1. 1Delete the 'Start' node and add a 'Webhook' node
2. 2Set HTTP Method to 'POST'
3. 3Copy the webhook URL that appears
4. 4Set Authentication to 'None'

Shopify Admin > Settings > Notifications > Webhooks

Configure Shopify Webhook

Tell Shopify to send refund data to your N8n webhook. This creates the connection between refund events and your automation.

1. 1Go to Shopify Admin > Settings > Notifications
2. 2Scroll to 'Webhooks' section and click 'Create webhook'
3. 3Set Event to 'Refund created'
4. 4Paste your N8n webhook URL in the URL field
5. 5Set Format to 'JSON' and click 'Save'

Add Node > Function

Add Webhook Verification

Verify incoming webhooks are actually from Shopify using HMAC validation. This prevents fake refund data from entering your sheets.

1. 1Add a 'Function' node after the webhook
2. 2Connect the webhook output to the function input
3. 3Paste the HMAC verification code in the function
4. 4Add your Shopify webhook secret as an environment variable

Add Node > Data > Set

Extract Refund Data

Parse the Shopify webhook payload to extract refund details. This transforms raw JSON into the specific fields you need for tracking.

1. 1Add a 'Set' node after the function
2. 2Click 'Add Value' and set 'order_number' to {{ $json.order.order_number }}
3. 3Add 'refund_amount' mapped to {{ $json.refund.amount }}
4. 4Add 'reason' mapped to {{ $json.refund.note }}
5. 5Add 'refund_date' mapped to {{ $json.refund.created_at }}

Add Node > Data > Set

Format Refund Amount

Convert the refund amount from cents to dollars for readable tracking. Shopify sends amounts as integers (2500 = $25.00).

1. 1Add another 'Set' node after the first one
2. 2Click 'Add Value' and set name to 'formatted_amount'
3. 3Set value to {{ parseFloat($json.refund_amount) / 100 }}
4. 4Keep all other fields from the previous node

Add Node > Apps > Google Sheets

Connect Google Sheets

Authenticate with Google Sheets to write refund data. N8n needs permission to create rows in your tracking spreadsheet.

1. 1Add a 'Google Sheets' node
2. 2Click 'Create New Credential'
3. 3Choose 'Google Sheets OAuth2 API'
4. 4Follow the OAuth flow to connect your Google account
5. 5Test the connection

Google Sheets Node > Parameters

Configure Sheet Details

Point N8n to your specific refund tracking spreadsheet and worksheet. This tells the automation exactly where to write the data.

1. 1Set Operation to 'Append'
2. 2Select your refund tracking spreadsheet from the dropdown
3. 3Choose the worksheet name (usually 'Sheet1')
4. 4Set Range to 'A:E' to cover all refund columns

Google Sheets Node > Columns

Map Refund Fields

Connect each Shopify refund field to the correct Google Sheets column. This ensures data lands in the right place for tracking.

1. 1Click 'Add Column' for each field you want to track
2. 2Map Column A to {{ $json.order_number }}
3. 3Map Column B to {{ $json.formatted_amount }}
4. 4Map Column C to {{ $json.reason }}
5. 5Map Column D to {{ $json.refund_date }}

Add Node > Data > Set

Add Date Formatting

Format the refund date for better readability in your tracking sheet. Raw Shopify timestamps are hard to read and sort.

1. 1Add a 'Set' node before Google Sheets
2. 2Click 'Add Value' and name it 'readable_date'
3. 3Set value to {{ DateTime.fromISO($json.refund_date).toFormat('yyyy-MM-dd') }}
4. 4Update the Google Sheets date mapping to use readable_date

Workflow > Execute Workflow

Test the Workflow

Process a test refund to verify data flows correctly from Shopify to Google Sheets. This catches mapping errors before going live.

1. 1Click 'Execute Workflow' to activate listening mode
2. 2Create a small test refund in your Shopify store
3. 3Check N8n for the triggered execution
4. 4Verify the new row appears in Google Sheets with correct data

Workflow Header > Active Toggle

Activate Production Mode

Enable the workflow to run automatically for all future refunds. This starts continuous refund tracking without manual intervention.

1. 1Click the toggle switch to 'Active' at the top of the workflow
2. 2Verify the webhook is still responding
3. 3Set up error notifications if desired
4. 4Save the workflow one final time

Drop this into an n8n Code node.

// Add this to a Function node for duplicate prevention
const refundId = $json.refund.id;
const existingRefunds = $('GoogleSheets').all();

// Add this to a Function node for duplicate prevention
const refundId = $json.refund.id;
const existingRefunds = $('GoogleSheets').all();

if (existingRefunds.some(row => row.json.refund_id === refundId)) {
  return []; // Skip duplicate
}

return [$json]; // Process new refund