The short version
- New screens go to a practice workspace first, with no real money or customers in it.
- Someone walks through it there as if they were you.
- The polished demo account stays clean and isn't used for testing.
- Your workspace gets the update after the lab has taken the hits.
The practice company
We keep a workspace called Roofing Lab. It looks like a real roofing company inside Bench, with stages and jobs and a board, and none of it is real. No customer, no invoices, no email goes out from it, no card on file. When we build something new, it goes there first and someone walks through it as if they were you. If it breaks, it breaks in the lab.
Why not the demo account
We also keep a polished workspace for showing Bench to prospects. It's tempting to test there too, because it looks the best. We don't, because a demo account has to stay clean. Testing is where things get messy, and you don't want the mess showing up in the middle of someone's first look at the product.
What it means for you
By the time an update reaches your workspace, it's already been run on a company that exists to take the hits. You aren't the first person to click the new button.
Questions
What is Roofing Lab?
A practice workspace inside Bench that looks like a roofing company. No email goes out, no card on file. It's where new screens get tested first.
Why not test on the demo account?
Because the demo account has to stay clean for showing prospects. Testing is messy. The lab is built for messy.
Do paying customers ever get tested on first?
No. After the lab looks right, the update goes out to every workspace.
Keep going
Every Bench word above is on Glossary / FAQs, in plain English.