Business process automation: where to start
Business process automation: which processes to automate first, how triggers and actions work, n8n or Make, and what happens when a workflow fails.
In short
The processes worth automating are those that repeat often, follow clear rules and today require someone to move data between apps by hand: a website enquiry into the CRM, a paid order into an invoice, a new customer into welcome emails. Start with one process, describe its trigger and actions, and before launch decide what will happen when any step fails.
Key takeaways
- Tasks get automated, not jobs: according to the McKinsey Global Institute, fewer than 5% of occupations can be fully automated, but almost every one has activities that can.
- The best first candidate is a frequent, rule-based process in which data is moved by hand.
- Every automated process has a trigger (what starts it) and actions (what happens next).
- What matters most is not what happens when everything works but what happens when something fails: retries, an alert and a log.
- Automating a messy process only speeds up the mess – describe the process first.
What to automate
What process automation is, which processes suit it first and which are better left alone.
What business process automation is
- Business process automation
- Handing repetitive work steps over to software: when a certain event happens, the system itself moves data, creates records, sends emails or notifies a person – with no manual copying between apps.
Automation doesn't replace people's work – it removes the part of it where a person acts as the link between apps. That is the key idea when choosing what to automate.
< 5%
The share of occupations that, according to the McKinsey Global Institute, can be fully automated with current technologies. Yet almost every occupation has activities that can be automated.
Source: McKinsey Global Institute, 20261
~50%
The share of activities people are paid to do that could potentially be automated by adapting currently demonstrated technologies, according to the McKinsey Global Institute. The most susceptible are data collection and processing, and physical work in predictable environments.
Source: McKinsey Global Institute, 20261
This is a 2017 global estimate, not a forecast for your company, but it shows where to look: not “which employee to replace” but “which tasks does someone do by hand even though they follow rules”.
Which processes suit automation first
A good candidate meets four criteria: it repeats often, follows clear rules, involves moving data between apps, and a mistake in it costs something – time, a customer or money.
| Process | Trigger | Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Website enquiry | Contact form submitted | CRM record, notification to the owner, confirmation to the customer |
| Paid order | Payment confirmed | Invoice, accounting entry, task for the warehouse |
| New customer | Contract signed or invoice paid | Welcome emails, project card, tasks for the team |
| Recurring report | A time (e.g. Monday morning) | Data from several systems, report by email |
| Reminders | An approaching date or an unanswered enquiry | Email or message to the customer or the team |
The first row is the most common starting point. We cover how to pass website enquiries into a CRM safely in integrating a CRM with your website.
By hand
- The enquiry lands in a shared inbox
- Someone re-types it into the CRM when they have time
- The owner hears about it in person
- The customer doesn't know whether it arrived
Automated
- The form creates a CRM record straight away
- Fields are carried over exactly, with no re-typing
- The owner gets a notification
- The customer gets a confirmation that the enquiry arrived
What is better not to automate
- Processes that happen rarely – a few times a year. Building and maintaining the automation will cost more than the time saved.
- Processes where every case is different and needs human judgement. Automate the data gathering and leave the decision to a person.
- Processes that haven't settled yet. If the rules change every month, agree them first.
How it works
Triggers, actions, error handling and the tools used to build them.
Trigger and actions
Every automated process (a workflow) has two parts. The trigger is the event that starts it: a submitted form, a received payment, a scheduled time. The actions are what happens next: a record in another system, an email, a task, a notification. In between there are often conditions: “if the amount is above the limit, notify the manager”.
Describe the process simply, in “when … then …” sentences. For example: “When an enquiry is submitted on the website, then a new contact is created in the CRM, the account manager gets a notification and the customer gets a confirmation email.” A description like this is already half the work.
- Trigger: an enquiry form is submitted on the website.
- Check: are the required fields filled in and is it not spam? If it fails, the enquiry is flagged for review rather than passed on.
- Action: a lead is created in the CRM with the enquiry ID, so a retried send doesn't create a second one.
- Condition: if the chosen service is a platform, the notification goes to one person; if it is a website, to another.
- Action: the customer gets a confirmation that the enquiry arrived and when to expect a reply.
- Failure case: if the CRM doesn't respond, the send is retried, and after repeated failures the owner gets an alert.
Six steps, but each one is clear and testable. You can show a description like this both to your team and to whoever builds the automation – and both will understand the same thing.
What happens when something fails
Sooner or later another system won't respond, a field will change or an access token will expire. The worst case isn't an error but an error nobody notices: enquiries stop reaching the CRM for a week while everyone thinks it all works.
