Automate Time Tracking: Clockify to Syncro Integration with n8n

1. Opening Problem Statement

Meet James, a busy IT manager who spends hours every week manually transferring time tracked in Clockify to Syncro MSP tickets for accurate billing and project management. This tedious process not only wastes valuable time—often up to 3 hours weekly—but also leads to frequent errors in time entry data, causing billing discrepancies and frustrated clients. James desperately needs a streamlined solution to automate the synchronization between Clockify and Syncro so that his team can focus on actual work instead of administrative overhead.

2. What This Automation Does ⚙️

This unique n8n workflow listens for new Clockify time entries and automatically creates or updates corresponding timer entries in Syncro MSP tickets. When the workflow triggers via a webhook receiving Clockify data, it performs these specific outcomes:

• Checks if the Clockify time entry already exists in a Google Sheets record (to avoid duplicates)
• Extracts Syncro ticket ID from Clockify project names formatted as “Ticket [1234]”
• Matches the technician from Clockify user names to Syncro user IDs via a custom mapping
• If it’s a new time entry, creates a new timer entry on the corresponding Syncro ticket via API
• If the time entry exists, updates the existing timer entry in Syncro to reflect changes
• Logs the synced entries back to Google Sheets for record-keeping and future duplicate checks

By automating this process, James saves roughly 3 hours/week, eliminates billing errors, and gains a reliable audit trail of synced time entries.

3. Prerequisites ⚙️

• Clockify account to track time and send data via webhook
• Syncro MSP account with API access and user tokens for authentication
• Google Sheets account with a sheet set up to store synced time entries (columns A and B)
• n8n account–either cloud or self-hosted to run this workflow
• Google API credentials configured for n8n to access the Google Sheets node
• Syncro API credentials set as Header Authentication in n8n (HTTP Header Auth credential)

4. Step-by-Step Guide to Building This Workflow

Step 1: Set up the Clockify Webhook Trigger

Navigate to n8n Editor → Add Node → Webhook. Configure the webhook with these settings:

• HTTP Method: POST
• Path: Use a unique string, for example, 82b654d7-aeb2-4cc1-97a8-0ebd1a729202 (or your own generated ID)
• Response Data: allEntries

Once set, grab the webhook URL and set it in Clockify’s webhook integration to send time entry data upon creation or update.

Expected outcome: The webhook receives JSON payloads when Clockify entries are made.

Common mistake: Forgetting to set the HTTP method to POST or missing the correct webhook URL in Clockify.

Step 2: Filter Incoming Time Entries for Relevant Projects

Add an IF node connected to the webhook to check if the Clockify project name contains the word “Ticket”:

• Condition Type: String
• Operation: Contains
• Value to check: {{ $json["body"]["project"]["name"] }}
• Compare to value: “Ticket”

This filters entries to only process those linked to valid Syncro tickets.

Expected outcome: Only entries with “Ticket” in project names proceed further.

Common mistake: Using exact match instead of contains, which blocks valid entries.

Step 3: Set Environment Variables for Syncro Base URL

Add a Set node named EnvVariables to store your Syncro base URL:

• Key: syncro_baseurl
• Value: https://subdomain.syncromsp.com (replace subdomain with your actual Syncro subdomain)

This allows easy reuse in HTTP Request nodes.

Expected outcome: Reusable URL stored in the workflow.

Common mistake: Forgetting to replace the subdomain placeholder.

Step 4: Extract Syncro Ticket ID from Clockify Project Name

Add a Set node named ForSyncro with the following setting to regex-extract the ticket ID:

id = {{ $json["body"]["project"]["name"].match(/[(d+)]/)[1] }}

This extracts numeric ticket IDs from names like “Ticket [1234]”.

Expected outcome: A variable id with the ticket ID is available.

Common mistake: Project names without the exact bracket format cause errors.

Step 5: Set Up Technician ID Mapping

Add a Set node SetTechnicians to map Clockify user names to Syncro technician IDs:

• Example pairs:
• “Tech 1” → “1234”
• “Tech 2” → “5678”

This custom mapping is critical to assign correct technicians in Syncro time entries.

Expected outcome: Key-value pairs ready for lookup.

Common mistake: Missing or inaccurate mappings cause missing technician IDs.

Step 6: Find Technician Match Using Function Node

Add a Function node named MatchTechnician to find the Syncro ID based on the Clockify username:

const results = [];
const user = $node["Webhook"].json["body"]["user"];
const persons = items[0].json
for (key of Object.keys(persons)) {
  if (key === user.name) {
    results.push({ json: { id: persons[key], name: key } })
  }
}
return results;

This iterates through the mapped names and returns the matching technician ID.

Expected outcome: Matched Syncro technician ID ready for API calls.

Common mistake: Misconfigured keys or unmatched names cause empty results.

Step 7: Check for Existing Clockify Entry in Google Sheets

Add a Google Sheets node FindMatch to lookup the Clockify time entry ID in the sheet to prevent duplicates:

• SheetID: Your Google Sheet ID
• Range: A:B
• Operation: Lookup by column “Clockify”
• Lookup Value: {{ $node["Webhook"].json["body"]["id"] }}
• Options: Return all matches, value render mode unformatted

Expected outcome: Returns existing rows if found.

