At BikUp, we are a two-founder team running a nationwide bike-rental marketplace. That means every minute counts, and every operational “quick win” needs to happen without spinning up development time.
This is exactly where NocoDB changed our workflow.
We already rely on a full ERP (Dokos/ERPNext), heavy automation through n8n, and Metabase for analytics. But we needed a simple, flexible, collaborative data layer for everything that doesn’t deserve a full backend feature — yet is essential for running the company smoothly.
That’s the role where NocoDB has become our go-to operational database.
Why NocoDB?
We needed a tool that could:
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create a table in minutes,
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be usable by non-technical team members,
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integrate naturally with n8n,
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replace chaotic Excel files,
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grow with us without adding cost.
Because we self-host NocoDB, the cost is extremely low — a huge advantage for a fast-growing startup.
Our Real Use Cases: How NocoDB Drives Our Operations
1. Managing newsletter subscriptions and unsubscriptions
NocoDB is our central source of truth for marketing opt-ins and opt-outs.
Every event is pushed to NocoDB through n8n:
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new subscriber → row added or updated
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unsubscription → user marked as inactive
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all marketing tools read from the same place
This eliminated duplicates, inconsistencies, and recurring CSV imports.
2. Operational logging tables
Lots of things need to be logged but don’t justify creating a module inside our ERP.
NocoDB hosts structured logs for:
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n8n workflow errors,
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webhook events,
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test runs,
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feature flags and experiments.
Some of these tables also feed directly into Metabase dashboards, giving us real-time visibility into automation health.
3. Generating, storing, and tracking all our utm_source
UTMs are critical for understanding our growth. With NocoDB, we built a full tracking system:
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n8n automatically generates UTM links
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everything is stored in NocoDB
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visits and signups are mapped to their original UTM
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revenues tied to each UTM are recorded in the same table
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all historical data is cleanly organized
This allows us to track marketing performance with precision and power advanced reporting in Metabase.
4. Tracking internal metrics — and competitor activity
Every day, n8n updates NocoDB with:
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internal metrics (bike listings, regional activity, pricing, etc.)
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publicly observable competitor data
NocoDB acts as a lightweight operational datalake:
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structured
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historical
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clean
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directly queryable in Metabase
This enables long-term trends, anomaly detection, market monitoring, and seasonality analysis — without custom scripts or backend complexity.
NocoDB + n8n: a powerful duo… that is starting to evolve
Historically, our architecture has been:
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n8n → automations
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NocoDB → structured storage
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Metabase → analytics
Recently, n8n introduced the ability to create tables directly.
This partially overlaps with what NocoDB does.
We’re watching how this evolves.
For now:
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n8n remains excellent for workflow automation
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NocoDB remains unmatched for collaborative, structured data management
And together, they form a perfect pair in our stack.
What NocoDB Brings Us Every Day
Speed
Spinning up a new table or experiment takes minutes.
Flexibility
Ideal for operational data, quick tests, and iterative processes.
Collaboration
No more scattered Excel files — everything is centralized and governed.
Seamless integration with n8n and Metabase
NocoDB stores → n8n updates → Metabase visualizes.
Extremely low cost
Self-hosting keeps our infrastructure light and affordable.
Conclusion: NocoDB is our “living workspace” for everything that needs to move fast
NocoDB does not aim to replace our ERP or core backend systems.
That’s not its role.
But for anything that must be:
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created quickly,
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updated often,
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shared internally,
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fed automatically by n8n,
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analyzed in Metabase…
NocoDB has become one of the most valuable tools in our stack.
Internally, we often call it our “quick-win workspace” — because nearly every new idea starts in NocoDB, and quite often… stays there.