10 Essential n8n Workflows Every Business Needs

Automation is no longer a luxury—it's a necessity for modern businesses. If you're using n8n, you have access to one of the most powerful automation platforms available. Here are 10 essential workflows that every business should implement.

1. Lead Capture and CRM Integration

Automatically capture leads from your website forms and sync them to your CRM system. This workflow ensures no lead falls through the cracks and your sales team always has the latest information.

Use n8n to connect your contact forms (Typeform, Google Forms, or custom webhooks) to HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, or any CRM. Add enrichment steps to pull in company data, LinkedIn profiles, or email verification before the lead ever reaches your team. Set up instant Slack or email alerts when high-value leads come in, and trigger follow-up sequences so every lead gets a timely first touch. The result: zero manual data entry, faster response times, and a single source of truth for all prospects.

2. Email Marketing Automation

Set up automated email sequences based on user behavior, purchase history, or engagement levels. This helps nurture leads and convert them into customers.

Build welcome series, abandoned-cart flows, re-engagement campaigns, and post-purchase follow-ups—all from n8n. Pull triggers from your e‑commerce platform, CRM, or customer database, and send emails via Gmail, SendGrid, Mailchimp, or Resend. Add conditions to segment by tags, purchase amount, or last-activity date so each contact gets the right message. You can A/B test subject lines, delay sends based on timezone, and log opens or clicks back into your CRM for a complete view of the customer journey.

3. Social Media Scheduling

Schedule and publish content across multiple social media platforms from a single workflow. Save time and maintain a consistent online presence.

Create one workflow that pulls posts from a spreadsheet, Notion database, or CMS, then publishes to LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Facebook, and Instagram. Use the Schedule trigger to run at optimal times, or let content go live when it’s approved in your workflow. Add image resizing, hashtag rules, and platform-specific formatting so each post fits the channel. Some teams use a “content queue” in Airtable or Google Sheets; n8n reads the next post, publishes it, and marks it done—no separate scheduling tool required.

4. Invoice and Payment Processing

Automate invoice generation, payment tracking, and follow-up reminders. This reduces manual work and improves cash flow management.

Generate invoices from your CRM, project tool, or order data, then send them via email or your billing platform. Connect to Stripe, PayPal, or QuickBooks to record payments and update internal records. When an invoice is overdue, n8n can send a friendly reminder, escalate to a second notice, and optionally flag the account in your CRM. Recurring invoices can be created on a schedule, and you can build simple reports (e.g., monthly revenue, outstanding balance) by aggregating data from your payment and accounting systems.

5. Customer Support Ticket Routing

Automatically route support tickets to the right team member based on issue type, priority, or customer tier. Improve response times and customer satisfaction.

Connect your helpdesk (Zendesk, Freshdesk, Help Scout, or email) to n8n. Use the ticket title, body, or tags to classify issues—e.g., “billing,” “technical,” “refund”—and assign to the right person or team. High-priority or VIP customers can skip the queue and trigger an immediate Slack alert. You can also auto-respond with a first-reply template, create a CRM or project management task, and set internal SLAs. Over time, you can add simple sentiment or keyword checks to route angry customers to senior support or account managers.

6. Data Backup and Sync

Automatically backup important data and sync it across multiple platforms. Never lose critical information again.

Run daily or hourly workflows that export data from your database, Google Sheets, Airtable, or SaaS app into cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox, S3) or a spreadsheet. Use the n8n Schedule trigger and add timestamps to filenames so you keep a historical record. For sync (e.g., keep two tools in sync), use webhooks or polling to detect new or updated rows, then mirror those changes to the destination. This is useful for backing up CRM data, syncing product catalogs between an e‑commerce platform and a PIM, or keeping a read‑only copy of critical data in a separate system for reporting or compliance.

7. Inventory Management

Track inventory levels, send alerts when stock is low, and automatically reorder products. Keep your inventory optimized at all times.

Pull stock levels from your e‑commerce platform, warehouse system, or spreadsheet on a schedule. When quantity drops below a threshold, n8n can send a Slack or email alert, create a purchase order in your ERP or procurement tool, or add a row to a “reorder list” in Airtable or Google Sheets. You can factor in lead times, reorder points, and preferred suppliers. For multi-location or multi-channel setups, aggregate inventory across sources and update each system when stock moves, so you avoid overselling and reduce manual reconciliation.

8. Employee Onboarding

Automate the employee onboarding process, from sending welcome emails to setting up accounts and scheduling training sessions.

Trigger a workflow when a new hire is added to your HR system or spreadsheet. n8n can create accounts in Slack, Google Workspace, Notion, or your internal tools; send a welcome email with links to docs and forms; and add them to the right channels or groups. Schedule follow-up tasks: send the handbook on day 1, IT setup checklist on day 2, and training calendar for week 1. You can also create a dedicated Notion or Confluence page, invite them to an onboarding project, and notify their manager—all without manual steps. This keeps onboarding consistent and frees HR to focus on people, not admin.

9. Analytics and Reporting

Automatically collect data from various sources and generate comprehensive reports. Make data-driven decisions with ease.

Aggregate data from your CRM, ads platforms, e‑commerce, support tool, and databases into a single dataset. Use n8n to filter, aggregate, and reshape it—e.g., revenue by product, leads by source, ticket volume by team—then send a formatted report via email, post to Slack, or write to a Google Sheet or dashboard tool. Schedule runs daily or weekly. You can also set up alerts: if a metric crosses a threshold (e.g., churn spikes, spend exceeds budget), n8n can notify the right people and even create a task or ticket for follow-up. This replaces a lot of manual copy‑paste and makes reporting timely and repeatable.

10. Webhook and API Integration

Connect any tools and services through webhooks and APIs. Create custom integrations that fit your specific business needs.

Use n8n’s Webhook node to receive events from external systems—form submissions, payment confirmations, support tickets, or app events—then process and route them to the right tool. For outbound logic, use the HTTP Request or dedicated app nodes to call REST or GraphQL APIs. This lets you build integrations that don’t exist off-the-shelf: e.g., when a deal closes in your CRM, create a project in your PM tool and notify the delivery team; or when an order ships, update the customer record and trigger a review‑request email. With error handling and retries, you can build reliable, production-ready integrations without writing and maintaining your own integration service.

Getting Started

Ready to implement these workflows? Check out our Automation Accelerator: n8n Bundle + 2000+ Workflows & Templates, which includes all these workflows and more, ready to deploy in minutes.

Each template comes with:

• Complete setup instructions
• Integration guides
• Troubleshooting tips
• Best practices

Start automating today and watch your productivity soar!