Common mistake: Incorrect sheet ID or insufficient permissions causes lookup failures.

Step 8: Branch Workflow Depending on Entry Existence

Use an IF node to check if the lookup found any matches (if data length > 0):

• Condition: Boolean check if !!Object.keys($node["FindMatch"].data).length is true

If true, proceed to update the existing Syncro timer; else, create a new one.

Expected outcome: Correct routing is decided for create/update.

Common mistake: Misconfigured conditions causing wrong path selection.

Step 9: Update Existing Timer Entry on Syncro

Add an HTTP Request node UpdateSyncroTimer configured to:

• Method: PUT
• URL: {{ $node["EnvVariables"].json["syncro_baseurl"] }}/api/v1/tickets/{{ $node["ForSyncro"].json["id"] }}/update_timer_entry
• Authentication: Header Auth (Syncro credential)
• Body Parameters: timer_entry_id from lookup, start_time, end_time, notes, user_id from matched technician

This updates the actual timer in Syncro MSP.

Expected outcome: Timer entry updated successfully.

Common mistake: Missing valid timer_entry_id causes API errors.

Step 10: Create New Timer Entry on Syncro

Add an HTTP Request node NewSyncroTimer to create a timer entry if none exists. Configure as:

• Method: POST
• URL: {{ $node["EnvVariables"].json["syncro_baseurl"] }}/api/v1/tickets/{{ $node["ForSyncro"].json["id"] }}/timer_entry
• Authentication: Header Auth (Syncro credential)
• Body Parameters: start_at, end_at, notes, user_id

After creation, this node connects to a Set node ForGoogle that formats data to append to Google Sheets for record-keeping.

Expected outcome: New timer entry is created and logged.

Common mistake: Misconfigured API body parameters cause request failures.

Step 11: Log Synced Entries into Google Sheets

Add a Google Sheets node Google Sheets set to append synced data:

• Operation: Append
• Range: Columns A:B
• Values: Clockify ID and Syncro ID from ForGoogle node

This creates a historical reference preventing duplicates in the future.

Expected outcome: Google Sheets updated with synced entries.

Common mistake: Permissions issues or range misconfiguration cause append failures.

5. Customizations ✏️

• Add More Technicians: In the SetTechnicians node, add more key-value pairs for additional users to sync accurately.
• Change Project Name Format: Modify the regex in ForSyncro node to accommodate different project naming conventions.
• Extend Google Sheets Logging: Add more columns (e.g., timestamps, descriptions) in ForGoogle and Google Sheets node to capture extra data.
• Webhook Security: Configure the webhook node with authentication to accept requests only from trusted sources.
• Error Notifications: Add an email or Slack notification node to alert on sync failures.

6. Troubleshooting 🔧

Problem: “401 Unauthorized” from Syncro API

Cause: Invalid or missing HTTP Header Authentication credentials in the HTTP Request node.

Solution: Go to Credentials → HTTP Header Auth in n8n, verify API key/token, then re-select the credential in the HTTP Request node.

Problem: Google Sheets Lookup Returns No Data

Cause: Wrong Sheet ID or insufficient API permissions for Google Sheets node.

Solution: Confirm the exact Google Sheet ID in the node settings, and ensure the Google API credentials have access to the target spreadsheet.

Problem: Regex in ForSyncro Node Fails

Cause: Project name format does not include ticket ID in square brackets as expected.

Solution: Adjust the regex expression to fit your actual project naming pattern or standardize project names.

7. Pre-Production Checklist ✅

• Test the Clockify webhook independently by sending sample payloads to the n8n webhook URL.
• Verify Google Sheets connectivity by performing manual lookups.
• Confirm Syncro API credentials are valid and have required scopes for timer entries.
• Manually run the workflow with sample data through each branch to ensure correct processing.
• Backup Google Sheets data before deploying to prevent accidental data loss.

8. Deployment Guide

Activate your workflow in n8n after fully testing. Ensure the webhook URL is live and configured in Clockify for real-time updates. Monitor your workflow’s execution under the n8n activity panel for errors or failures. Consider enabling retry or error notifications for robust monitoring.

9. FAQs

Q: Can I use other time tracking tools besides Clockify?
A: This workflow is tailored to Clockify’s webhook JSON structure but can be adapted with node changes for other platforms.

Q: Will syncing large volumes slow down the workflow?
A: n8n can handle significant volumes but monitor execution times; split workflows if needed.

Q: Is my Syncro API token secure?
A: Yes, n8n keeps credentials encrypted and secure within your environment.

10. Conclusion

With this n8n automation, James transformed a tedious, error-prone manual process into a seamless, error-free synchronization of time tracking data from Clockify to Syncro MSP. You too can save at least 3 hours weekly, reduce billing mistakes, and maintain an automated audit trail by following this step-by-step guide. Next, consider automating invoice generation in Syncro or crafting detailed reports from Google Sheets data to expand your workflow’s power.

Take control of your time tracking and billing—make your automation smart and reliable with n8n today!