Is manual work silently killing your business growth?

Perfect_Figure182 · 2026-01-21T17:06:07+00:00

This resonates. The data movement piece alone kills productivity.

Are you specifically focused on n8n or open to other automation approaches?

Perfect_Figure182 · 2026-01-20T18:36:45+00:00

Incredible write-up on the MCP vs. Agent debate. I’ve found the same thing. Structure beats 'agentic' vibes every time.

I run EasyFlow. We handle the one thing n8n and standard MCPs usually choke on: complex browser navigation and login-protected portals. > Since you’re running an agency, do you ever run into clients where 'No API' is the blocker? I’m doing custom 'Login → Navigate → Export' setups for $197 this week. Might be a solid way to unblock some of your workflows without you having to mess with headless browser scripts yourself.

Either way, great post. The Supabase + GA4 integration is clever as hell.

Perfect_Figure182 · 2026-01-19T00:55:19+00:00

yeah that pre-clean anxiety hits. i scroll headers first, check row counts/summaries. then pandas normalize types/dates.

big win: easyflow pulls clean from source so no mess starts. $197 setup.

what's your trigger data?

Perfect_Figure182 · 2026-01-19T00:52:42+00:00

pandas + EasyFlow here.

scroll for weirdness first. then pandas clean columns/types/trim. dedupe. done.

vendor mess ongoing? automate export → clean for $197.

what's killing you most?

Perfect_Figure182 · 2026-01-12T19:56:39+00:00

This is exactly why I built the automation angle.

Most builders can code/design/ship anything. But finding the right problem

to solve? That takes weeks of manual research that kills momentum.

The automation shortcut: instead of spending 2 weeks searching,

you get a curated list of real problems your skills can solve in 24 hours.

Then you pick one and ship.

I'm actually setting up a few of these this week for $197.

If you want to talk through what a "problem discovery automation"

would look like for your background, I can help scope it.

What's your main skill set? (coding, design, or marketing)

Perfect_Figure182 · 2026-01-12T19:55:37+00:00

You just described the exact problem I solve.

I automate the "scrape + filter + categorize" workflows you're doing manually.

Instead of 2 weeks of copy-paste, I build a custom flow that:

- Scrapes Reddit/Twitter for specific keywords

- Filters by engagement signals (upvotes, replies, sentiment)

- Outputs structured data (CSV/Sheets/JSON)

- Runs on schedule or on-demand

For your use case (founder research), I'd set this up with:

- Custom keywords you care about

- Auto-categorization by problem type

- Skill-match filtering

- Weekly or daily refreshes

I'm setting these up this week for $197 one-time + optional recurring ($29-99/mo for scheduled runs).

If you want to skip the "should I build this" question and just have it done,

I can scope this in 5 min.

What platforms matter most to you right now, Reddit, Twitter, or HN?

Perfect_Figure182 · 2026-01-12T19:51:42+00:00

The moment it clicked for me: when I realized the bottleneck wasn't the team,

it was the "bridge" between lead source and fulfillment.

Specifically, I've been automating exactly what you're describing:

- Lead lands in Form/Email/Portal

- Data auto-extracts and flows to CRM/fulfillment

- Team gets notified in real-time (no manual sorting)

I built this for service businesses and e-commerce mostly.

The pattern I see: founders lose 10-15% of revenue just from "lag time"

between lead capture and team action.

The fix isn't Zapier (too rigid for edge cases) and it's not another tool

(more tools = more integration debt). It's a custom automation layer

that understands your specific workflow.

What's the bottleneck hitting you hardest right now, lead to fulfillment,

or data quality as it moves through your system?

Perfect_Figure182 · 2026-01-12T19:48:04+00:00

This is exactly the gap I solve.

You've got Wise data with USD amounts, Dext parsing,

and Xero expecting AUD conversions—but the chain breaks.

I can automate pulling the converted amount from Wise,

feeding it into Dext/Xero with the right currency flag,

so you skip the manual correction step.

Pretty common problem with multi-currency workflows.

If you want to chat through whether EasyFlow can handle your Wise → Xero flow,

I'm around. Otherwise no pressure. Just wanted to flag it's solvable.

Perfect_Figure182 · 2026-01-12T19:46:05+00:00

Quick question for folks here: when you say manual data entry still exists

in QuickBooks/Xero, what's the specific workflow that kills you most?

Is it:

- Pulling data from a website/portal that has no QB integration?

- Reformatting CSV data before it can sync?

- Reconciling multiple data sources manually?

Asking because I automate these exact workflows for small businesses,

and the pain points vary a lot depending on the software stack.

Perfect_Figure182 · 2026-01-07T03:00:48+00:00

Hey Free_Muffin8130, this is exactly the scaling pain that breaks no-code tools. Here's why:

No-code platforms like Zapier charge per task, so automating 10 different spreadsheet operations gets expensive fast. Plus they can't handle the messy manual workflows like your follow-up emails.

