Recruitment agency software, built for temp desks.
Tempbench is recruitment agency software for UK agencies whose work is mostly temporary: shifts filled by phone, often the day before. It holds candidates, availability, clients, jobs with margins and a week planner for £12.99 a seat a month plus VAT. Agencies that mainly place permanent staff will usually be better served by a pipeline ATS.
Temp desk or perm desk?
Both are recruitment, but the day looks different, and so does the software that helps.
| Question | Mostly temp | Mostly perm |
|---|---|---|
| The unit of work | A shift, or a week of shifts | A vacancy |
| The question all day | Who is free on Tuesday, near the site? | Who is at which interview stage? |
| How fast | Often the day before, sometimes the same day | Weeks to months |
| Talking to candidates | A weekly ring round for availability | CVs, screening calls, interview prep |
| How you earn | An hourly margin, charge rate minus pay | A placement fee |
| Software that matters | Availability, a planner, document dates | CV parsing, job posting, email sync |
| Tempbench | Built for this | Basic pipeline only |
What a recruitment CRM needs on a temp desk.
The recruitment agency CRM part is the same: people, clients, notes. The temp part is what most CRMs leave out.
Every candidate has a free, booked or off strip for each day, and the ring round tells you who has not been checked this week. Sentence search finds the right role within a distance of the client's site, free on the days you need.
Every job holds its pay rate, charge rate and margin per hour, its shifts and headcount. The week planner books people day by day and refuses double bookings, Do not use and days off, with an override when someone says yes.
Right to work, licence, CPC, DBS and training certificate dates sit on each record with a warning 30 days ahead.
Built for UK agencies.
- Priced in pounds
- £12.99 a seat a month plus VAT, shown on the page, with no tiers.
- UK paperwork
- Document types for right to work, driving licence, Driver CPC card and DBS certificate.
- Postcodes
- Distances worked out from UK postcodes, in miles.
- Self-serve
- Sign up, load the sample agency or import a CSV, and export everything whenever you like.
Where Tempbench fits a recruitment agency, and where it does not.
A good fit if
- Most of your placements are temporary shifts
- You have one to ten people on the desk
- You make the odd temp to perm placement
- You want to try it without a sales call
Not the right fit if
- Most of your income is permanent placement fees
- You need CV parsing, job posting or email sync
- You need timesheets, pay and bill or invoicing
- You need texting, portals or integrations
Questions recruitment agencies ask.
What is the best recruitment agency software in the UK?
It depends on the desk. Perm and executive search agencies usually want an ATS with CV parsing, job posting and email sync. Temp desks want availability, shifts and margins. Large agencies often need pay and bill built in. Write down what you will use in your first year and compare on that.
Is Tempbench an applicant tracking system?
Not really. Each job has a simple pipeline, from suggested and put forward to booked, started or not suitable, but there is no CV parsing, job board posting, careers page or interview scheduling. Tempbench is built around who is free this week, which is the question a temp desk asks.
How much does recruitment agency software cost in the UK?
Prices vary widely, and many vendors only quote after a demo or ask for a twelve month term. Tempbench is £12.99 a seat a month plus VAT, or £129.90 a seat a year, with every feature on every seat and a 30-day free trial with no card.
Can I use Tempbench for permanent placements?
For the odd one, yes: add the job, move candidates through the pipeline, and keep notes and tasks. It does not track placement fees, rebate periods or invoices, and it has no CV parsing. If most of your income is perm fees, a pipeline ATS will serve you better.
Try it with your own week.
Load the sample agency in one click or import your spreadsheet. 30 days free, no card needed.