Topic

Automation, integrations, and the records they need

The build is the easy half. What decides whether it survives an audit is what was written down before it went live.

If an automation uses personal data, the law treats it like any other use of that data. It needs a lawful reason to use the data (a legal basis) and a written record, both in place before it runs.

The articles below cover both halves: what it takes to connect the systems, and the short list of things you need in writing before an automation that uses personal data can run.

Free checkAutomation savings calculatorYour task, how long it takes and how often; the hours and money it costs you in a year, and how long a fixed-price build would take to pay back.
Free checkDoes this automation need an assessment?Checks what the automation would do against the DPC's list, and tells you whether a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) is required.

21 articles on this

Start here · Automation
What to automate first in a small business, and how to tell if it is worth it
The best first automation is rarely the most impressive one. It is a job that happens often, follows the same rules every time, and moves information from one system to another by hand.3 minute read · 4 sources
Processes
A standard operating procedure (SOP) template for a small business, and what each section is for
A standard operating procedure is the agreed way a job is done, written down so the next person does it the same way. The template below has fourteen sections, and each one says why it is there.8 minute read · 8 sources
HubSpot
HubSpot pricing for a small team: Starter, Professional and Enterprise in euro, and what each one counts
HubSpot charges for seats, for marketing contacts and, on Professional and Enterprise, for onboarding. Starter costs the same whichever hub you buy it from, and its headline price in October 2026 was a limited-time discount for new customers.7 minute read · 12 sources
n8n
n8n for a small business: Cloud plans, what an execution is, and what self-hosting leaves to you
n8n runs on n8n's own servers, as n8n Cloud, or on a server you run, where the Community edition is free under n8n's Sustainable Use License. Cloud is priced by workflow runs; self-hosting moves the updates, backups and security to you.8 minute read · 16 sources
Recruitment
A recruitment CRM for an Irish agency: the licence, candidates' data, and what to automate around it
An employment agency in Ireland needs a licence before it trades, and the regulations made under the 1971 Act say which records it keeps. Candidates' CVs are personal data, kept for a period you have to be able to justify. A recruitment CRM, and the automation around it, can carry both.7 minute read · 11 sources
CRM
HubSpot, Pipedrive or Zoho CRM: free plans, seat prices, limits and where the data is kept
HubSpot and Zoho CRM have free plans; Pipedrive sells four paid ones. All three charge per seat or user when you pay, and all three have data centres in the EU. They differ in what they count, what the free plans leave out, and how the data processing terms are agreed.8 minute read · 17 sources
Power Automate
Power Automate with Microsoft 365: what the business plans include, and when you need Premium or Process
Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard and Premium include cloud flows with the standard connectors, such as Outlook, SharePoint and Teams. Premium connectors, desktop flows started from the cloud and higher daily limits need a Power Automate licence.7 minute read · 9 sources
Email marketing
Mailchimp, Brevo or Klaviyo: what each charges for, what the free plans allow, and where your list is kept
All three have a free plan and charge more as your list or your sending grows, but each counts something different. Brevo keeps its servers in the EU; Mailchimp and Klaviyo keep your list in the United States, unless EU data residency is part of your Klaviyo agreement.6 minute read · 12 sources
Email and files
Google Workspace or Microsoft 365: what each business plan includes, at Irish prices
Both sell business plans with email on your own domain, shared files, calendars and video meetings, for up to 300 users. On their Irish pages in October 2026 the entry plans with video meetings were €6.07 a user a month (Microsoft 365 Business Basic) and €6.80 (Google Business Starter), on a one-year commitment, before VAT. They differ in how storage is counted, which apps each plan includes, and where your data can be kept.8 minute read · 21 sources
Microsoft 365
SharePoint for a small business: what it is, what you get, and the settings to decide once
Each team in Microsoft Teams stores its files in a SharePoint site, and a business can make sites of its own for files and news. SharePoint comes with Business Basic, Standard and Premium, and Microsoft's sharing defaults are worth deciding on before anybody starts filling it.7 minute read · 16 sources
Chat and meetings
Microsoft Teams or Slack: what each costs, what the free plans keep, and how each works with outsiders
Teams comes with Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard and Premium, and is sold on its own as Teams Essentials. Slack is sold on its own, with a free plan. In the EEA Microsoft also sells its business suites without Teams, at lower prices, which a European Commission decision of 12 September 2025 made binding on it.5 minute read · 15 sources
Accounting software
Xero, Sage or QuickBooks: Irish prices, bank feeds and VAT returns compared
All three are sold in Ireland, and all three work out the VAT on what you record. The return itself goes to Revenue through ROS. They differ in currency, in what the cheapest plan leaves out, and in how payroll is handled.6 minute read · 19 sources
Payroll
Payroll software in Ireland: what Revenue requires of it, and what BrightPay, Thesaurus and Sage charge
Since 1 January 2019, an Irish employer has had to report each payment to an employee to Revenue on or before the day it is made, with the deductions worked out from the latest Revenue Payroll Notification for that employee. Payroll software does both. The products differ in price, in where they run, and in what changes for them in 2027.6 minute read · 21 sources
Project management
Asana, Trello, monday.com or Microsoft Planner: project management software for a small team, priced
All four keep a team's tasks on shared lists and boards. They differ in where the free plan stops, in what they charge for, and in whether you already pay for one of them through Microsoft 365.5 minute read · 6 sources
Booking tools
Calendly or Microsoft Bookings: calendars, reminders, payment and the booker's details
Microsoft Bookings comes with Microsoft 365 business plans and stores each booking in your Microsoft 365. Calendly is a separate subscription that works with Google and Microsoft calendars and can take payment when someone books.6 minute read · 20 sources
E-signatures
Docusign, Adobe Acrobat Sign or a cheaper option: what Irish and EU law accept, and what each costs
Article 25 of the EU's eIDAS Regulation stops an electronic signature being denied legal effect, or refused as evidence, only because it is electronic, and section 13 of the Electronic Commerce Act 2000 lets one be used where a signature is required, if whoever receives it agrees to an electronic signature. The tools differ in price and in the level of signature they give, and section 10 of the Act keeps some documents outside those rules.8 minute read · 13 sources
Online forms
Collecting personal data with Google Forms or Microsoft Forms: the account, the settings and the notice
The account a Google or Microsoft form is made in decides which terms cover the responses. On a Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 business account the provider handles them for you under a data processing addendum; a personal account comes without one.6 minute read · 19 sources
Automation
Zapier, Make, Power Automate or n8n: which suits a small business
All four connect your apps so that one thing happening in one of them makes something happen in another. They differ in what they charge for, where they run, and how much they expect you to know.2 minute read · 5 sources
Automation
Automating something that touches personal data: what has to be written down
Five things to write down before an automation that moves personal data goes live.9 minute read · 5 sources
Support
What Support, our monthly service, covers
Support keeps what we built or secured for you working: up to five of your systems watched and fixed when they fail, your website kept up to date, and one report a month. It is €450 a month, your Google and Meta ad accounts can be added on for €400 a month more, and it starts after a Build or Protect.3 minute read · 1 source
Integrations
What it takes to connect Revolut Business to your accounts package
The API is real, well documented and free once you are on the right plan. The work is in the setup and in what you do with the transactions afterwards.8 minute read · 3 sources