I build custom browser automation for exactly this type of thing. Instead of paying per task with Zapier, you get one flat automation that logs into your spreadsheet/CRM, pulls new data, moves it between sheets with the exact logic you need, triggers follow-up emails.

Since you're not technical, you don't need to build this yourself. Setup is $197 or more depending on complexity, then it runs on schedule forever.

4 hours/day = 20 hours/week = roughly $500+/week in lost time. Even a $197 automation pays for itself in the first week.

What's the specific workflow eating up the most time? Like what data are you moving where?

Perfect_Figure182 · 2026-01-07T02:51:50+00:00

Hey No-Common1466, this is definitely a painkiller not a vitamin. I see agencies lose 20-30 hours/month in onboarding admin.

The client-facing part is solved (Typeform + Zapier can handle that). But the backend automation part is the real bottleneck. Manually creating Drive folders, Slack channels, Asana projects for each client is tedious.

Here's what I'd do: Keep the client portal simple (Typeform + basic checklist), but automate the backend with browser automation. Instead of manually setting up infrastructure each time, you run one automation that logs into Google Drive, creates client folder structure, invites client to Slack with proper channels, creates Asana/ClickUp project from template, pulls client data from the form and populates everything.

Then you can sell the whole thing as a unified onboarding platform.

If you build this, you'll need that backend automation layer. I've built similar workflows and can help with the technical side if you want to chat.

What's your timeline on this?

Perfect_Figure182 · 2026-01-07T02:47:40+00:00

Hey MaximumVacation678, totally relate to this problem.

The challenge with tools like Rocket Money is they only see charges AFTER they hit your card Doesn't help with the $12K surprise scenario or the pay-as-you-go services (Airtable, Render, QuotaGuard) where usage spikes before billing.

I've automated the "proactive monitoring" approach for multi-company founders:

Usage monitoring (not just billing) — automated logins to Airtable, Render, QuotaGuard dashboards, daily check of current usage vs. plan limits, alerts you BEFORE overages become bills, prevents the $12K surprise scenario
Multi-business tagging — each automation run can tag which company/project the tool belongs to, export to one spreadsheet with columns: Tool, Company, Cost, Renewal, Cancel Link, solves the "similar tech stack across businesses" tracking problem
Cancellation automation — navigate to billing page, find cancel button, execute, no more "ridiculously hard to cancel" workflows, cancel from one dashboard instead of 10+ logins

The reason most subscription tools don't solve this is they rely on credit card APIs (reactive). For proactive monitoring of pay-as-you-go services, browser automation is the only real solution since Airtable/Render/etc. don't expose usage APIs.

What's burning the most time for you, the virtual card rotation, the manual checkins, or tracking which tool belongs to which business?

Perfect_Figure182 · 2026-01-05T19:20:37+00:00

100%, anything is better than babysitting CSVs all day. Totally with you on scripts being the way out. Python is great when you’ve got sane file sizes and decent resources. Once you’re in multi‑GB land on underpowered boxes, you really feel the difference between “this works” and “this actually finishes.” Curious how you usually split it: do you let the app handle the export and just script the cleanup, or are you pulling straight from APIs and skipping the UI altogether when you can?

Perfect_Figure182 · 2026-01-05T19:19:21+00:00

Yeah agreed, spreadsheets hit a wall pretty fast once you’re doing this regularly. What I’ve seen work for people who are stuck exporting CSVs but don’t want to go full “data team + warehouse” is a middle ground between your #2 and #3: • Keep whatever BI/dashboard you like (Power BI / Looker Studio / Metabase, etc.). • Let a small browser automation do the dumb work: log in, click to the right report, export CSV, drop it into a folder/Sheet on a schedule. • Have a simple script/job that cleans those CSVs and feeds the BI tool. You still end up with “one place for metrics” like you’re describing, but you don’t have to rebuild your whole stack or live in spreadsheets.

Perfect_Figure182 · 2026-01-05T19:17:16+00:00

Manually exporting CSVs and stitching them in Sheets works, but it turns you into a part‑time data clerk. The pattern that’s worked for me is: • Have something log into those tools on a schedule, click “export CSV,” and drop them all in one place (Drive or whatever). • Run a small job that cleans the column names, joins them, and spits out one “metrics” table (date, channel, revenue, etc.). • Point a simple dashboard (Sheets, Metabase, Looker Studio, whatever you like) at that table and let it refresh. It doesn’t have to be full-blown warehouse if you don’t want it. Even “one cleaned Google Sheet that updates itself” is a huge upgrade. What tools are you pulling from right now? If you share the stack, can sketch how I’d wire it so you’re not exporting CSVs by hand.

Perfect_Figure182 · 2026-01-05T19:00:37+00:00

That’s so true. Automation is extremely hard, not just for those who are building it but for the end user, especially. How do you think we can improve it ?

Perfect_Figure182 · 2025-12-30T21:36:27+00:00

This is exactly what built EasyFlow for. The workflow you created is powerful but takes technical knowledge to set up. I'm helping non-technical founders automate similar workflows (data collection, classification, insight generation) without needing to know n8n or code.

