DeskBot guides

An MRR display is a small screen that shows your monthly recurring revenue all day without opening a dashboard. DeskBot does it on a 1.54-inch Wi-Fi clock: MRR as the big number, ARR beneath it, the 7 and 30 day change, and a sparkline it draws from its own hourly readings. It reads the numbers once a minute from one endpoint you control.

To show Stripe MRR on a desk display, add one route to your backend that lists your active and past due Stripe subscriptions, converts each price to a monthly amount and returns the total by currency as JSON. DeskBot reads that route once a minute and shows MRR, ARR and the change. It never holds your Stripe key; your server does.

A physical startup dashboard is a screen that shows a handful of company numbers all day, away from the browser. DeskBot is one built for founders: it rotates through revenue (MRR, ARR and their change), users (total, new and active), a breakdown you name yourself (customers, subscriptions, orders or deals) and the day's wins and losses, from one endpoint you control.

A live user counter shows how many people use your product and how many joined today, updated without anyone refreshing a page. DeskBot shows your total users as the big number, new users today, this week and this month, and daily, weekly and monthly actives as bars against the total, read once a minute from your own endpoint.

No gong and no speaker: DeskBot is a silent sales bell. When your count of new paying customers this month goes up, it plays a celebration on screen; when churn this month or payments past due go up, it shows an alert. It checks once a minute and compares each reply with the last, so your endpoint only has to send the counts.

No one device suits every team. For your own MRR, users and wins on one desk, DeskBot is built for the job and costs £29 at launch. For a number a room or a shop can read, a Smiirl counter. For a smart clock with sound that can also show a number, LaMetric TIME. For calm e-paper dashboards on a battery, TRMNL. The table gives the facts, dated and sourced.

Tidbyt announced on 7 November 2024 that its team was joining Modal and taking a break from manufacturing, while existing devices keep working. Owners keep theirs running, some with the open-source Tronbyt server. If you wanted one mainly for business numbers, DeskBot is built for that: a 240 × 240 colour desk display with screens for MRR, users, a customer breakdown and the day's wins.

LaMetric TIME is a smart clock for the home: a 37 × 8 LED display, speakers, and apps for music, notifications and smart home control, at $199.99. It can show one business number through its My Data DIY app, and new Stripe payments through IFTTT. DeskBot does one job: your MRR, users and wins on a colour screen, for £29 at launch.

Smiirl's Custom Counter shows one number on mechanical flip digits, made to be seen across a room, for $459 (5 digits) or $629 (7 digits) excluding tax on its US store. DeskBot is a small desk screen that shows several numbers at once (MRR, ARR, users and the day's wins) for £29 at launch. One is for the room; the other is for your desk.

The best gift for a startup founder touches what they think about all day: their company. DeskBot is a small desk clock that shows their own MRR, users and the day's wins next to the time and weather, and celebrates each new paying customer. It costs £29 at launch until 8 February 2027, then £49, and needs Wi-Fi and one web address that returns their numbers.

Setting up DeskBot takes two steps. First join it to Wi-Fi: scan the QR code on its screen with your phone and pick your network. Then give it one HTTPS address that returns your numbers as JSON, with a key, and tap Test connection. The format is fixed but every field is optional, and you can map each value to your own JSON instead of changing your server.