How to Choose Laboratory Management Software (LIMS): 10 Criteria

Choosing laboratory management software means choosing a way of working that will be in place for years. Every record, from sample receipt to the report, moves into this system, and changing it later takes time and effort. This article walks through the questions to answer when choosing laboratory management software (LIMS), how to run a trial, and the most common mistakes.

What is laboratory management software?

Laboratory management software records and tracks samples, tests, results and reports in one system. It is also called a laboratory management system or a laboratory information management system (LIMS); all three names describe the same kind of software. For the concept in more detail, see our article What is a LIMS?

Before you compare: write down your own workflow

Before comparing products, put the laboratory's current way of working on paper. Otherwise the comparison is driven by the screens a vendor chooses to show, not by what the laboratory actually needs.

• Scope: Which tests, standards and methods? Is there an accreditation scope?
• Flow: How are samples received, how is work assigned, who reviews and approves results?
• Records: What currently lives in Excel files, paper forms or e-mail?
• Reports: Report layouts, signature and approval order, how reports reach the customer.
• Pain points: Which steps cost the most time or produce the most errors?

Ten criteria for choosing a laboratory management system

1. Sample receipt and traceability. A sample should be traceable through a single record from receipt to report. Who holds it, which stage it is waiting at and which work order it belongs to should be answerable from the system.

2. Test methods and calculations. The laboratory's methods, raw data fields and formulas should be definable in the system. Ask how calculations that run in Excel today will be moved, and whether adding a new test needs a developer.

3. Technical review and approval. Entering, reviewing and approving a result should be recorded as separate steps; an unapproved result should not become a report.

4. Reporting. Report layouts should be adaptable to the laboratory's own format. When a report is revised the earlier version should be kept, and the customer should be able to check that a report is genuine (for example with a QR code).

5. Requirements of the standard. A laboratory working to ISO/IEC 17025 should be able to keep equipment and calibration records, personnel competence, measurement uncertainty, and nonconformity and corrective action records in the system. Software does not grant accreditation by itself, but it makes the records an assessor asks for quick to reach. See which records belong in the system for ISO/IEC 17025.

6. Permissions and audit trail. Each user should be able to do only what they are authorised to do, and who changed what and when should be recorded. If the organisation has several laboratories or units, ask how data is separated between them.

7. The customer-facing side. Letting customers reach their reports online and see the status of their samples saves both sides phone calls and e-mails.

8. Deployment and data. Will the software run in the cloud or on your own server? In which country is the data kept, how often are backups taken, and in what format is your data returned when the contract ends? For the hosting side, see our guide what is a data centre and how do you choose one?

9. Integrations. If you need data from instruments, exchange with accounting or enterprise systems, or electronic signatures, clarify at the start how these will be met. Ask for a working example rather than "it can be done".

10. Ease of use, training and support. Technicians are the people who will use the software every day. Clear screens, help content, training and the support process matter at least as much as the feature list.

What to look for in a demo

Instead of watching a prepared presentation, ask to run one of your own jobs from start to finish. A good trial includes these steps:

• