Automating Business Workflows with n8n: A Practical Guide

Workflow automation is one of the fastest ways to reduce operational overhead. Every time an employee copies data from one system to another, that is wasted time. n8n solves this by connecting your applications through visual, node-based workflows that run on your own infrastructure.

What n8n Replaces

n8n is the self-hosted alternative to Zapier and Make. Unlike those services, n8n keeps all data processing on your server. Your customer records, financial data, and internal communications never pass through a third-party cloud.

Common Business Automations

• CRM to Email: When a new lead is created in EspoCRM, automatically send a welcome email and create a follow-up task
• Form to Spreadsheet: Accept form submissions and append them to a Google Sheet or database table
• Invoice to Accounting: When an invoice is generated, create corresponding entries in your accounting system
• Slack Notifications: Send custom alerts to a Slack channel when specific events occur in any connected system
• Data Sync: Synchronize contacts between Nextcloud, your CRM, and your email marketing tool

Getting Started

n8n runs in Docker with a simple docker-compose.yml. It uses PostgreSQL for storage and supports hundreds of integrations out of the box. For most businesses, a 2GB RAM VPS handles dozens of active workflows without breaking a sweat. VPS1 includes n8n deployment and workflow design as part of our standard stack.