On your own premises
n8n runs on a server in your office or private network. Customer data stays in your building and only leaves when a workflow sends it to a tool you've chosen.
best forClinics, legal and finance teams with sensitive data
n8n automation agency · UK
Take on more leads and more clients without hiring to keep up. We design, build and look after the n8n workflows that make it possible, hosted where you choose: your own premises, a UK data centre or n8n Cloud.
- 01Hosted on your premises or in the UK
- 02Admin access from day one
- 03Fixed price before we build
Connects
n8nHubSpotNotionStripeXeroGmailSlackWhatsAppOpenAIClaudeGoogle SheetsCalendlyDocuSignSalesforceZohoAirtableQuickBooksMailchimpTwilioTypeformGoogle CalendarGoogle DrivePostgreSQLSupabaseShopifySquarespaceWebflowWordPressAsanaTrello
why n8n
Priced per run. Or not at all.
n8n is a workflow automation platform. It watches for events in one system, like a new form submission, a paid invoice or an email reply, then does things in your other systems automatically. It does the same job as Zapier or Make, with three differences that matter for serious business processes.
- It handles real logic. Waiting, branching, looping, retrying and custom code are built in, so a whole process can live in one workflow you can read and test.
- It can run on your own server. Your customer data can stay in your building or on UK infrastructure you control.
- It isn't priced per task. A whole workflow run counts once, and self-hosted n8n isn't metered at all, so higher volume doesn't mean a higher bill.
The trade-off is that n8n is more technical to build in well. That's the part we take off your hands.
- Zapier10,000 tasksevery action step counts
- Make12,000 operationsevery module run counts
- n8n Cloud2,000 executionsone run of the whole workflow counts once
- n8n, self-hosted0 not meteredyou pay for the server, not the runs
How each platform counts usage, from its own pricing rules. Prices change, so this compares the units you're billed in, not pounds. Make can count more where a trigger polls for new data.
where it runs
Host it where your data should live.
Plenty of n8n agencies build in their own account, on their own server. We set n8n up where you choose, in your company's name, and hand you the admin login on day one.
A UK server, in your account
A private server in a London data centre, on a cloud account in your company's name. UK data residency, no execution limits and a predictable monthly server bill.
best forMost growing businesses
n8n Cloud
Run by n8n itself and hosted in the EU, in Frankfurt. Nothing to maintain, billed per execution. A simple place to start at lower volumes.
best forTeams that want no servers at all
Private AI, on your own server.
AI steps can run on open models hosted on your own hardware, next to n8n. Enquiries, documents and call notes are read, classified and summarised without being sent to OpenAI or Anthropic. Where a cloud model is the better tool, personal details can be removed first and every call is logged.
- 01enquiry arriveswebhook
- 02n8n sends text to a local modelsame server
- 03model returns fields + a summarynever leaves
- 04a person approves the replylogged
every self-hosted setup: automatic backups · HTTPS · failure alerts · documented updates
what we automate with n8n
Outcomes first. The nodes come later.
outcome.01
Remove repetitive admin
Data entry, copying information between systems, checking inboxes and updating records happen automatically, so your team can spend their time on work that actually requires them.
Data entryCopying between systemsInbox checksRecord updates
outcome.02
No enquiry waits for a reply
Leads from every source captured, answered within minutes and handed to the right person with context.
WebhooksLead formsEmail parsingSlack/Teams alerts
outcome.03
Your software finally works together
CRM, inbox, calendar, accounts and spreadsheets kept in sync, so data is entered once.
REST APIsTwo-way syncDeduplication
outcome.04
Follow-up that runs on time
Chasers and reminders that send when they should and stop when a customer responds.
Wait nodesReply detectionSchedules
outcome.05
Onboarding without the checklist
The moment a deal is won, accounts, documents, welcome emails and tasks are created.
Document generationE-signTask creation
outcome.06
Billing that matches the CRM
Invoices raised from won deals, payments recorded back, overdue accounts flagged.
XeroQuickBooksStripe
outcome.07
AI that does a specific job
Summarise, classify and extract from enquiries and documents, with a person approving anything customer-facing.
OpenAIClaudeLocal modelsLogging
something else in mind? workflow automation →
what every build includes
A demo works once. A system copes with real life.
