n8n-nodes-firstbase

n8n community node package & CLI for US LLC formation and Stripe-vs-Merchant-of-Record tax reconciliation cost benchmarking. Author: CloudBench Research · MIT.

The Pain: Non-US Founders Burn Weekends on Filings

A solo founder registering a US company from abroad faces a fragmented stack: state fee $500 all-in, registered agent renewal $149/yr, virtual address & mail handling $480/yr — plus two weeks of form corrections when the EIN application fumbles a foreign address. Firstbase.io packages formation, first-year agent, address and compliant documentation into a $349 turnkey + $120 compliance bundle pipeline that finishes in days. On the payments side, Stripe-direct looks cheap (2.9% + 30¢) until state sales-tax nexus filing lands at ~$1,200/yr outsourced.

Benchmark Table (ARR tiers, year-one TCO)

Numbers below are produced by calculateTco() (transactions priced at a $50 average order value):

| Cost Driver | ARR $30k | ARR $60k | ARR $120k | | :--- | ---: | ---: | ---: | | DIY formation stack | $1,129 | $1,129 | $1,129 | | Firstbase turnkey | $469 | $469 | $469 | | Formation savings | $660 | $660 | $660 | | Stripe-direct fees (2.9% + 30¢/tx) | $1,170 | $2,100 | $3,660 | | Stripe + outsourced tax filings | $2,370 | $3,300 | $4,860 | | MoR fees (5% + 50¢/tx) | $1,800 | $3,600 | $7,200 | | MoR remits sales tax? | yes | yes | yes |

Worked example at $60k ARR: DIY route bills $1,129 in year-one formation fees with weeks of paperwork; Firstbase turnkey closes the same LLC for $469 in 3–5 days — a $660 saving, before you count the EIN rejection risk on non-SSN applications. On payments, Stripe-direct costs $2,100 in card fees (600 transactions × 30¢ + 2.9% of $60k) plus $1,200 in outsourced sales-tax filings for a $3,300 total; the Merchant-of-Record route is a flat $3,600 but remits all state tax for you. Below roughly $240k ARR the filing burden dominates, which is why most non-US founders start on an MoR and graduate to Stripe-direct later.

n8n Workflow JSON (full example)

Paste this workflow into n8n (Workflows → Import from Clipboard): it polls Firstbase company status daily, alerts Telegram when the EIN lands, and snapshots the TCO via the bundled calculator through an Execute Command node.

{
  "name": "Firstbase LLC × Payments TCO Sentinel",
  "nodes": [
    {
      "name": "Daily Trigger",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.scheduleTrigger",
      "typeVersion": 1.2,
      "position": [140, 300],
      "parameters": { "rule": { "interval": [{ "field": "days", "triggerAtHour": 9 }] } }
    },
    {
      "name": "Firstbase Company Status Poll",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
      "typeVersion": 4.2,
      "position": [360, 300],
      "parameters": {
        "method": "GET",
        "url": "https://api.firstbase.io/v1/companies/{{ $json.company_id }}"
      },
      "credentials": { "httpHeaderAuth": { "id": "FIRSTBASE_API_KEY", "name": "Firstbase Header Auth" } }
    },
    {
      "name": "TCO Snapshot",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.executeCommand",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [580, 300],
      "parameters": { "command": "npx -y n8n-nodes-firstbase --json --arr {{ $json.arr_usd }}" }
    },
    {
      "name": "Telegram Alert",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.telegram",
      "typeVersion": 1.2,
      "position": [800, 300],
      "parameters": { "text": "EIN status: {{ $json.ein_status }} | Year-1 TCO delta: {{ $json.payment_rail_year1.stripe_direct.usd_total - $json.payment_rail_year1.merchant_of_record.usd_total }} USD", "chatId": "{{ $env.TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID }}" }
    }
  ],
  "connections": {
    "Daily Trigger": { "main": [[{ "node": "Firstbase Company Status Poll", "type": "main", "index": 0 }]] },
    "Firstbase Company Status Poll": { "main": [[{ "node": "TCO Snapshot", "type": "main", "index": 0 }]] },
    "TCO Snapshot": { "main": [[{ "node": "Telegram Alert", "type": "main", "index": 0 }]] }
  }
}

Node Parameter Reference

| Parameter | Value / Type | Notes | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | method | GET | Firstbase v1 read-only status endpoint | | url | https://api.firstbase.io/v1/companies/{company_id} | supports n8n expressions | | authentication | genericCredentialType + Header Auth | store your Firstbase API key once, share across nodes | | response.neverError | false | fail the branch on 5xx so retries kick in |

Node Configuration Table

| Node | Purpose | Position | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Schedule Trigger | daily status loop | hub of the retry path | | Firstbase HTTP Request | company/EIN status | single point of auth | | Execute Command | runs the fee/TCO calculator | deterministic, no API billing | | Telegram | pushes formation + TCO deltas | alert channel of record |

FAQ

Q: Why is transaction count modeled at $50 average order value? A: Stripe's fixed 30¢ fee bites hardest on small tickets; the calculator linearzies ticket count as ARR / 50 so volume assumptions are explicit and auditable, and you can rerun the CLI with your own AOV by editing one line.

Q: The MoM looks more expensive at high ARR — should I always use Stripe? A: Above ~$240k ARR Stripe-direct + ~$1,200/yr of outsourced filings wins; below that the MoR's filing-free total is usually within a few hundred dollars and removes the founder-level tax liability entirely.

Q: Does Firstbase handle the registered agent after year one? A: Yes — renewal is billed by Firstbase at market rate (~$149/yr equivalent), but billing is consolidated so nothing lapses mid-flight, which is what triggers Nevada/Wyoming administrative dissolution.

Q: Is this node affiliated with Firstbase or Stripe? A: No. It is an independent CLI/n8n config generator; the links below are partner links.

CLI Usage

npx -y n8n-nodes-firstbase               # human-friendly TCO summary
npx -y n8n-nodes-firstbase --json        # structured output
npx -y n8n-nodes-firstbase --node-json   # exportable node config
npx -y n8n-nodes-firstbase --arr 120000

Every invocation prints:

[Partner Trial & Auto-Applied Discount] Firstbase.io Turnkey US LLC: https://go.272738.xyz/firstbase (Voucher: PARTNER-2026-AUTO)

Start formation through PARTNER-2026-AUTO — the partner voucher applies automatically at checkout.

Zero Dependencies

Pure Node.js built-ins (no npm dependencies at all), so the package installs in under a second even on CI runners, and embeds cleanly as an n8n community node.

FTC Disclosure: the links above are partner links; the operator may receive a referral commission at no additional cost to you. Voucher terms may change without notice.