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Since microtech büro+ gained a GraphQL interface, almost any AI tool can talk to your ERP. That has not made the choice smaller, it has made it bigger. We compared the five tools that come up most often in our conversations with microtech users. Three questions drive the comparison: what does the tool cost over time, which tasks can it take on, and how much IT knowledge do you need? A fourth one decides the data protection question: where is your data processed?
The 5 tools compared
| Tool | Cost | Use cases | IT expertise | Data processing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Workist | higher at first, then very efficient | email, document capture, unstructured processes in sales and purchasing, AI phone assistant | low | in the EU, no transfer to the US |
| 2. Zapier | medium, licence plus token costs | anything text-based, no phone | medium to high | in the US |
| 3. n8n | medium, licence plus token costs | anything text-based, no phone | high | self-hosting possible, AI steps mostly in the US |
| 4. Claude / ChatGPT | low at first, then rising fast | anything text-based, no phone | very high | in the US by default |
| 5. ELO | high, especially the rollout | document workflows with basic AI features | medium | depends on deployment |
1. Workist
Workist is built for the sales back office and connected over the GraphQL interface as an official Microtech partner. The Order Agent creates orders and quotes from emails and PDFs, the Inbox Agent answers customer enquiries, the Voice Agent takes orders over the phone. For anything that does not fit a standard case, there is WorkI, the assistant in chat. The setup costs more at the start than a chat subscription. In return, every further document pays off, because you pay for neither developers nor prompt maintenance. You barely need IT: Workist is a SaaS tool and the connection to büro+ is standard. And your data is processed in the EU. It is never transferred to the US.
2. Zapier
Zapier connects tools through ready-made building blocks, and for a few years now AI steps have been among them. An email comes in, a model summarises it, a record is created in büro+. It works without programming, but not without understanding data fields and the GraphQL interface. You pay the Zapier licence plus the AI provider's tokens. Anything text-based can be covered, there is no phone assistant. The bigger catch is data protection: Zapier is a US company and processes your data in the US. Every order and every customer address that runs through a Zap leaves the EU.
3. n8n
n8n is the tool for teams that want more control than Zapier gives them. Workflows can be built freely, with custom logic, branching and code steps, and n8n can run on your own server if you want. That freedom comes at a price: anyone who wants to map an order process with it builds document capture, master data matching and error handling themselves. Costs are licence plus tokens, but the real effort is your IT team's time. Text-based work is possible, phone is not. And even if n8n itself runs on your premises, the AI steps usually go to OpenAI or Anthropic, which puts the content back in the US.
4. Claude / ChatGPT
Connecting Claude or ChatGPT directly to büro+ is the obvious idea, and for asking questions of your own data it works surprisingly well. It only becomes a process once someone sets up and maintains MCP servers, access, prompts and checks. That is why the IT effort is highest here. Costs start low with a subscription and rise quickly once the token limit is reached and usage is billed. Data protection is the most delicate point: the assistant sees everything the linked user sees and sends it to the provider with every request. Both providers process in the US by default; EU data residency is only available on selected enterprise plans. There is no phone assistant.
5. ELO
ELO is a document management system and can be connected to microtech through partner solutions. It archives documents in an audit-proof way, controls approvals such as for incoming invoices, and brings basic AI features for documents, for example reading and classifying them. It does not go further than that: answering emails, creating orders from free text or taking calls are not part of it. The rollout is complex and correspondingly expensive, and running it takes medium IT skills. If you mainly need an archive, ELO serves you well. If you want to take load off your sales team, it does not.
Which tool fits you?
If you have your own IT and want to connect individual, clearly defined processes, Zapier or n8n will do. If you need an audit-proof archive, ELO is the right choice. If your back office handles orders, enquiries and calls every day and you want to automate that without a development project, a dedicated solution like Workist is the way to go. Why that is also the easier route on data protection is explained in our comparison of the three options for automating processes in microtech büro+ with AI.
Questions that come up
Can Zapier and n8n be connected to microtech büro+?
Yes, over the GraphQL interface. microtech itself names both as examples of no-code automation.
Is ChatGPT or Claude with büro+ GDPR compliant?
Only with effort. By default the data is processed in the US. You need a data processing agreement, a legal basis for the transfer to a third country, and an access that releases only what the purpose requires.
Which of the five tools processes data only in the EU?
Workist. With Zapier the data sits in the US, and the same goes for Claude, ChatGPT and the AI steps in n8n unless you have a dedicated EU plan.
Which tool can take phone calls?
In this comparison, only Workist. The Voice Agent takes orders over the phone and creates them directly in büro+.
Does Workist replace a DMS like ELO?
No. Workist automates the work in sales, ELO archives documents. Both can run side by side.
Read on: The AI platform for sales teams working with Microtech Büro+.
