An n8n automation agency that runs its own business on n8n
Plenty of agencies list n8n among a dozen logos. Here is our credential instead: this website’s entire content operation runs on n8n workflows we built — a queue in Google Sheets, an AI article writer, image generation, a human approval gate, GitHub commits that trigger deploys, and schedulers posting to social channels several times a day.
It runs unattended, it is monitored, and when something fails we get an email before anyone notices. That is what production n8n looks like, and it is what we build for clients.
Production workflows, not proof-of-concepts
The gap between an n8n demo and an n8n system is error handling, monitoring, idempotency, and documentation. We build the second kind.
- AI content pipelines — research, write, approve, publish, distribute
- AI agents with tool access — calendars, CRMs, databases, email
- Integration plumbing — webhooks, APIs, and the awkward legacy system
- Approval-gated workflows — human sign-off exactly where it matters
- Watchdogs — workflows that monitor your other workflows
Own your automation, own your data
We deploy n8n self-hosted by default. Your workflows, credentials, and customer data live on your server, not in a per-task-priced black box. For UK businesses with GDPR obligations, that is usually the deciding factor against Zapier and Make.
When we hand over you get the instance, admin access, and documentation that a competent generalist can follow. If you would rather we maintain it, we offer that monthly — but you are never locked in.
One workflow, costed in your numbers
Pick the single workflow you want automated and cost it as it runs today: hours a week it takes, times the hourly wage of the person doing it, times 48 working weeks.
Suppose invoicing eats three hours a week at £15 an hour. That is £2,160 a year for one workflow, before you count the errors that creep in when a human retypes numbers on a Friday afternoon. Those figures are made up for the example, so run it with your own. The answer is the ceiling on what fixing it should cost, whoever builds it.
Start with the free one
One: self-host n8n and build it yourself. n8n is open source and genuinely free to run on your own server, and we would rather tell you that than hope you never find out. If you have a technical person and the flows are simple, this is the right answer and you do not need us. It falls down on the unglamorous parts: error handling, idempotency, a check that stops the same job running twice, and the maintenance nobody budgets for. Fine when a flow posts to a spreadsheet, risky when it touches money.
Two: hire a freelancer per workflow. Cheaper than an agency, and good ones exist. It falls down at handover: the workflow becomes an orphan the day they move on, and half-built setups from a departed freelancer are one of the most common jobs we inherit.
Three: we build it and run it. This is the expensive option, and it is only worth it when the workflow matters enough that a 2am failure is a business problem rather than an annoyance. If your flows are simple and low-stakes, take option one, keep your money, and come back when one of them starts moving invoices.
Problem sized first, priced clearly, two weeks
Tell us the process that is eating your team’s time and we size it first, in hours and wages, so the build is justified by your numbers. Then we quote a one-time setup fee plus a monthly fee for optimisation and support, with options to choose between, and ship the first working version in about two weeks. You see it running on real data before we call it done: "green in testing" is not our definition of finished.
Three things to do before hiring anyone
Install n8n and automate one small thing. It is free, and an email landing in a spreadsheet row is enough. An hour of playing with it will teach you more about automation than any sales call, including ours.
List every place the same piece of information gets typed in twice. Each entry is a workflow waiting to exist, and the list ranks itself by pain.
Write down what should happen when a workflow fails at 2am: who finds out, how, and what gets retried. That answer is the real product. The boxes and arrows are the easy bit, which is exactly why so many builds stop there.
Frequently asked
Why n8n rather than Zapier or Make?
Control and cost at scale. n8n is self-hostable (your data stays yours), handles code steps and AI agents natively, and doesn’t charge per task — which matters the moment a workflow runs thousands of times a month.
Do you work remotely across the UK?
Yes. We’re based in the South East and work with clients anywhere in the UK — n8n builds are naturally remote work. Calls, screen-shares, and a shared workspace cover everything.
Can you take over an existing n8n setup?
Yes. Half-built workflows from a departed freelancer are common. We audit what exists, add the missing error handling and monitoring, and document it so you’re never in that position again.
What does an n8n project cost?
We count what the manual process costs you first, in hours and wages, then quote a one-time setup fee plus a monthly fee for optimisation and support, with options to choose between. A single well-built workflow is far cheaper than the staff time it replaces, and we’ll tell you before starting if the maths doesn’t work in your favour.
Who maintains it after launch?
Your choice: we hand over documentation and admin access so your team owns it, or we maintain and monitor it for a monthly fee. Every build ships with failure alerts either way.
Bring us the process that hurts
Describe the manual process on a 30-minute call. We’ll sketch the workflow, price it as a one-time setup fee plus a monthly fee, and tell you honestly if n8n is the wrong tool for it.
Bad Boy Labs · 07361 586363 · Serving United Kingdom · Services