Our standard for every automation
- 3 automatic retries; where appropriate, with an increasing interval
- An alert on failure – a failed workflow never passes silently
- An execution log: who, when and with what data
- Monitoring of critical processes
- Response according to your maintenance plan; without a plan, incidents are handled as separate work
n8n has a dedicated mechanism for this: an error workflow that starts with the Error Trigger node. When a linked workflow fails, this node receives details of the failed execution and the error, and runs the error workflow – for example, sending an alert.
Tools: n8n, Make or code
Our main tool is n8n. We use Make when it is more practical or you already use it. When the logic is complex or becomes part of a product, it is built into the system in code.
| Criterion | n8n | Make | Code in the system |
|---|---|---|---|
| When it fits | Most business processes between apps | When you already use Make or it is more practical | When the logic is complex or part of the product |
| Hosting | Your own server or n8n Cloud | Make's cloud | Alongside your system |
| Cost | Self-hosted Community edition is free; you pay for the server | Depends on the Make plan you choose | Build and maintenance |
| Error handling | Retries, error workflows | The tool's own error-handling features | Whatever you build |
The n8n documentation states that the self-hosted Community edition is free with almost the complete feature set, while n8n Cloud is paid but doesn't require your own server. Which to choose depends on who will look after the infrastructure.
Access, personal data and accounts
An automation connects to your CRM, email, accounting or shop, so it holds access keys to your most important systems. That deserves the same care as staff access.
What to agree before launch
- A separate access key for each system, with only the permissions the process needs
- Accounts and access created in your name, so they stay yours if you change partners
- Only as much personal data in the execution log as is needed to investigate an error, with a clear retention period
- Clarity on who gets alerts and who is allowed to change workflows
- Access keys rotated when an employee leaves or a supplier changes
How to judge whether automation is worth it
The simplest way is to compare two amounts over the same period, say a year. The first: how many times the process runs, how many minutes of manual work it takes and what an hour of that person's time costs. The second: building the automation and maintaining it.
For example, if an enquiry is re-typed into the CRM 30 times a week and each time takes 4 minutes, that adds up to about 104 hours a year of work nobody sees (30 × 4 min × 52 weeks ÷ 60). This is an illustrative calculation – put in your own figures. Then add what the hours don't show: enquiries that were forgotten and errors that had to be fixed.
Where to start
If automations between tools are no longer enough because the process itself doesn't fit any app, it may be time for a custom system – we explain how to recognise that in when a business needs a custom system.
What automation costs and who maintains it
Our process automation is priced on scope: it depends on the number of processes and how many systems are involved. After the call we put the price, scope and timeline in a proposal, before work starts. Our prices are final – VAT is not charged.
Automation isn't a one-off job: other systems change and access tokens expire. Incident response follows your maintenance plan: Essential – €149/month, Business – €299/month, Priority – €599/month. Without a plan, incidents are handled as separate work. Response time is not resolution time.
Have a process you'd like to hand over to software? Describe it in an enquiry – a few “when … then …” sentences are enough. We reply within 1 business day.
Methodology
- Date
- Criteria
- Automation potential – from the summary of the McKinsey Global Institute report “A future that works” (2017)
- n8n hosting options and the Error Trigger node – from the official n8n documentation, accessed 2026-10-01
- Oxtren's automation standard, pricing and maintenance – from the public service pages
- Limitations
- McKinsey's estimate is global and covers the whole economy; it shows which kinds of tasks get automated, not how much a particular company will save.
Frequently asked questions
How much does business process automation cost?
It is priced on scope: it depends on the number of processes and how many systems are involved. After the call we put the price, scope and timeline in a proposal.
What happens when an automated process fails?
The process is retried up to 3 times, with an increasing interval where appropriate. If it still fails, an alert is sent and the execution log records what happened.
We already use Make. Will we have to switch to n8n?
Not necessarily. Our main tool is n8n, but we use Make when it is more practical or you already use it.
Who fixes it when something breaks?
Response follows your maintenance plan. Without a plan, incidents are handled as separate work.
Will automation replace staff?
Usually not. Tasks get automated, not jobs: moving data between apps goes away, while decisions and customer contact stay with people.
Sources and methodology
- McKinsey Global InstituteHarnessing automation for a future that worksaccessed
- n8n DocsChoose how to use n8naccessed
- n8n DocsError Trigger nodeaccessed