Operations workflow

Automated Weekly Operations Report Generation with n8n

Create automated weekly reports that aggregate operational metrics, system status, and performance data from multiple sources into professional reports delivered via email.

These prompts work best with Jasper AI or Copy.ai

Why This Automation Matters

Operations teams spend countless hours manually collecting data from various systems, compiling metrics, and formatting reports for stakeholders. This weekly report automation eliminates the tedious manual work by automatically gathering operational data, calculating key performance indicators, and delivering professionally formatted reports to the right people at the right time.

This workflow saves operations teams 3-5 hours per week while ensuring consistent, accurate reporting that helps leadership make informed decisions about system performance, resource allocation, and operational improvements.

What You Need Before Starting

n8n instance (cloud or self-hosted)
Email service (Gmail, Outlook, or SMTP server)
Data sources such as:
- Database access (MySQL, PostgreSQL, or MongoDB)
- API endpoints for system metrics
- Google Sheets or Excel files with operational data
- Monitoring tools (optional: New Relic, DataDog)
HTML/CSS knowledge (basic, for report formatting)
Credentials configured in n8n for your data sources and email service

Complete Node-by-Node Build Instructions

1. Schedule Trigger Node

Add Schedule Trigger node
Set trigger to run weekly: 0 8 * * MON (8 AM every Monday)
Configure timezone to match your business hours

2. Set Report Variables Node

Add Set node after the trigger
Configure variables:
- reportWeek: {{ $now.minus({days: 7}).toFormat('yyyy-MM-dd') }} to {{ $now.toFormat('yyyy-MM-dd') }}
- reportTitle: Weekly Operations Report - Week of {{ $now.minus({days: 7}).toFormat('MMM dd, yyyy') }}
- recipientEmails: Array of email addresses for report distribution

3. Fetch Database Metrics Node

Add MySQL (or your database) node
Configure connection to your operations database
Query for weekly metrics:

SELECT 
  COUNT(*) as total_tickets,
  AVG(resolution_time) as avg_resolution_time,
  COUNT(CASE WHEN status = 'resolved' THEN 1 END) as resolved_tickets,
  COUNT(CASE WHEN priority = 'high' THEN 1 END) as high_priority_tickets
FROM support_tickets 
WHERE created_at >= DATE_SUB(NOW(), INTERVAL 7 DAY)

4. Fetch System Uptime Node

Add HTTP Request node
Configure to call your monitoring API
Method: GET
URL: Your monitoring endpoint (e.g., /api/v1/uptime/weekly)
Headers: Include authentication if required

5. Get Performance Data Node

Add Google Sheets node (if using Sheets for performance tracking)
Operation: Read
Configure to fetch last week’s performance data
Range: Specify the range containing weekly metrics

6. Calculate KPIs Node

Add Code node
Process the collected data and calculate key metrics:

const dbMetrics = $input.first().json;
const uptimeData = $input.all()[1].json;
const performanceData = $input.all()[2].json;

// Calculate key performance indicators
const kpis = {
  ticketResolutionRate: ((dbMetrics.resolved_tickets / dbMetrics.total_tickets) * 100).toFixed(2),
  averageResolutionTime: Math.round(dbMetrics.avg_resolution_time),
  systemUptime: uptimeData.uptime_percentage || 99.9,
  highPriorityTickets: dbMetrics.high_priority_tickets,
  weekOverWeekChange: calculateWeekOverWeekChange(performanceData)
};

return { kpis, rawData: { dbMetrics, uptimeData, performanceData } };

7. Generate Report Charts Node (Optional)

Add HTTP Request node to QuickChart API
Method: POST
URL: https://quickchart.io/chart
Body:

{
  "chart": {
    "type": "bar",
    "data": {
      "labels": ["Resolved", "Pending", "High Priority"],
      "datasets": [{
        "data": ["{{ $json.kpis.resolvedTickets }}", "{{ $json.rawData.dbMetrics.total_tickets - $json.rawData.dbMetrics.resolved_tickets }}", "{{ $json.kpis.highPriorityTickets }}"]
      }]
    }
  }
}