What we do about this

Connect and automateBuildWe join up the systems you already use and automate the jobs that repeat.
Cardinal, the platformClient portalProgress on your work, reports, invoices and support in one account, beside the automation, reporting and compliance work we run for you.
FourWinds Reporting, connectedCustom dashboardsYour ad spend, enquiries, sales and invoices on one screen in your portal, taken from your own accounts.

Talk to us

Automation, integrations, and the records they need

21 articles on this

What to automate first in a small business, and how to tell if it is worth it

A standard operating procedure (SOP) template for a small business, and what each section is for

HubSpot pricing for a small team: Starter, Professional and Enterprise in euro, and what each one counts

n8n for a small business: Cloud plans, what an execution is, and what self-hosting leaves to you

A recruitment CRM for an Irish agency: the licence, candidates' data, and what to automate around it

HubSpot, Pipedrive or Zoho CRM: free plans, seat prices, limits and where the data is kept

Power Automate with Microsoft 365: what the business plans include, and when you need Premium or Process

Mailchimp, Brevo or Klaviyo: what each charges for, what the free plans allow, and where your list is kept

Google Workspace or Microsoft 365: what each business plan includes, at Irish prices

SharePoint for a small business: what it is, what you get, and the settings to decide once

Microsoft Teams or Slack: what each costs, what the free plans keep, and how each works with outsiders

Xero, Sage or QuickBooks: Irish prices, bank feeds and VAT returns compared

Payroll software in Ireland: what Revenue requires of it, and what BrightPay, Thesaurus and Sage charge

Asana, Trello, monday.com or Microsoft Planner: project management software for a small team, priced

Calendly or Microsoft Bookings: calendars, reminders, payment and the booker's details

Docusign, Adobe Acrobat Sign or a cheaper option: what Irish and EU law accept, and what each costs

Collecting personal data with Google Forms or Microsoft Forms: the account, the settings and the notice

Zapier, Make, Power Automate or n8n: which suits a small business

Automating something that touches personal data: what has to be written down

What Support, our monthly service, covers

What it takes to connect Revolut Business to your accounts package

What we do about this

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