Failed Trade Root Cause Explainer

This workflow automatically monitors a Google Sheet for failed trades, analyzes each failure using AI and updates the sheet with a probable root cause, confidence level and actionable next steps. It also sends alerts via Slack and email and creates a follow-up task to ensure the issue is reviewed.

Quick Implementation Steps

• Connect Google Sheets (Failed Trade Log)
• Add Google Gemini API credentials
• Configure Slack, Gmail and Google Tasks
• Ensure sheet columns match workflow fields
• Test with one sample failed trade
• Activate the workflow

What It Does

This workflow automates the analysis of failed trades logged in a Google Sheet. Whenever a new trade is added, it validates whether the required failure details are present.

If valid, the workflow sends the trade details to Gemini AI, which returns a structured explanation including probable cause, confidence, next steps and a short ops summary. The workflow updates the same row with this analysis.

Once updated, alerts are sent to Slack and email and a follow-up Google Task is created for operational tracking. If required fields are missing, the workflow skips AI and marks the record as invalid.

Who It's For

• Trade operations teams
• Brokerage and fintech platforms
• Back-office and support teams
• Teams handling trade exceptions and failures

Requirements

• n8n account (cloud or self-hosted)
• Google Sheets (Failed Trade Log)
• Google Gemini API credentials
• Slack account
• Gmail account
• Google Tasks account

How It Works & Setup Guide

Step 1: Google Sheet Setup

Ensure your sheet contains fields like:

• Trade ID, Client Name, Instrument, Trade Type
• Quantity, Price, Trade Date
• Counterparty, Venue
• Error Code, Error Message, Failure Stage
• Status, Priority, Analysis Status, Alert Sent

Step 2: Trigger Setup

• Configure Google Sheets Trigger to fire on new row added

Step 3: Validation Logic

• Workflow checks if Trade ID, Error Code and Error Message exist
• If missing → marked as Invalid Input

Step 4: AI Analysis

• Gemini analyzes trade failure

• Returns structured JSON:

  • probable_cause
  • confidence
  • next_steps
  • ops_summary

Step 5: Sheet Update

• Original row is updated with AI results
• Analysis Status set to Completed

Step 6: Alerts & Actions

• Slack alert sent to ops channel
• Email alert sent with full summary
• Google Task created for follow-up

Step 7: Final Update

• Alert Sent updated to Yes after email is sent

How To Customize Nodes

• Modify AI prompt for different analysis depth
• Change Slack/email message formatting
• Add more validation rules in IF node
• Extend Google Sheet columns for more data
• Adjust task content for follow-up workflows

Add-ons

• Add severity-based alert routing
• Integrate with Jira or ticketing systems
• Add duplicate detection logic
• Build dashboards for failed trade trends
• Add retry logic for failed API calls

Use Case Examples

• Real-time failed trade analysis
• Faster ops team triage
• Standardizing root cause reporting
• Automated alerts and follow-ups
• Maintaining audit-ready trade logs

There can be many more use cases depending on how the workflow is extended.

Troubleshooting Guide

Issue	Possible Cause	Solution
Workflow not triggering	Incorrect sheet or trigger setup	Verify sheet connection and activate workflow
Record marked invalid	Missing required fields	Ensure Trade ID, Error Code, Error Message are present
AI output missing	Invalid AI response	Ensure prompt enforces JSON format
Sheet not updating	Matching issue	Verify Trade ID mapping
Slack/email not sent	Credentials issue	Reconnect integrations
Task not created	Google Tasks not configured	Verify credentials

Need Help?

If you need help setting up or customizing this workflow, our n8n developers at WeblineIndia can assist with implementation, integrations and scaling automation solutions.

Reach out to build tailored workflows for your business needs.