8. Format HTML Report Node

Add HTML node or Code node
Create professional HTML email template:

const { kpis, rawData } = $input.first().json;
const reportDate = new Date().toLocaleDateString();

const htmlReport = `
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <style>
        body { font-family: Arial, sans-serif; margin: 20px; }
        .header { background-color: #f4f4f4; padding: 20px; text-align: center; }
        .metric { background: #fff; border: 1px solid #ddd; margin: 10px 0; padding: 15px; }
        .metric-value { font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; color: #2196F3; }
        .status-good { color: #4CAF50; }
        .status-warning { color: #FF9800; }
        .status-critical { color: #F44336; }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <div class="header">
        <h1>Weekly Operations Report</h1>
        <p>Report Period: ${$('Set').first().json.reportWeek}</p>
    </div>
    
    <div class="metric">
        <h3>Support Tickets</h3>
        <div class="metric-value">${rawData.dbMetrics.total_tickets}</div>
        <p>Resolution Rate: <span class="${kpis.ticketResolutionRate > 85 ? 'status-good' : 'status-warning'}">${kpis.ticketResolutionRate}%</span></p>
        <p>Avg Resolution Time: ${kpis.averageResolutionTime} hours</p>
    </div>
    
    <div class="metric">
        <h3>System Performance</h3>
        <div class="metric-value ${kpis.systemUptime > 99.5 ? 'status-good' : 'status-warning'}">${kpis.systemUptime}%</div>
        <p>Uptime this week</p>
    </div>
    
    <div class="metric">
        <h3>High Priority Issues</h3>
        <div class="metric-value ${kpis.highPriorityTickets === 0 ? 'status-good' : kpis.highPriorityTickets < 5 ? 'status-warning' : 'status-critical'}">${kpis.highPriorityTickets}</div>
        <p>Requiring immediate attention</p>
    </div>
</body>
</html>
`;

return { htmlReport, subject: $('Set').first().json.reportTitle };

9. Send Email Report Node

Add Gmail (or your email service) node
Configure:
- To: {{ $('Set').first().json.recipientEmails.join(',') }}
- Subject: {{ $json.subject }}
- Email Type: HTML
- Message: {{ $json.htmlReport }}

10. Log Report Generation Node

Add HTTP Request node (optional)
Log successful report generation to your monitoring system
Or add Set node to store completion timestamp

