# Customer onboarding emails n8n template

> An importable n8n workflow in two parts. Every 15 minutes it finds HubSpot deals that moved to closed-won, skips any already started, has Claude write a short opener from the sales notes, and saves the welcome email as a Gmail draft plus an onboarding record. Every weekday morning it checks setup progress and alerts the owner in Slack when a customer stalls.

- Platform: n8n
- Download: https://www.lumeor.studio/templates/n8n/automate-customer-onboarding-emails.json
- Trigger: Schedule, every 15 minutes (new deals) and weekdays at 9am (stall check)
- Credentials needed: HubSpot private app token, Anthropic API, Gmail OAuth2, Google Sheets OAuth2, Slack
- Full guide: https://www.lumeor.studio/guides/automate-customer-onboarding-emails/
- Last updated: 2026-10-14

## What this workflow does

1. **Every 15 minutes** (Schedule Trigger) starts the new-customer check.
2. **Search closed-won deals** (HTTP Request, HubSpot CRM search) returns closed-won deals modified in the last two days.
3. **Read onboarding state** (Google Sheets) loads existing onboarding records.
4. **New customers only** (Code) drops deals that already have a record, so a second closed-won event never starts a second sequence, and builds the prompt from the deal notes.
5. **Write opener with Claude** (HTTP Request) returns strict JSON: a short opener, the goal it referenced and a `safe_to_send` flag. The prompt forbids pricing, discounts, contract terms and sales objections.
6. **Find deal contact** (HTTP Request) searches HubSpot contacts associated with the deal.
7. **Compose welcome email** (Code) checks the opener again in code (length and banned terms such as price or discount), falls back to a standard sentence if the AI failed or was rejected, and wraps it in your fixed email with setup links.
8. **Contact found?** (If) creates a **Gmail draft** and an onboarding record, or alerts the team in Slack when the deal has no contact email. Those deals still get a record, marked `needs_contact`, so delete that row once you add the contact.
9. **Weekdays at 9am**, **Read onboarding records** and **Find stalled customers** (Code) alert the owner when a customer has been stuck on the same setup step for four days, repeating every three days.

## Before you import

- A current n8n version.
- A HubSpot private app token with read access to deals and contacts. HubSpot search endpoints have their own rate limits, so keep the 15-minute interval unless you need faster starts.
- An Anthropic API key, the onboarding manager's Gmail account, a Google Sheet and a Slack bot.

## Setup

1. Import the JSON and connect the HubSpot (on both HTTP nodes), Anthropic, Gmail, Google Sheets and Slack credentials.
2. Create an `Onboarding` tab with headers: deal_id, company, contact_email, contact_first_name, owner_slack_id, start_date, status, ai_fallback, ai_note, step_account_created, step_data_imported, step_integration_connected, step_teammate_invited.
3. Replace `REPLACE_WITH_SHEET_ID` on all three sheet nodes and `REPLACE_WITH_SLACK_ONBOARDING_CHANNEL_ID`.
4. In **New customers only**, map HubSpot owner IDs to Slack member IDs in `OWNER_SLACK`.
5. In **Compose welcome email**, replace the three `REPLACE_WITH_..._URL` links and `REPLACE_WITH_SENDER_NAME`.
6. If your pipeline is not the default one, replace `closedwon` with your closed-won stage ID.
7. Edit `STEPS` and `STALL_DAYS` in **Find stalled customers** to match your real setup events. Fill the step columns from product events or by hand.

## Test it

Move a test deal with notes and an associated contact to closed-won, run the workflow manually, and check Gmail drafts and the sheet. Run it again and confirm no second draft appears. Then backdate a row's start_date by four days and run the 9am branch.

## Make it production-ready

- Keep drafts for two weeks so the onboarding team sees what would have gone out, then switch the Gmail node to send.
- Add a status value such as `paused` for custom implementations. The stall check skips anything not marked `onboarding`.
- Move state to Postgres or your CRM once you have more than a few hundred active customers.
- Add an n8n error workflow, and an activation check that sets status to `activated` to end the sequence.

Read the full guide on [automating customer onboarding emails](/guides/automate-customer-onboarding-emails/) for step design and AI rules, or [work with Lumeor](/start/) to connect Stripe or your product database.

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Source: https://www.lumeor.studio/templates/automate-customer-onboarding-emails/
Published by Lumeor Studio, Newtown, PA. hello@lumeor.studio. Get a written scope: https://www.lumeor.studio/start/