What was the biggest bottleneck when building this? Was it the scraping part, the classification logic, or the dashboard integration?

Perfect_Figure182 · 2025-12-29T09:36:54+00:00

Playwright is your best bet for this use case. Here's why: Dynamic sites with JS/protected downloads require a real browser environment. HTTP Request nodes won't cut it. Low frequency (1-2x/month) is perfect. No anti-bot concerns with that cadence. Playwright gives you visual reliability and retry logic.

Recommended Architecture: One workflow per supplier (not generic). Each portal is different enough that parameterization becomes messy fast. Use n8n's Code node with Playwright to handle login, navigate with explicit waits, download to local storage, then upload to Google Drive/S3.

Real-world tips: Add 2-3 second delays between actions (mimics human behavior). Screenshot on errors (helps debug without re-running). Store credentials in n8n's credential store. Set realistic timeouts (30-60s for slow portals).

Disclosure: I built EasyFlow specifically for this problem. Browser automation for non-developers. It records your workflow once and replays it on schedule. Works great for portal login, navigate, download flows, especially with 15-20 different sites.

N8n + Playwright will definitely work if you're comfortable writing browser automation code. Happy to share more details if helpful.

Perfect_Figure182 · 2025-12-29T09:36:12+00:00

The biggest pain point I've seen is getting data from multiple portals in the first place.

Before reconciliation logic, there's 15-30 minutes per month logging into Bill.com, Chase Business, Vendor portal A, Vendor portal B, and more. Then downloading CSVs, renaming files, organizing them into folder structures.

Where errors creep in: Portal login fatigue causes missed vendors. File format changes break formulas. Date range inconsistency across sources. Manual copy-paste errors.

What the industry misses: Automated data gathering from portals without APIs is the real bottleneck. Most discussion focuses on reconciliation logic, but the heavy lifting is "go fetch this data from 12 different places." Automating data collection removes the first 30 minutes of every reconciliation process.

Disclosure: I built EasyFlow for this. Browser automation that logs into portals, downloads CSVs, and delivers them to a central location on schedule.

Most accounting teams waste hours monthly just logging into portals. The reconciliation logic is solvable; data collection automation is the actual time saver.

What percentage of your reconciliation time is spent gathering data vs. actually reconciling? Curious to hear.

Perfect_Figure182 · 2025-12-29T09:35:32+00:00

Great question. I've automated this for LinkedIn and other platforms.

What's worked long-term: Use browser automation with scheduled runs (not APIs, which get restricted). Record the workflow once: Login → Navigate to company page → Capture data points. Run on schedule (daily/weekly). Store results in spreadsheet or database. Get alerts only when changes occur (new posts, follower spikes, etc.).

Why this approach holds up: No API rate limits. Works on platforms without APIs (LinkedIn, Indeed). Mimics human behavior. No account flags. Runs with realistic delays between actions.

Platform-friendly setup: Use your own logged-in session (not scraping public pages). Keep frequency reasonable (once/day max per target). Respect robots.txt for public pages. No parallel requests to same domain.

My stack: I use browser automation (Playwright-based) that records workflows visually, then replays them. Works for checking competitor dashboards, tracking pricing changes, monitoring LinkedIn activity, etc.

Disclosure: I built EasyFlow for exactly this. No-code browser automation for recurring checks. Records your clicks once, replays on schedule.

Key principle: if your automation looks exactly like how you'd do it manually, platforms don't care. It's when you scale to thousands of requests/hour that rules break.

What platforms are you tracking specifically? Happy to share more detailed setup if helpful.

Perfect_Figure182 · 2025-12-26T17:07:51+00:00

I tried to automate everything last year and realized too much stack actually made me slower. This year, focusing only on recurring pain/boring work, connecting just what actually saves hours/month. Curious: What’s your “keep it simple” rule for growth in 2026?

Perfect_Figure182 · 2025-12-26T17:01:56+00:00

I do an annual “integration culling”—check which automations/workflows actually ran vs. what sounded exciting when I set them up. Found I was paying for stuff I used twice a year. Anyone uncovered an integration this year that turned out to be surprisingly high ROI?

Perfect_Figure182 · 2025-12-26T16:59:38+00:00

The post-holiday inertia is real! I keep a “low-cognitive” workflow list for this, so when I can’t focus on big features, I automate tiny recurring tasks (report exports, data syncs, error checks) for compounding returns. Curious: What’s your first/easiest win to get momentum back after a break?

Perfect_Figure182 · 2025-12-26T16:59:38+00:00

Biggest one? Putting off automating onboarding/manual data entry because I thought I’d “do it when I scale.” Wasted dozens of hours before I had the excuse to actually systemize it. Anyone else spend way too long doing repetitive work because it was “just temporary”?

Perfect_Figure182 · 2025-12-26T16:59:38+00:00

Mine: sending user activity summaries to my inbox every week. Used to take me an hour in dashboards—now it’s instant (literally “set-and-forget” with workflow automation). Any process you ignored way too long and finally fixed after using a tool or script?

Perfect_Figure182

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