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Workflows

Workflows we build for businesses: what they solve, how they run and what they bring. Each one starts as your idea with one click; four short questions, then you see how we would build it for you.

Describe your own idea

We show you what can be automated in your business and explain it with examples. Then we build the automation with you and maintain it. With n8n, a tool that connects your software, when your team should see the workflow and change it themselves: every step is a picture there. In plain code, when it must count exactly, answer fast or be built into your own software, or run for years without another tool, like the contact form on this site.

Principle No 90 % automation. What we therefore do not build is on How we build.

What an automation gives you

  • Save time

    The workflow takes over the manual work that is the same every week. How much that is stands with every example as a calculation with assumptions; redo it with your own numbers.

    Example: Incoming invoices

  • Avoid errors

    The amount is taken from the invoice, not retyped. A file that is already in your filing exactly as it is gets skipped instead of being filed twice.

    Example: Duplicate checker

  • Documentation without extra effort

    What a workflow records, it records by itself: the duplicate checker notes every skipped file in its log, the appointment reminder keeps the list of what did not arrive. Nobody has to keep them.

    Example: Appointment reminder

Problem and workflow are translated from our German catalogue; the German wording is the one we checked.

  • Incoming invoices

    how it ran for usn8n
    Problem
    Invoices arrive as PDFs, someone retypes every line item.
    Workflow
    1. 1An invoice arrives as a PDF
    2. 2The automation reads it and checks the totals
    3. 3Each line item is entered in a table (Notion) with category and unit price
    What it gives you
    Ran at a trading company we held a stake in. From then on, nobody there retyped invoices.
    Example calculation
    20 invoices a week × 3 min. of retyping = 60 min., so about 1 hour a week. Checking remains: about 30 seconds per invoice, so 10 min. That leaves around 50 min. a week. Redo it with your numbers
    How we help
    We look at your invoices and your filing, build the workflow in your n8n and hand it over with instructions. You change categories yourself in the picture later, or we do it on request, fixed price per change. Nothing is posted there: collecting and filing yes, posting and bookkeeping no, that belongs in an app with proper checks (BilanzKompass).

    Start with this example →

Examples in n8n

  • Appointment reminder

    n8nwithout AI

    Reminds customers of tomorrow's appointments from a fixed template, by email; anything not delivered goes on a list.

    Problem
    Customers forget appointments; no-shows cost time and money.
    Workflow
    1. 1Every day n8n reads the next day's appointments from the calendar and filters for customers with recorded, documented consent (opt-in).
    2. 2A predefined text (fixed template, no AI) with date, time, place and cancellation note goes out by email or SMS.
    3. 3Failed deliveries appear in a list for the business; without consent nothing is sent.
    What it gives you
    The reminder goes out before the appointment by itself; anything not delivered appears on a list.
    Example calculation
    15 appointments a week × 2 min. per reminder by hand = 30 min., so about half an hour a week. Whether fewer appointments are missed depends on your customers; we give no figure for that. Redo it with your numbers
    How we help
    We connect your calendar and your mail sending. The downloadable workflow file, the finished workflow you import into your n8n, sends by email through your own mail account (SMTP); SMS on request only, through an EU service that counts as a data path of its own. In one to two test days we check, with a test calendar, appointments across the clock change and appointments moved afterwards; then we hand over.

    Download workflow fileGuideStart with this example →

  • Enquiry to draft quote

    n8nAI optional

    Turns an enquiry by form or email into a draft quote with prices from your own price list; a person checks and sends.

