ERP screens with no API
Entering a vendor's legal name, TIN, and 1099 settings on a RealPage screen your license does not expose.
Compare
Zapier, Make, n8n & Workato
integration platforms that connect apps through APIs and prebuilt connectors to move data and trigger automated workflows
Who they are and what they are good at
Integration platforms connect apps through APIs. Each has its own meter and its own sweet spot.
Zapier
More than 9,000 apps, billed per completed task, with a free tier. Zapier Agents bill separately by activity and can browse through a Chrome extension. Human in the Loop pauses a Zap for reviewers.
Make
More than 3,000 apps on a visual canvas, billed per module action in credits, with a free tier. Make AI Agents are in beta.
n8n
Billed per workflow execution regardless of step count, or free to self-host under its Sustainable Use License. Can require a person to approve an agent's tool call.
Workato
Enterprise integration with prebuilt Genies, the AIRO multi-agent builder, an on-prem agent for internal systems, and RPA bots built with Robotiq.ai. No published prices.
For connected SaaS, they are fast to build and cheap to run.
Where integration platforms stop for messy back-office work
The subset is precise: steps where both ends have a connector your license allows.
Logins that belong to a person
IRS TIN Matching runs behind a named person's account. It cannot be a stored app connection.
Photographed paper
A phone photo of a W-9 needs a model step, and the result still has to land in the ERP.
Review with context
Approvals show the data the flow submitted, not a screen in a system the flow cannot reach.
LaunchAI does those steps through the screen, in the supervisor's own session, with exact rules and a review screen that shows the W-9 image, the ERP entry, and the IRS answer together. See Product →.
Side by side
| Zapier | Make | n8n | Workato | LaunchAI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who builds | Operations generalist | Canvas builder | Team that self-hosts | Integration team | The person who does the work |
| Reaches software through | 9,000+ connectors, webhooks, MCP | 3,000+ modules, HTTP | Nodes, HTTP, code | Connectors, on-prem agent, RPA bots | The screen of any app, plus APIs |
| Runs where | Zapier cloud | Make cloud | Their cloud or your server | Workato cloud, on-prem agent | The user's machine or an enrolled agent PC |
| Desktop apps | No | No | No | RPA bots | Yes |
| Exact rules | Filters, Paths, Formatter | Routers, functions | IF and Switch nodes, code | Recipe conditions | Rules and Tables, no model call |
| Pauses for a person | Human in the Loop | Built from modules | Wait node, tool approval | Recipe approvals | Review step with the source document |
| Evidence | Step history | Execution history | Execution data | Job history, audit log | Screenshots of every action |
| Cost unit | Tasks plus agent activity | Credits | Executions | Quote | License |
When to choose an integration platform
- Chasing W-9s: form links, day 3 and day 7 reminders, filing in SharePoint, a Teams note. Built in an afternoon for a few dollars a month.
- High-volume syncs between two APIs.
- Long API flows on a self-hosted n8n, where one run counts as one execution.
- An existing Workato program with governance already paid for.
When to choose LaunchAI
- W-9 entry in RealPage, Interactive TIN Matching in the supervisor's IRS session, payment holds from a policy table, and a January check against the reporting threshold.
- Every value should trace to the W-9 region it came from.
Better together
The platform keeps the chase. When the W-9 lands, a webhook from Make, n8n, or Zapier starts the LaunchAI run. Results return to a shared table, and the platform sends the correction request if the TIN failed to match.
FAQ
Which of the four fits a team with no ERP screens in the job?
Zapier for breadth and the gentlest editor, Make for low cost per action, n8n for self-hosting and long flows, Workato for enterprise governance.
Can Workato's on-prem agent or RPA replace a screen-level agent?
Partly. The on-prem agent reaches systems with interfaces. RPA by Workato reaches screens as recorded bots maintained by the integration team, a different owner than the AP supervisor.
How do tasks, credits, and executions compare?
A 12-step flow run 500 times is up to 6,000 Zapier tasks, up to 6,000 Make credits, or 500 n8n executions.
Can a Zap or scenario start a LaunchAI run?
Yes, by design, through a webhook. Confirm trigger availability during a demo.
No prompts. No babysitting. No Integrations.