How a Compliance Team in Frankfurt Built Audit-Ready Operations Aligned with Digital Services Act by Automating User Transparency and Reporting

Compliance teams working under stringent regulations face complex, repetitive, and high-stakes tasks daily. 🛡️ A leading compliance team in Frankfurt was tasked with ensuring their operations aligned fully with the Digital Services Act (DSA), focusing on user transparency and detailed reporting. This article explores how the team leveraged automation to build audit-ready operations, improving accuracy, reducing manual effort, and ensuring scalability.

We will dive into the challenges posed by the DSA, the risks of manual compliance, and how RestFlow partnered with them to design and implement a robust automation workflow using tools like n8n integrated with Google Sheets, Slack, and email systems. You’ll get practical insights on workflow design, error handling, and scaling compliance processes in regulated environments. Whether you are a startup CTO, automation engineer, or operations specialist, this case study offers valuable technical guidance to automate compliance efficiently while maintaining full accountability.

Case Context & Problem: Manual Compliance Under the Digital Services Act

The client is a compliance team located in Frankfurt, Germany, working within the compliance vertical of a large digital services platform. Their core responsibility includes ensuring adherence to the Digital Services Act (DSA)—a European Union regulation emphasizing platform accountability, transparency, notice-and-action, and risk assessments.

Previously, the team managed user transparency reporting and disclosures largely through manual processes. They collected usage and incident data from multiple internal systems, consolidated it in spreadsheets, manually reviewed and validated the data, and then produced complex transparency reports that were shared with regulators and publicly disclosed to users.

This manual approach resulted in several pain points:

• High time consumption: Approximately 120 hours per month dedicated to data gathering, validation, and reporting.
• Human error: Data inconsistencies and delayed updates led to inaccuracies.
• Opaque process visibility: Stakeholders had limited insight into the status of reports and compliance metrics.
• SLA risks: Delays in report generation risked regulatory penalties.

These issues directly threatened the company’s compliance posture under the DSA, impacting platform accountability and transparency commitments.

Our Approach: Mapping Compliance and Designing Automation

RestFlow was engaged to transform the compliance reporting workflow through automation. Our approach began with comprehensive process discovery, including stakeholder interviews and system audits. We mapped all relevant data inputs, handoff points, and approval cycles involved in user transparency and reporting.

Identifying critical systems, we noted integrations with email systems (Gmail), spreadsheets (Google Sheets), internal databases, and communication platforms (Slack). Recognizing the complexity, we chose n8n as the automation orchestrator for its flexibility, open-source nature, and powerful UI, which suits the compliance-first approach.

We proposed an automation architecture that:

• Triggered workflows on weekly schedules and user incident events.
• Integrated various data sources seamlessly for real-time validation.
• Streamlined report generation and approval with embedded controls.
• Produced audit-ready logs supporting traceability and regulatory transparency.

RestFlow’s role included workflow design, implementation, hosting, monitoring, and ongoing maintenance, aligned with their Automation-as-a-Service model.

If you want to accelerate your compliance automation journey, Create Your Free RestFlow Account today.

The Solution: Architecture and Workflow Overview

The solution architecture centers on n8n automating the user transparency and reporting process under the DSA. The main components are:

• Triggers: Scheduled weekly runs command the start of the main reporting workflow. Additionally, ad hoc triggers fire from incident logging webhooks.
• Orchestration: n8n serves as the central automation hub, orchestrating data aggregation, validation, transformation, and notifications.
• External Systems:
  • Google Sheets stores raw data inputs and generated interim reports.
  • Gmail automates outgoing disclosure emails to users.
  • Slack channels receive alerts and status updates for compliance officers.
  • Internal APIs provide access to user activity and incident logs.
• Outputs: Generated transparency reports, detailed logs for audit trails, compliance dashboards in Google Sheets, and user-facing disclosures via email.

End-to-End Workflow Walkthrough

1. Scheduled Trigger: Every Monday at 8 AM CET, the workflow initiates within n8n.

2. Data Collection: The system pulls user activity data and incident records via API calls. Data is streamed into Google Sheets.

3. Data Validation: The workflow validates data completeness and consistency, flagging any anomalies.

4. Report Generation: Using templated Google Docs integration, dynamic transparency reports are drafted.

5. Approval Cycle: Reports are sent via email to compliance leads, with approver comments collected through Google Forms integration.

6. User Notifications: Post-approval, users automatically receive transparency disclosures via Gmail.

7. Audit Logging: Every step records a log entry into a secure Google Sheet and sends summary notifications to Slack.

This orchestration maximizes automation while embedding compliance controls and traceability.

Step-by-Step Node Breakdown ⚙️

1. Trigger Node (Cron Scheduler)

This node activates the workflow every Monday at 8 AM CET. The trigger uses n8n’s built-in cron scheduler with timezone set to ‘Europe/Berlin’.

Config: Schedule expression: 0 8 * * 1
Output: Timestamp for the run start.

2. Data Collection Node (HTTP Request)

Pulls user activity and incident data from internal APIs via REST endpoints.

Input: Timestamp from trigger node.

Output: JSON arrays of user events and incidents.

Details: Uses GET requests with API key header authorization. JSON parsed for subsequent steps.

