NORTHBOUND Get in touch
automation studio · UK · built on n8n

The systems behind businesses that grow without the chaos. Every lead worked, every client onboarded and every payment followed up, however busy it gets. Designed around how you sell and deliver, built in n8n.

Get in touch See systems we've built
what caps growth

Every new customer adds work. That's what holds growth back.

More enquiries, more clients and more payments all mean more retyping, chasing and updating between your tools. Without systems, the only way to grow is to hire people to keep up, and things still slip.

migrating manual tasks0/6
ops.diffmanual → system
  1. −
    Copying enquiries from the inbox into the CRMn8n webhook → CRM
  2. −
    Replying to new leads when someone gets a minuteGmail · Outlook
  3. −
    Chasing quotes and unpaid invoiceswait · reply detection
  4. −
    Sending the same onboarding pack by handStripe event → n8n
  5. −
    Updating and tagging client records one by oneCRM · tags · stages
  6. −
    Pulling numbers together for the Monday meetingSheets · CRM · ads
what we build

Convert more. Deliver more. Without hiring to keep up.

module.01

Business Automation

Got a process that's eating hours every week? We automate the repetitive work that keeps your business moving, across the tools, data and people involved.

Lead handlingOnboardingAdminPaymentsReporting
explore
module.02

CRM & Sales Systems

CRM systems built around how you actually sell: set up, restructured or built from scratch, with pipelines and follow-up that run themselves.

Custom CRM buildsPipelinesFollow-upQualification
explore
module.03

Workflow Automation

The n8n engine underneath it all. Your software connected so information moves between systems automatically.

n8n workflowsWebhooksData sync
explore
module.04

API Integrations

No native integration? We build one, connecting systems that were never designed to talk to each other.

Custom APIsMiddlewareAuth
explore
module.05

AI Systems

AI inside the systems you already run, handling work that used to need a person, with checks built in.

QualificationDocumentsFollow-up
explore
module.06

Custom Systems & Development

When off-the-shelf software isn't enough, we build what's missing: internal tools, client portals, dashboards and databases, wired into your automation.

Internal toolsPortalsDashboardsWeb apps
explore
see it run

A new lead, a failed payment, a signed contract. Each one handled.

Pick an event and watch the same n8n system route it exactly where it needs to go, without anyone touching it, and log every step.

workflow://growth-engineexample architecture
status idle · 0ms
execution.log#000000
    systems we've built

    The systems behind real, growing businesses.

    ● in productioncase/001men's health coaching

    Modern Man Clinic

    Enquiries, payments, lab bookings and client comms on one automation layer. Website enquiries into a Notion CRM built from scratch, blood tests booked and paid online with the lab order placed through Randox's APIs, and Stripe and Notion events driving onboarding and client management.

    n8nNotionStripeRandox APIVercelGoHighLevelGmail
    read the breakdown →
    enquiry → clientconversion
    50%

    conversion rate reached 50% in a single month, from around 10% before the sales system.

    ● in productioncase/002conveyancing

    Conveyancing lead-to-sale system

    Third-party leads captured by webhook into a custom CRM, an immediate email and SMS, a JustCall dialler working the queue, OpenAI follow-ups written from the call, and a custom quote engine producing PDF quotes.

    n8nCustom CRMJustCallOpenAIStripeMailchimp
    read the breakdown →
    lead volumeat peak
    50to100

    leads a day at peak, each one captured, replied to and queued for a call.

    conveyancing/call-to-follow-upanonymised example

    A sales call ends. The follow-up writes itself.

    The call data goes to OpenAI, which writes a follow-up email based on what was actually discussed. Nobody types it up from memory.

    built on n8n

    Keep the tools you pay for. n8n makes them work as one.

    n8n is the layer that connects your CRM, payments, email, messaging, databases and AI. Nothing gets replaced. The software you already have starts working together.

    why we build on n8n →

    01 / hosting

    Your servers, if you want them

    n8n can be self-hosted on UK or EU infrastructure, so customer data stays where you control it.

    02 / cost

    No per-task pricing

    Self-hosted n8n costs a server, not a fee per action, so growing volume doesn't grow the bill.

    03 / ai

    AI where it earns its place

    Claude or OpenAI steps for reading, classifying and drafting, with validation and a person in the loop.

    how northbound works

    Five stages. The same on every project.

    Whether it's one workflow or a whole operating system, the order doesn't change. Nothing gets built until we both agree what it should do.

    1. Discover

      We sit with the people doing the work and map what actually happens, including the workarounds.

      you getA written process map

    2. Design

      We decide what to automate, what to leave alone and how the system behaves when things go wrong.

      you getA design and a fixed quote

    3. Build

      We build in n8n against real examples, with error handling from the first workflow.

      you getProgress you can see

    4. Launch

      We switch it on, watch the first live runs closely and train your team.

      you getA runbook and walkthrough

    5. Improve

      We monitor it, fix what breaks and extend it as the business changes.

      you getSomeone accountable
    why northbound

    Built from the sales and operations side, not just the wiring.

    @@ where it starts @@
    Typical build: The automation canvas
    Northbound build: How your business actually runs, mapped first
    @@ when something fails @@
    Typical build: You find out from a customer
    Northbound build: Error alerts, retries and a run log
    @@ who owns it @@
    Typical build: Often the builder's account
    Northbound build: Your accounts, your credentials, your workflows
    @@ documentation @@
    Typical build: Rare
    Northbound build: A plain-English runbook for every workflow
    @@ pricing @@
    Typical build: Hourly, open-ended
    Northbound build: Fixed price, agreed before we build
    @@ proof @@
    Typical build: Template screenshots
    Northbound build: Systems running in real businesses

    $ northbound --help

    n8n is a workflow automation platform. It connects the software you already use, like your CRM, inbox, payments and accounting tool, and moves information between them automatically. It does what Zapier or Make do, with far more room for real business logic, and it can run on your own servers.

    You don't need to learn it or log into it. We build and run the workflows; you see the results. More on n8n automation.

    Almost never. The point is to make the tools you already pay for work together. If something genuinely isn't fit for purpose, we'll explain why in writing, but most projects start with the stack you have.

    Growing UK service and B2B businesses, where more leads and more clients have started to mean more work pushed along by hand. Our own projects include a men's health coaching business and high-volume conveyancing firms. See the systems.

    Every build is quoted at a fixed price after we've mapped the process, so you know the number before anything is built. If we don't think the automation will pay for itself, we'll say so rather than quote.

    Focused builds are measured in weeks, not months. Bigger systems are delivered in stages, so the first part is running before the rest is finished.

    Yes. Workflows run in your n8n account or on your server, connected with your credentials, with documentation your team can follow. If you stop working with us, everything keeps running.

    Every workflow reports its own failures. If an API changes or a step fails, the error is caught, retried where safe and flagged to whoever needs to know. On a support plan, that's us.

    start here

    Tell us where growth is getting harder.

    Describe what's slowing you down as you grow, in a few sentences. We'll tell you what a system could take on, what it shouldn't, and what it would take. In writing, within one working day.

    1. You send a messageA few details and what you need. Plain English is fine.
    2. We reply in writingWhether it's worth automating, how we'd approach it and what we'd need to know.
    3. A 30-minute call, if it makes senseWe map the process with you and agree what a first build would include.
    4. A fixed quoteScope and price agreed before any work starts.
    Get in touchReply within one working day
    Your details and project

    We reply in writing within one working day. No sales sequence, no obligation. Privacy