An n8n workflow that works once on a test record is easy. One that copes with messy data, API outages and your team changing things is the actual job.
- Error workflows that catch failures and alert a named person
- Retries for flaky APIs, and checks so nothing is sent twice
- Credentials kept in n8n's encrypted credential store, never pasted into steps
- Tested against real, anonymised examples before launch
- Admin access to your n8n instance from day one
- A plain-English runbook: what each workflow does and what to do if it stops
- Every workflow exported and backed up outside n8n
- A walkthrough with your team after launch
why northbound
What separates us from other n8n agencies.
The questions buyers are told to ask before hiring an n8n agency, answered before you have to ask them.
@@ where your workflows live @@
Typical n8n agency: In the agency's own n8n instance
Northbound: In yours: your premises, your UK cloud account or your n8n Cloud plan
@@ where your data lives @@
Typical n8n agency: Wherever the agency's server happens to be
Northbound: Your choice, down to the building, with private AI if data must stay in-house
@@ leaving @@
Typical n8n agency: Ask for exports and hope they work
Northbound: Admin access from day one, with every workflow exported and documented
@@ pricing @@
Typical n8n agency: Hourly, open-ended
Northbound: Fixed price, agreed in writing before we build
@@ when something fails @@
Typical n8n agency: You find out from a customer
Northbound: An error workflow alerts a named person, with retries and a run log
@@ moving off zapier or make @@
Typical n8n agency: Switch over and hope
Northbound: Run side by side until the new workflow is proven, then switch
@@ ai steps @@
Typical n8n agency: A prompt and a hope
Northbound: Logged, validated, and approved by a person before anything reaches a customer
@@ proof @@
Typical n8n agency: Template screenshots
Northbound: Systems in production, with real numbers
n8n in production
Running in real businesses, with real numbers.
● 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.
fit
Who we're a good fit for.
- UK service or B2B business, roughly 5 to 100 people
- Leads and customers flowing through several tools
- A clear process that's slow, manual or unreliable
- You want it done properly and owned by you
- You want a single quick Zap for as little as possible
- You want to learn n8n yourself (we can recommend courses)
- You need a full software product built from scratch
- Automated cold outreach at scale with scraped data
questions
$ northbound --help
Both, in practice. n8n is the platform we build on. But the work we're hired for is commercial: getting leads answered, keeping the CRM accurate, making follow-up and onboarding run on time. n8n is how we deliver that.
Yes. n8n can be self-hosted on a server you own, in your office or private network, or on a private UK cloud server in your company's name. We set it up with backups, HTTPS and failure alerts, and you hold the admin login. Self-hosted n8n has no execution limits: you pay for the server, not for each run.
It depends on your data and your team. Self-hosting in your office or on a UK server gives you full control of customer data and no execution limits, for a modest monthly server cost. n8n Cloud is simpler to run, is hosted in the EU and is fine for many businesses. We'll recommend one in writing, with the reasons, and set up either.
Wherever you decide. Self-hosted, workflow data stays on your server and only goes to the tools a workflow connects to. AI steps can run on models hosted on your own hardware, so sensitive text never reaches OpenAI or Anthropic. Where a cloud model is the better tool, personal details can be removed before anything is sent.
Yes, where they earn their place. The most useful AI steps are usually unglamorous: reading an enquiry and pulling out the key details, classifying replies, drafting a response for a person to approve. We keep AI on a short leash, with logging and fallbacks, and use plain rules wherever a rule does the job better.
Yes. We can review, fix and extend existing workflows, or rebuild the fragile ones. If that's mainly what you need, see n8n consulting.
Yes. We rebuild the automations that matter in n8n, run them alongside the old ones until they're proven, then switch over. It's also a good moment to drop the automations nobody uses.
Each build is quoted at a fixed price once we've seen the process. You'll know the price, the scope and the timeline before we start.
start here
Tell us what you want n8n to do.
Describe the process in a few sentences. We'll tell you what can be automated, what shouldn't be, where it should be hosted and what it would take. In writing, within one working day.
- You send a messageA few details and what you need. Plain English is fine.
- We reply in writingWhether it's worth automating, how we'd approach it and what we'd need to know.
- A 30-minute call, if it makes senseWe map the process with you and agree what a first build would include.
- A fixed quoteScope and price agreed before any work starts.
Get in touchReply within one working day