    Problem
    Enquiries by form or email sit around because writing the quote takes time.
    Workflow
    1. 1A form or email arrives in n8n; the AI extracts the key facts (what, quantity, requested date) as fixed fields and writes the reply text. n8n looks up the prices in your price list; the AI inserts none.
    2. 2n8n files the draft as an email draft or a file, with a link to the original enquiry. Nothing is sent.
    3. 3A person checks every line, edits and sends it themselves.
    What it gives you
    You only check the draft. Items without a match in the price list stay empty.
    Example calculation
    5 enquiries a week × 15 min. of drafting = 75 min. Checking remains: about 5 min. per draft, so 25 min. That leaves around 50 min. a week. Redo it with your numbers
    How we help
    We attach the workflow to your mailbox and your price list. With a fixed form a template without AI is enough; with free-text emails the quote states beforehand, with level, which AI computes where. Test with 20 of your old enquiries.

    Start with this example →

  • Duplicate checker

    n8nwithout AI

    Stops the same invoice landing twice in your filing: checksum and e-invoice XML, exact only; a person decides what stays.

    Problem
    The same invoice lands twice in your filing (email and portal, downloaded twice).
    Workflow
    1. 1A new file is detected, n8n computes the SHA-256 checksum. Same checksum as an existing file: skip and note it in the log.
    2. 2Otherwise, only for e-invoices: read sender, invoice number and amount from the XML part (machine-readable, exact) and compare. All three identical: stop, store nothing. Ordinary PDFs and scans are not read for content.
    3. 3A person sees both files side by side and chooses: keep, keep both, discard. Nothing is ever deleted automatically.
    What it gives you
    Duplicates show up before they are booked. It deliberately does not recognise the same invoice once as a PDF and once as a scan.
    What counts here
    This is not about minutes: a file that is already in your filing exactly as it is gets skipped and noted in the log. An e-invoice with the same sender, number and amount is stopped. The same invoice once as a PDF and once as a scan is not recognised.
    How we help
    We connect your filing, file server or cloud folder, and show in two to three test days on 20 to 30 of your real files what it finds.
    For your IT: technical details

    Checksum (SHA-256): a file’s fingerprint. Same content, same checksum.

    Start with this example →

  • Morning overview

    n8nwith AI

    One list each morning: new emails, today's appointments and open enquiries, each line linked to the original.

    Problem
    Searching mailbox, calendar and enquiries one by one every morning costs time.
    Workflow
    1. 1Every morning n8n fetches new emails, the day's appointments and open enquiries.
    2. 2The AI condenses them into a list, one sentence per entry with a link to the original (email, appointment, enquiry).
    3. 3The overview reaches the owner by email; they check every entry against the original.
    What it gives you
    One look instead of three programs. The complete mail list with subject and sender sits below it, so nothing disappears.
    Example calculation
    5 working days × 10 min. of going through mailbox, calendar and enquiries one by one = 50 min. a week. Reading remains: about 4 min. a day with the overview, so 20 min. That leaves around 30 min. a week; you check every entry against the original. Redo it with your numbers
    How we help
    We connect mailbox and calendar and choose with you where the AI computes: in-house on your own computer (level 1) or with a provider from the register. Two to three test days with the real mailbox, list against original.

    Start with this example →

In plain code, in use on this website

  • Contact form

    n8n or codewithout AI

    Form with bot trap and required-field checks, filed as JSON, mail to the business, fixed acknowledgement to the customer.

    Problem
    Enquiries from the website should reach you at once, the customer should know they arrived, and bots should not flood the mailbox.
    Workflow
    1. 1Form in n8n with checks: honeypot field against bots, required fields, lengths, consent.
    2. 2The enquiry is filed as a JSON file and emailed to the business with the customer's reply address.
    3. 3A fixed acknowledgement goes to the customer, without user input and throttled; a person answers every enquiry.
    What it gives you
    The enquiry reaches you at once, with the customer’s reply address. The customer gets a fixed confirmation, and a person replies.
    Example calculation
    10 enquiries a week × 2 min. of acknowledging receipt by hand = 20 min. a week. Replying remains: a person answers every enquiry. Redo it with your numbers
    How we help
    We build the form into your website, in n8n or in code, depending on what your site already has and how much load to expect.
    For your IT: technical details

    n8n or code: As an n8n building block to download, and on alpin-code.de in plain code: the server checks a hidden field that only bots fill in (the trap field), fill-in time and length limits; the confirmation is a fixed text with its own throttle, a cap per sender (one per address in 24 hours, three per IP address per hour, at most 100 a day). The counters run exactly in code while the service is running (a restart resets them); in n8n two simultaneous requests can slightly exceed a limit.

