Why we built Benchworks — and why it's one flat price
We're not a software company that discovered repair shops. We're a repair shop that got fed up and built software.
Fifteen years on a repair bench — tens of thousands of devices through the door. For most of that time we paid for shop software that pulled the same tricks on us that it pulls on every other shop:
- The price went up every year, and adding a technician meant paying for another "seat".
- Messaging our own customers on WhatsApp came with a markup on every message.
- Cancelling meant emails, phone calls, and a retention script.
- Getting our own customer data out was somewhere between painful and hostage negotiation.
- And when something broke, support's favourite line was "looks like you found a bug" — followed by silence.
If you run a repair shop, none of that surprises you. It's just what the software costs, on top of what the software costs.
What we did about it
We built Benchworks — the system we always wished we had. Tickets, estimates, invoices, payments, customer messages, parts, and a customer portal, in one place, for drop-off-and-collect repair shops: consoles, phones, computers, watches, jewellery, instruments, bikes, small appliances, small engines, locksmiths.
And because we've been on the receiving end of every pricing trick in this industry, we made some decisions that sound almost naive:
One flat price. Unlimited technicians. $79 a month, whether you're a one-person bench or a five-person counter. Your team growing shouldn't be a billing event.
You pay Meta what Meta charges. WhatsApp messages go through your own WhatsApp Business account. We add zero markup — not 20%, not 5%. Zero.
Bring your own AI keys. If you want AI-drafted replies and summaries, you plug in your own Anthropic, OpenAI or Gemini key and pay them directly — usually a few dollars a month. We don't resell AI at a markup.
Cancel by clicking Cancel. One click, in your settings, no phone call. Your account winds down gracefully and your data stays exportable.
Your data is yours. Export everything, any time, free — customers, tickets, invoices, the lot. No ransom, no "contact sales to discuss your data".
A real uptime promise. If we have a bad month, you get account credit automatically — we publish the numbers rather than hoping you don't notice.
Why we're writing this blog
Two reasons, honestly stated.
First, so shop owners searching for this stuff can find us. That's how small software gets discovered — being useful in public.
Second, because most advice about running a repair shop is written by marketers who've never replaced a screen or reflowed a board. We stand at the counter. We know what a Tuesday backlog looks like. The posts here will be practical — pricing repairs, handling difficult jobs, keeping the bench moving — with real screenshots from the actual product, not mockups.
Where we are right now
Early. We're onboarding shops one at a time, on purpose — when you email us, you get us, not a ticket queue. The launch offer is simple: no card to sign up, and your first three months are free.
If you're tired of being held hostage by your shop software, have a look at what it costs — the whole bill, explained — or just sign up and poke around. And if you have questions, ask. We answer like shop owners, because we are.