Automate a tuition centre's enquiries end to end

The situation

Mr Kashif runs a tuition centre in Gujranwala. Parents fill an enquiry form on his website, and every evening he copies the entries into a register, sends each parent a reply, and forgets the ones that arrived on busy days. Last month three families enrolled elsewhere because nobody answered them.

Build the workflow that does this for him every time, survives a bad day, and that he can understand when you are not there.

What you'll be able to show

• Build a webhook-to-sheet-to-email workflow from real data, not assumed field names
• Branch on a rule with an IF node and keep every item accounted for
• Make the workflow survive failures with retries and an error alert
• Leave a workflow that reads as a sentence and explains itself

What you need

• n8n (n8n.cloud trial or self hosted)
• A free form tool with a webhook option (Tally, Jotform or Google Forms with an add-on)
• A Google account for Sheets and Gmail

Tasks

1. 1Capture real data first

   Create the enquiry form with Parent name, Phone, Class (6 to 12), Subject and Preferred time. Add a webhook trigger in n8n, put its TEST URL into the form, press Listen and submit one entry with obviously fake data.
   A correct result: A screenshot of the trigger's output panel showing every field name exactly as the form sends it.

2. 2Write every enquiry to a register

   Add a Google Sheets node (Append Row) to a sheet called Enquiries with the same columns plus Received at. Map each column by dragging fields from the left panel, and set Received at from the run time.
   A correct result: Three test submissions appear as three rows, each column in the right place, with a timestamp.

3. 3Reply to the parent

   Add a Gmail node that sends the centre a notification whose subject names the parent and the class, and a second message that drafts the reply to the parent. Put the phone number in the body so a call is one tap away.
   A correct result: The notification arrives with a subject like New enquiry: Ahmed, Class 9.

4. 4Route by class

   Add an IF node before the emails: classes 9 to 12 go to the senior teacher's address, everything else to the junior one. Submit one enquiry of each kind.
   A correct result: Two submissions, two different recipients, and the executions list shows both branches ran.

5. 5Survive a bad day

   Turn on Retry On Fail (3 tries, 5 seconds) for the Sheets and Gmail nodes. Build a separate error workflow with an Error Trigger that emails you the workflow name and the failed node. Attach it, then break the sheet name on purpose and submit once.
   A correct result: The error email arrives naming the failed node. Fix the sheet name and the next submission works.

6. 6Hand it over

   Rename the workflow and every node so the diagram reads as a sentence. Add a sticky note on the canvas: what it does, who to tell when it breaks. Activate it, switch the form to the PRODUCTION URL, and submit one real test.
   A correct result: A screenshot of the canvas that a stranger could read aloud, and one production execution marked success.

What to hand in

Screenshots of the trigger output, the Enquiries sheet with at least five rows, both IF branches in the executions list, the error email, and the final canvas; plus the exported workflow JSON.

How it is marked