Complete Workflow JSON

{
  "name": "Weekly Operations Report Generator",
  "nodes": [
    {
      "parameters": {
        "rule": {
          "interval": [
            {
              "field": "cronExpression",
              "cronExpression": "0 8 * * MON"
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      "name": "Weekly Schedule",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.scheduleTrigger",
      "typeVersion": 1.1,
      "position": [240, 300]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "values": {
          "string": [
            {
              "name": "reportWeek",
              "value": "={{ $now.minus({days: 7}).toFormat('yyyy-MM-dd') }} to {{ $now.toFormat('yyyy-MM-dd') }}"
            },
            {
              "name": "reportTitle",
              "value": "Weekly Operations Report - Week of {{ $now.minus({days: 7}).toFormat('MMM dd, yyyy') }}"
            }
          ],
          "array": [
            {
              "name": "recipientEmails",
              "value": ["operations@company.com", "manager@company.com"]
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      "name": "Set Report Variables",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
      "typeVersion": 2,
      "position": [460, 300]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "operation": "executeQuery",
        "query": "SELECT COUNT(*) as total_tickets, AVG(resolution_time) as avg_resolution_time, COUNT(CASE WHEN status = 'resolved' THEN 1 END) as resolved_tickets, COUNT(CASE WHEN priority = 'high' THEN 1 END) as high_priority_tickets FROM support_tickets WHERE created_at >= DATE_SUB(NOW(), INTERVAL 7 DAY)"
      },
      "name": "Fetch Database Metrics",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.mySql",
      "typeVersion": 2.1,
      "position": [680, 200]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "url": "https://api.monitoring.com/uptime/weekly",
        "options": {}
      },
      "name": "Fetch System Uptime",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
      "typeVersion": 4.1,
      "position": [680, 320]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "operation": "read",
        "documentId": "your-sheet-id",
        "sheetName": "Weekly Metrics",
        "range": "A:F"
      },
      "name": "Get Performance Data",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.googleSheets",
      "typeVersion": 4,
      "position": [680, 440]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "jsCode": "const dbMetrics = $input.all()[0].json;\nconst uptimeData = $input.all()[1].json;\nconst performanceData = $input.all()[2].json;\n\nconst kpis = {\n  ticketResolutionRate: ((dbMetrics.resolved_tickets / dbMetrics.total_tickets) * 100).toFixed(2),\n  averageResolutionTime: Math.round(dbMetrics.avg_resolution_time),\n  systemUptime: uptimeData.uptime_percentage || 99.9,\n  highPriorityTickets: dbMetrics.high_priority_tickets\n};\n\nreturn { kpis, rawData: { dbMetrics, uptimeData, performanceData } };"
      },
      "name": "Calculate KPIs",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
      "typeVersion": 2,
      "position": [900, 320]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "jsCode": "const { kpis, rawData } = $input.first().json;\nconst reportPeriod = $('Set Report Variables').first().json.reportWeek;\nconst reportTitle = $('Set Report Variables').first().json.reportTitle;\n\nconst htmlReport = `\n<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n    <style>\n        body { font-family: Arial, sans-serif; margin: 20px; }\n        .header { background-color: #f4f4f4; padding: 20px; text-align: center; }\n        .metric { background: #fff; border: 1px solid #ddd; margin: 10px 0; padding: 15px; }\n        .metric-value { font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; color: #2196F3; }\n        .status-good { color: #4CAF50; }\n        .status-warning { color: #FF9800; }\n        .status-critical { color: #F44336; }\n    </style>\n</head>\n<body>\n    <div class=\"header\">\n        <h1>Weekly Operations Report</h1>\n        <p>Report Period: ${reportPeriod}</p>\n    </div>\n    \n    <div class=\"metric\">\n        <h3>Support Tickets</h3>\n        <div class=\"metric-value\">${rawData.dbMetrics.total_tickets}</div>\n        <p>Resolution Rate: <span class=\"${kpis.ticketResolutionRate > 85 ? 'status-good' : 'status-warning'}\">${kpis.ticketResolutionRate}%</span></p>\n        <p>Avg Resolution Time: ${kpis.averageResolutionTime} hours</p>\n    </div>\n    \n    <div class=\"metric\">\n        <h3>System Performance</h3>\n        <div class=\"metric-value ${kpis.systemUptime > 99.5 ? 'status-good' : 'status-warning'}\">${kpis.systemUptime}%</div>\n        <p>Uptime this week</p>\n    </div>\n    \n    <div class=\"metric\">\n        <h3>High Priority Issues</h3>\n        <div class=\"metric-value ${kpis.highPriorityTickets === 0 ? 'status-good' : kpis.highPriorityTickets < 5 ? 'status-warning' : 'status-critical'}\">${kpis.highPriorityTickets}</div>\n        <p>Requiring immediate attention</p>\n    </div>\n</body>\n</html>\n`;\n\nreturn { htmlReport, subject: reportTitle };"
      },
      "name": "Format HTML Report",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
      "typeVersion": 2,
      "position": [1120, 320]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "sendTo": "={{ $('Set Report Variables').first().json.recipientEmails.join(',') }}",
        "subject": "={{ $json.subject }}",
        "emailType": "html",
        "message": "={{ $json.htmlReport }}"
      },
      "name": "Send Email Report",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.gmail",
      "typeVersion": 2.1,
      "position": [1340, 320]
    }
  ],
  "connections": {
    "Weekly Schedule": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Set Report Variables",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Set Report Variables

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