Make / Zapier / n8n Automation

Scenarios built for reliability: error handling, logging and a clear owner for every step.

Automation scenario: trigger, filter, router, iterator, error handling and logging Triggerhook · schedule Filter Router Iteratorper row Lookup AI step Create Update Notify Error handler Log Make · Zapier · n8n TRIGGER ROUTE PROCESS ACT
Typical engagement
1–4 weeks
Tools
Make, Zapier, n8n, Pipedream
Where we start
A list of the tasks someone repeats every day
Delivery
Remote · fixed scope · in your accounts

What it solves

No-code automation platforms are fast to start and easy to leave half-finished. We design scenarios the way software should be designed: a trigger, clear routing, error handling, logging and documentation — so they keep working after the person who built them has moved on.

Typical problems

  • Scenarios that stop and nobody notices for a week
  • Operations spend growing with duplicated runs
  • Zaps built by three people with no naming convention
  • A platform bill that suggests it is time to migrate
  • Automations that only one ex-employee understood

Example workflows

Three workflows we build regularly in this service. Names and numbers are illustrative of typical outcomes; measured results are published only in case studies.

Lead to first contact

Before

Leads land in a form tool; someone copies them to the CRM and sends a template email when they get a chance.

After

Trigger on submission, dedupe against the CRM, enrich, assign an owner, send the first email and create the follow-up task.

Typical result: every lead contacted within minutes.

Migration from Zapier to n8n

Before

Sixty Zaps, a rising bill and no error handling.

After

Scenarios rebuilt on self-hosted n8n with error branches, logging and a naming convention; run cost tracked.

Typical result: predictable cost, visible failures, one owner.

Weekly reporting

Before

Someone assembles numbers from four tools into a Slack message every Monday.

After

A scheduled scenario pulls the numbers, formats the summary and posts it — with a chart — before the meeting.

Typical result: Monday morning back.

Capabilities

  • Scenario design and build on Make, Zapier or n8n
  • Error handlers, retries and dead-letter logs
  • Migration between platforms
  • Self-hosted n8n setup and hardening
  • Audit and clean-up of existing automations
  • Monitoring and monthly review

What every build includes

The difference between an automation that works in a demo and one that still works in a year.

  • Automatic retries when a connected app is briefly unavailable, so nothing is silently lost
  • A run log for every execution — what came in, what was decided, what went out
  • Failure alerts to Slack or email after repeated errors, with a pause switch you control
  • Idempotent steps: running twice never creates duplicates
  • Written handover: a one-page map of the workflow, its owners and how to change it
  • Built in your own accounts — you keep every credential, licence and asset

How the work is delivered

  1. Map

    Current process documented with the people who run it.

  2. Scope

    Written proposal, diagram, deliverables, fixed price.

  3. Build

    Short stages in your accounts, demo at the end of each.

  4. Launch

    Monitoring, alerts and documentation before go-live.

Pricing and engagement

Free workflow audit$0

We list the tasks your team repeats every day, rank them by hours saved and effort, and tell you which platform fits.

Monitoring & improvement retainerfrom $500/mo

Monitoring, fixes when an app changes its API, and a monthly improvement sprint. Cancel any month.

Deliverables

  • Scenarios in your workspace, named and documented
  • Error inbox and alerting
  • Operations-count estimate and cost review
  • Handover walkthrough (recorded)

Questions

Make, Zapier or n8n — which one?

Zapier for breadth and simplicity, Make for complex branching at a lower cost, n8n when you want to self-host, run high volume or keep data in-house. We recommend based on volume, complexity and who will maintain it.

Can you take over automations someone else built?

Yes. We audit, document, fix what is fragile and rebuild only what needs it.

Do you self-host n8n?

Yes, on your own server or cloud account, with backups, updates and monitoring set up.

How do you keep platform costs down?

By filtering early, batching, avoiding polling triggers where webhooks exist, and reviewing operations counts monthly.

How does pricing work?

Every engagement starts with a free audit. You then get a fixed-scope proposal with one price and a delivery date. Ongoing monitoring and improvements are a monthly retainer you can cancel any month.

How quickly can something be live?

A first workflow is usually live within one to three weeks of sign-off. Larger builds are staged so something useful ships early and the rest follows in sprints.

What happens when a workflow fails?

Every build ships with retries, a run log and alerts. If an app changes its API, the retainer covers the fix; without a retainer we quote a small fix and turn it around quickly.

Who owns the automations afterwards?

You do. Everything is built in your accounts and documented, and your team is walked through it at handover. You can maintain it yourself or keep us on retainer.

Describe the process. We will map the workflow.

Send a short description of what takes too much manual time. You will get a reply within one business day with questions, an initial workflow sketch and a view on whether it is worth automating.