Automated Weekly Project Cost Reports with MySQL and Outlook HTML Emails

Automated Weekly Project Cost Reports with MySQL and Outlook HTML Emails

🧠 Use Case

Need to keep your finance or operations team updated on missing project costs?
This practical automated report workflow does the job without AI — and saves hours weekly.

Runs on a weekly schedule Queries your MySQL database for projects missing cost data Filters by budgeted_project_cost IS NULL Generates a clean HTML email report Sends it through Microsoft Outlook to relevant teams

🚀 How It Works

Schedule Trigger – Runs every Monday at 8 AM MySQL Node – Connects and runs SQL to fetch project data missing budgeted_project_cost Switch Node – Routes logic based on cost_center (e.g., Retail, Service, Projects) Outlook Nodes – Sends formatted HTML emails; each node handles a specific group Dynamic Content – Inject values using mustache tags like {{ $json.project_name }}

🔧 Setup Instructions

MySQL Setup: Ensure the MySQL node is connected using a valid credential set: Hostname/IP Port (default: 3306) Database name Username with SELECT permissions Password Query Example: SELECT project_name, cost_center FROM tabProject WHERE status = 'Open' AND project_type = 'External' AND budgeted_project_cost IS NULL;

Outlook Configuration: Connect your Microsoft Outlook node using OAuth2 credentials. Rename each Outlook node clearly (e.g., Send Email - Retail, Send Email - Service).

Switch Node: Modify cost center values as needed to match your organization (e.g., 'Retail', 'Service', 'Projects').

HTML Email Formatting: Customize the HTML message body using inline styles and mustache syntax. Sample: Missing Budgeted Cost Report

   Project: {{ $json.project_name }}
   Cost Center: {{ $json.cost_center }}
 
 

Recipients: Replace amjid@amjidali.com with the actual email addresses of the concerned teams.

📘 Read More

👉 Why Simple Workflows Work

📺 Demo & Tutorial

🎥 Watch the video walkthrough:
https://youtube.com/@syncbricks

👤 About the Creator

Amjid Ali
🌐 amjidali.com
📘 n8n Book
🎓 Learn n8n

> “Start simple, scale smart. Even basic workflows like this can save your team hours!” — Amjid Ali