Temp agency software for small UK agencies.
Tempbench is temp agency software for UK desks with one to ten people. It shows who is free each day, runs the weekly ring round, holds clients and jobs with their margins, and plans the week with checks for double bookings. It costs £12.99 a seat a month plus VAT, with a 30-day free trial.
What a temp desk needs from its software.
Perm recruitment is a pipeline. Temp work is a week, filled one shift at a time and often the night before. The software has to keep up with that.
Who is free, by day
Not "available", but free on Tuesday and off on Thursday. Availability
A ring round that keeps itself
Who you have not spoken to this week, and what they said. Ring round
Distance from the site
Van drivers within 10 miles of the depot, free all week. Sentence search
Shifts, headcount and margin
Four people on nights, Monday to Friday, and what each hour makes. Jobs and margins
A planner that says no
No double bookings, no Do not use, no booking someone on their day off by mistake. Week planner
Paperwork dates
Right to work, licence, CPC, DBS and FLT, with a warning before they run out. Document expiry
Three ways to run the week.
No product names here, just the approaches. Large suites differ a lot from one another, so check the ones you are looking at against your own list.
| Question | Spreadsheet and whiteboard | Large recruitment suites | Tempbench |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it costs | Nothing extra, or what you already pay for Excel | Often quote-only, sometimes with a minimum term or paid add-ons | £12.99 a seat a month plus VAT, on the page |
| Getting started | Today | Usually a demo, then setup and training | Sign up yourself, load sample data or import a CSV |
| Who is free on Tuesday | Whatever was last typed in | Depends on the product. Many are built around permanent vacancies | A free, booked or off strip on every candidate |
| The weekly ring round | A printed list and a pen | Varies | A call list that resets every Monday |
| Double bookings | Spotted when someone turns up twice | Varies by product and plan | Blocked on the planner, overnight shifts included |
| Licence and DBS expiry | A column you have to remember to check | Common | Warnings 30 days ahead, and on the planner |
| Timesheets, pay and bill | No | Often available, sometimes as an add-on | No |
| Texting candidates | No | Often | No |
| Leaving | It is your file | Varies | Export everything as CSV, any time |
Where Tempbench fits, and where it does not.
A good fit if
- You fill shifts by phone in driving, care, warehouse, hospitality or cleaning
- You have one to ten people on the desk
- You run payroll somewhere else already
- You want to see the price before you talk to anyone
Not the right fit if
- You need timesheets or pay and bill in the same system today
- You send shift offers by text
- Your candidates expect an app
- You need integrations with other software
Questions temp agencies ask.
What is the best software for a small temp agency?
It depends on what you need on day one. If you fill shifts by phone and want to see who is free, Tempbench covers candidates, availability, the ring round, jobs and a week planner for £12.99 a seat. If you need timesheets, payroll or texting built in, choose a suite that includes them.
Can I run a temp agency on a spreadsheet?
Plenty of agencies start that way, and it works while one person holds it all in their head. It gets hard when two people book from the same sheet, when nobody can see who is free on Thursday, or when a licence expires unnoticed. That is the point to move to a CRM.
Does temp agency software need pay and bill?
Not always. Many small agencies run payroll through an accountant or a separate payroll service and use their CRM for people, clients and shifts. Tempbench does not do pay and bill, so if you want it all in one system today, look at a suite that includes it.
Try it with your own week.
Load the sample agency in one click or import your spreadsheet. 30 days free, no card needed.