    Download workflow fileGuideStart with this example →

  • Bookmark redirect

    plain codewithout AI
    Problem
    Laser-cut wooden bookmarks carry an 18 mm QR code. Printed is printed: the address has to be short, and an unknown code must never lead nowhere.
    Workflow
    1. 1Someone scans the code; the address is alpin-code.de/l/place-motif
    2. 2The server checks place and motif against two fixed lists; anything not on them is dropped
    3. 3Redirect to the home page with place and motif as a tag; an unknown code lands on the home page without a tag
    What it gives you
    The address carries place and motif as a tag, so you can later tell which bookmark brings visitors. Nobody lands on an error page.
    What counts here
    No manual work is replaced here. The benefit: the printed address still leads to the right place years later, and every bookmark carries its tag in your evaluation.
    How we help
    We build the same for your flyers, stickers or business cards: a short address per place, redirect to the page of your choice, a tag for your evaluation.
    For your IT: technical details

    Why code: A few lines of code, no tool in between. The redirect runs as long as the website runs, without a service of its own and without upkeep.

    Start with this example →

  • Find an automation, the configurator

    plain codewithout AI
    Problem
    Visitors should see before the first conversation whether their workflow fits our principles and which data level it needs, without an account and without their answers reaching our servers.
    Workflow
    1. 1Four questions in the browser: example, programs, error control, handover; the answers stay stored in the browser
    2. 2The server delivers only what is needed: from the provider register the details of the entries a question names (plus only the names of all entries), from the catalogue the building blocks without prices and variants
    3. 3The card “Your idea” with level, tool and open points; nothing is sent until the visitor clicks “Send”
    What it gives you
    Which level follows from which data and when n8n or code is recommended is written as a rule in code and does not change by itself.
    What counts here
    No manual work is replaced here. The benefit: which offer and which data level is settled before the first conversation, by rules that stand as code with a test.
    How we help
    A guide like this fits any website that sorts visitors before the conversation: which offer, which size, which documents. We set the rules with you; they stand as code with a test.
    For your IT: technical details

    Why code: The rules are code with their own test, which runs before every deploy. The same code filters register and catalogue before they leave the server.

    Start with this example →

Redo the sums with your own numbers

Two numbers; your browser does the sum. Nothing is stored, nothing is sent.

Your worked example: 20 × 3 min. = 60 min., so about 1 hour a week.

An example calculation with your assumptions, not a measured value. Subtract what remains to be checked.

For do-it-yourselfers: Available as a workflow file (to import into your n8n) with a guide: Appointment reminder, Contact form, Morning briefing: security and updates. We set up the building blocks in your own n8n installation, on your server or in your n8n cloud account. We don't host or ship n8n itself; n8n's own terms apply to it. The building blocks (workflow files and helper scripts) are released under the MIT license.

More examples, in one line

  • ShippingAn order comes in → Check the address, create the shipping label with the carrier → The label prints at the packing table, the customer receives the tracking numbern8n · without AI

    Today we build this as a workflow in n8n or in code, connected to your shop and your carrier. The Shopify app PackMate (packing and shipping, DHL labels through your own contract) is under construction: packmate.shop (opens the business’s website)

  • Enquiries from your websiteAn enquiry arrives through your form → The contact is in your customer list and the person in charge is notified → Each month you see which page brings in enquiriesn8n · without AI
  • Industry news for LinkedInEach week, the trade sites of your industry are collected → The most important items are summarised, with the source under every sentence → A draft post is waiting for your approvaln8n · with AI

Does one of these fit? About an hour's conversation, then a fixed price.

Find your automationOr write to us directly →