I Rebuilt Lifetimely for $50.10 Using n8n, BigQuery & Replit (Save $500/Month)

Watch me reverse-engineer and rebuild Lifetimely's $500/month P&L dashboard for just $50.10 using n8n, BigQuery, and Replit's Agent 3. This complete walkthrough shows exactly how to build a professional profit and loss analytics tool with real-time updates every 15 minutes.

🚀 SCALE YOUR AGENCY:
Stop doing manual work. Get the AI systems to automate your ad operations: https://www.daveten.ai

⏰ TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Introduction: Lifetimely Costs $500/Month
00:23 - Three-Part Build Strategy Overview
00:48 - Part 1: n8n Data Processing Setup
01:27 - Backfill vs Real-Time Update Workflows
02:02 - Shopify Orders API Integration
03:00 - The COGS Challenge: Multiple API Calls
04:09 - Merging Shopify Data Sources
05:13 - Google Ads Cost Data Integration
05:53 - Meta Ads Conversion Tracking
07:39 - Part 2: BigQuery Database Setup
08:30 - Real-Time Update Workflow (15 Min Intervals)
09:32 - SQL Merge Query for Updates
10:10 - Verifying Data in BigQuery
10:43 - Part 3: Replit Dashboard Build
11:08 - Initial Dashboard Design with Claude
12:24 - Copying Lifetimely's UI Design
13:18 - First Working Preview (80% Done)
14:20 - Replit Agent 3 Power & Evolution
14:34 - BigQuery Credentials Setup
15:27 - Plan vs Build vs Edit Modes
16:23 - Debugging Date Range Issues
18:00 - The 30-Day Limit Problem
19:00 - Production Deployment Issues
20:24 - Authentication Bug Fix
21:36 - Final Working Product
22:10 - Results: Full Ownership for $50

🔧 WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
✅ Build custom P&L dashboards without expensive SaaS tools
✅ Complex Shopify API integration for COGS data
✅ Automated data pipelines with n8n workflows
✅ BigQuery setup for scalable data storage
✅ Replit Agent 3 for front-end development
✅ Real-time dashboard updates every 15 minutes
✅ SQL merge queries for efficient data updates

💡 KEY TECHNICAL COMPONENTS:

*n8n Automation (Part 1):*
Backfill workflow: Processes entire year of historical data
Real-time workflow: Updates current day every 15 minutes
4 Shopify API calls to extract orders, variants, inventory, and COGS
Google Ads API for ad spend data
Meta Ads API for Facebook/Instagram spend
Advanced data merging and aggregation

*BigQuery Setup (Part 2):*
Scalable database for 365+ days of data
SQL merge queries for upsert operations
Automatic table schema management
Service account authentication

*Replit Dashboard (Part 3):*
Next.js front-end with Lifetimely-style UI
Real-time data refresh every 15 minutes
Interactive date range selection
Password-protected access
Chart.js for data visualization

🛠️ TECHNICAL CHALLENGES SOLVED:
Shopify COGS extraction through variant/inventory APIs
Rate limiting prevention with strategic delays
Date range compatibility across platforms
BigQuery data persistence and updates
Production authentication issues
Agent 3 debugging strategies

📊 COST BREAKDOWN:
Lifetimely: $500/month = $6,000/year
This Solution: $50 one-time setup
Savings: $5,950 in first year alone

🎯 DEBUGGING TIPS:
Use Plan mode in Replit to reason through issues
Check deployment logs for authentication errors
Ask Agent 3 for bullet-point problem analysis
Test development vs production environments separately

#n8n #BigQuery #Replit