LedgerLou Docs is optimized for desktop.

Please open this page on a device with a wider screen.

LedgerLou Docs

What is this?

With the LedgerLou n8n node you automate your accounting without writing a line of code. A few clicks in n8n and you can:

  • Automatically post incoming payments from Stripe or PayPal.
  • Reconcile bank transactions in real time.
  • Upload incoming invoices from your email directly as a document.
  • Forward new journal lines to your team (e.g. Slack).

All accounting features of LedgerLou are available as ready-made n8n building blocks.

Up and running in 4 steps (self-hosted n8n)

1
Install the node in n8nIn your self-hosted n8n instance: Settings → Community Nodes → Install a community node. Enter the package name: n8n-nodes-ledgerlou. Confirm the risk notice → Install. Then reload the tab.
2
Create an API key in LedgerLouIn the LedgerLou dashboard: API keys → New key. Select the permissions (scopes) your workflow needs (e.g. write journal, read bank). Copy the key — it is only shown once.
3
Create the credential in n8nIn n8n: Credentials → Add Credential → LedgerLou API. Paste the API key, click Test. Green check = connected.
4
Build your first workflowDrag a LedgerLou node into your workflow, pick a resource and operation (e.g. “Journal → Create posting”). Fill in the fields, test, activate.

Examples

Stripe payment → posting. Stripe trigger on payment_intent.succeeded, then a LedgerLou posting node. Tip: set the Stripe ID as external_reference, then retries are automatically deduplicated.

Email → document & vendor. IMAP trigger, forward the PDF attachment to the LedgerLou document upload, then create or update the vendor.

New bank transaction → Slack. The LedgerLou trigger polls for new transactions every few minutes — for amounts over a threshold, send a message to the team channel.

Frequently asked questions

Does this work on n8n Cloud? Not yet. Cloud only allows community nodes verified by n8n — the LedgerLou node was freshly published and is not yet in the verified program. Solution: self-hosted n8n (e.g. via Docker: docker run -p 5678:5678 -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n n8nio/n8n). Cloud support will follow post-MVP.

What if the key has the wrong scope? You’ll get a clear 403 FORBIDDEN error including a hint about the required scope. Adjust the scope in the dashboard; the key stays the same.

Which operations are available? Everything the LedgerLou API can do — journal, bank, payables, receivables, periods, reports, config. New endpoints appear automatically in the node.

Further reading