Process Automation
Automate Processes — Without Landing in the Make Trap
When your team spends hours copying and pasting, Zapier keeps getting pricier, and nobody understands the workflow anymore: we automate with engineering depth — GDPR-compliant on German servers.
Automation from €5k · ROI often within 2–9 months
This Costs You Time Every Week
COOs, CEOs, and IT leads come to us when manual work visibly eats into cash flow — not because automation is trendy.
Data Shuttles Between Five Tools
Sales maintains the CRM, accounting retypes into the ERP, marketing keeps its own spreadsheet. A single incoming invoice sometimes costs an hour — 15 minutes after automation.
Zapier Gets Expensive, Make Gets Unreadable
As complexity grows, costs explode and the visual canvas becomes unreadable. Error handling and monitoring are often missing entirely.
GDPR Uncertainty with US Tools
For sensitive business data, self-hosting is the straightforward answer. 77% of midsize companies name data protection as the main obstacle to digitalization.
Homegrown, and Nobody Understands It Anymore
One employee introduced Make two years ago. Now everything depends on one person — and the workflow has been broken for weeks.
Why Artus
Three arguments that matter in every engagement — not just on the website.
Self-Hosted n8n in Germany
Your data stays with you. No US Cloud Act risk, full control over workflows, logs, and access.
Engineering Instead of Click Consulting
Custom connectors, data modeling, custom logic — when no-code is not enough, we build the solution as an application.
ROI in Weeks, Not Quarters
A 90-day scope with measurable results. Before we build, we multiply hours by frequency — honestly, with your numbers.
From Chaos to a Process That Runs
Three Stages: Words → Diagram → Automation
First we understand the process in your words. Then we visualize it. Then we build the automation — with monitoring and alerting.
60 h/month saved
Mini Case: Incoming Invoices
60 minutes each before, 15 minutes after. At 80 invoices a month that is 60 hours saved — ROI in month two.
What Happens When the Automation Breaks?
Monitoring, alerting, documented handover. No “works on my machine” workflow that dies while your colleague is on vacation.
Zapier vs. Self-Hosted n8n — Cost Comparison
Example: medium workflow complexity, three-year view.
| Zapier (cloud) | Self-hosted n8nEmpfohlen | |
|---|---|---|
| Data sovereignty | US cloud | DE/EU servers |
| Monthly tool cost | €150–400/month | approx. €4/month for the server |
| Complex logic and branching | Limited | Unlimited |
| Custom connectors | No | Yes |
| Error handling and monitoring | Basic | Custom + alerting |
| TCO over three years | approx. €18k–48k | approx. €8k–12k setup + maintenance |
A Typical Project Timeline
Week 1
Process Audit
Which steps cost how much time? Where do errors happen? What can actually be automated?
Weeks 2–3
First Automation Live
One process end to end — with monitoring, not just as a proof of concept.
Weeks 4–6
Extension and Integration
ERP, CRM, DATEV — clean integrations instead of copy-paste between systems.
Ongoing
Maintenance and Adjustments
Processes change. We adapt the workflows — documented and traceable.
What You Receive When the Project Ends
- Documented workflow architecture
- Self-hosted n8n instance on German servers
- Monitoring and alerting configuration
- Runbook for operations and troubleshooting
- Data processing agreement and record of processing activities
What Automation Costs
Single workflow
€5k–15k
One process, few systems, clear logic
Process package
€15k–50k
Several workflows, ERP/CRM integration, monitoring
Engineering solution
€30k–100k
Custom logic and connectors, when n8n alone is not enough
Ongoing maintenance 10–15% of the implementation cost per year. Tooling from about €4 per month (server).
Common Questions
Concrete answers — no hedging.
For simple cases, yes. As soon as API limits, error handling, data quality, and maintainability matter, you need engineering — not just click skills.
Not for every workflow. As soon as logic, integrations, and long-term maintainability matter, a development team is the safer investment.
We automate concrete processes with measurable ROI — not an “enterprise RPA suite” or “AI agents orchestrating everything.” Understand first, then build.
Workflows are versioned and documented. Adjustments are part of the maintenance agreement — or you take over with our handover docs.