Excel, a General-Purpose LIMS or Calibration-Specific Software?

There are three common ways to manage a calibration laboratory's records: Excel files, a general-purpose LIMS (laboratory information management system), or software built specifically for calibration laboratories. All three can do the job, but the differences become clear as the laboratory grows and accreditation requirements increase. This article compares the three approaches against the same criteria.

The three approaches in brief

• Excel and paper forms: Easy to start with and familiar to everyone. Records scatter across files, and who changed what cannot be traced.
• General-purpose LIMS: Built around samples and tests. Calibration-specific steps need adaptation.
• Calibration-specific software: Quotation, device intake, certificate and document verification steps come ready for the workflow of a calibration laboratory.

Criterion by criterion

1. Fit to the workflow. A calibration laboratory's work centres on the instrument and the certificate: quotation, device intake, calibration in the laboratory or on site, certificate, invoice. Excel does not link these steps; the same information is retyped into each file. A general-purpose LIMS is built on samples and test reports, so steps such as device intake, on-site calibration planning or quotations are usually adapted afterwards. In calibration-specific software these steps are linked from the start.

2. Certificate preparation and calculations. Excel is strong at calculation; its weak point is versioning and control: showing later which version of a template produced which certificate is difficult. In a general-purpose LIMS the calibration certificate layout and measurement point tables may need custom development. What to expect from calibration-specific software is that the laboratory can use its existing calculation sheets and certificate layout inside the system.

3. Approval and traceability. ISO/IEC 17025 expects it to be clear who prepared and who approved a result, and changes to be traceable. With Excel, approval usually rests on a signed printout. Both kinds of software can keep approval steps and change records; the difference is how ready they are for the life cycle of a calibration certificate (revision, cancellation).

4. TÜRKAK TBDS. For accredited calibration certificates in Türkiye, the steps of the TÜRKAK Document Verification System (obtaining a number, QR code, revision, cancellation) are part of the job. With Excel these steps are done by hand on a separate screen, with the risk of forgetting one or creating a duplicate. In a general-purpose LIMS this connection has to be developed separately. For details, see What is TBDS?

5. Reference equipment and personnel competence. The reference device used in a calibration must itself be within its calibration period, and the person doing the work must be competent for that device. In Excel this check depends on someone's attention. Ask whether the software performs it automatically.

6. On-site calibration. With Excel, work done in the field is usually recorded after returning to the office. General-purpose LIMS products do not always foresee field use. For laboratories that calibrate on site, mobile use is a criterion of its own.

7. Invoicing and collection. With Excel and a general-purpose LIMS the commercial side usually runs in a separate program, and the link between the work done and the invoice issued is made by hand. In a calibration laboratory, having the quotation, intake and invoice move on the same record reduces the risk of work that is never invoiced.

8. Setup time and adaptation. Excel needs no setup. Adapting a general-purpose LIMS to calibration takes time and budget; with calibration-specific software, adaptation is mostly limited to certificate templates and definitions. In every case, ask at the start how existing data will be migrated.

Which suits whom?

• Excel: May be enough for a while for laboratories with few instruments, a narrow accreditation scope and a small team. We describe the signs that it is time to move in moving from Excel to calibration software.
• General-purpose LIMS: Can make sense for organisations whose main work is testing and for whom calibration is a side activity.
• Calibration-specific software: The route with the least adaptation for laboratories whose main business is calibration services and whose certificate and TBDS workload is high.

For the questions to ask when choosing, the criteria in how to choose laboratory management software (LIMS) apply to calibration laboratories as well.

Where does KALDATA stand in this comparison?

KALDATA is a LIMS developed specifically for calibration laboratories. Quotation, device intake, on-site jobs, certificate approval, e-signature, TÜRKAK TBDS, invoicing and collection run in one system. The online spreadsheet, an existing Excel design or form-based entry can be used side by side in the same laboratory; an out-of-date reference device is not added to a certificate, and technicians see only the devices they are qualified for. The KalData Saha mobile app covers on-site calibration. You can read one laboratory's experience of the move in the Meteg Kalibrasyon case study.