3. Data Validation Node (Function & If)

A JavaScript function node checks each dataset for completeness of required fields (e.g., userId, timestamp, eventType).
Conditional branching (If node) separates valid and invalid records.
Invalid data triggers alerts.

4. Data Storage Node (Google Sheets Append)

Valid data entries appended to a master Google Sheet named ‘DSA_User_Transparency_Data’.
Enables centralized tracking and historic data storage.

5. Report Template Generation Node (Google Docs Integration)

Populates a Google Docs transparency report template using the aggregated dataset.
Uses n8n’s Google Docs node with mapped fields for dynamic content insertion (user stats, incidents summary, compliance status).

6. Approval Email Node (Gmail Send Email)

Sends the draft report to designated compliance leads for approval.
Email contains a link to a Google Form to collect approval and comments.

7. Approval Collection Node (Google Forms Webhook)

Receives approval status and comments submitted via Google Form.
Conditional logic routes status: approved to next step, rejected back to report generation.

8. User Notification Node (Gmail Send Email)

After approval, user-facing disclosures are sent via personalized email.
Emails adhere to DSA transparency requirements and include links to full reports.

9. Audit Logging Node (Google Sheets Append)

Logs every workflow run, decision, and user communication in a dedicated audit log spreadsheet.
Supports traceability and regulatory audits.

10. Slack Notification Node

Posts status messages (workflow started, completed, errors) in the compliance team’s Slack channel.
Facilitates real-time monitoring.

Error Handling, Robustness & Security

Error Handling and Retries

Each API call and data processing node is wrapped with retry logic (3 attempts, exponential backoff).
Failures trigger Slack alerts and write errors to a fallback Google Sheet.

Logging and Observability

All workflow executions log details to an audit Google Sheet with timestamps, status, and user info.
Slack notifications enhance visibility.

Idempotency & Deduplication

Incoming data is checked against existing records in Google Sheets using unique user-event keys to prevent duplicates.

Security and Data Protection

• API keys and credentials stored securely in n8n environment variables with least privilege scopes.
• Personal Identifiable Information (PII) is encrypted when stored in spreadsheets.
• Access controls enforced on integration endpoints and report documents.

Performance, Scaling & Extensibility

To accommodate growing user volumes, the workflow:

• Implements parallel batch processing of user events.
• Uses webhooks for real-time incident data alongside scheduled jobs.
• Has modular sub-workflows to easily onboard new teams or extend to additional compliance regions.
• Leverages RestFlow’s managed hosting for stable operations under load with monitoring and automatic scaling.

Comparison Tables for Automation Options

n8n vs Make vs Zapier for DSA Compliance Automation

Option	Cost	Pros	Cons
n8n	Free/self-hosted; Paid cloud plans from $20/mo	Highly customizable, open-source, strong data control, extensible	Requires some technical setup, less pre-built integrations than others
Make (Integromat)	From $9/mo	Visual editor, strong integration library, good error handling	Pricing can grow fast with volume, less open customization
Zapier	From $19.99/mo	Huge app ecosystem, easy setup, familiar UI	Limited programmability, task quotas can limit heavy workflows

Webhook vs Polling for Compliance Workflows

Method	Latency	Resource Usage	Complexity
Webhook	Near real-time	Low	Requires endpoint setup and security
Polling	Minutes delay	Higher (periodic requests)	Simpler to implement, no endpoint needed

Results and Business Impact

Post-automation, the compliance team observed:

• 70% reduction in processing time, cutting manual hours from 120 to approximately 36 per month.
• Error rate dropped by an estimated 85%, bolstered by data validation and deduplication.
• Visibility improved: Real-time Slack alerts and dashboards enhanced stakeholder confidence.
• SLAs consistently met, with reports delivered at least 24 hours ahead of deadlines.
• Audit-readiness ensured: Detailed logs supported regulator inquiries without delay.

Compliance officers reported calmer operations and more time to focus on strategic risk assessments and platform improvements.

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Pilot Phase and Ongoing Maintenance Disclaimer

The implemented automation initially launched in a controlled pilot phase, where the workflows processed live but limited datasets. During this stage, the team and RestFlow jointly identified and resolved minor bugs, handled edge cases, and optimized performance.

Following the pilot, RestFlow continues to provide managed hosting, monitoring, system updates, and audits to sustain optimal and compliant operations. This partnership approach ensures the automation adapts smoothly to evolving regulatory or business changes with minimal friction.

Conclusion: Transforming Compliance with Automation-as-a-Service

This case study illustrates how a compliance team in Frankfurt overcame the challenges of manual Digital Services Act reporting by adopting automation for user transparency and reporting. RestFlow architected and implemented a robust, audit-ready workflow blending n8n, Google services, and Slack to ensure timely, accurate, and transparent compliance operations.

The transformation delivered substantial efficiency gains, error reductions, and regulatory confidence, allowing the team to focus on strategic compliance themes such as notice-and-action and risk assessments. RestFlow’s Automation-as-a-Service model ensured ongoing stability, monitoring, and adaptability for sustained success.

If you are ready to modernize your compliance practices with powerful automation workflows, explore crafted solutions and templates designed to accelerate your journey. Take the first step today and empower your compliance team with scalable, calm, and audit-ready operations.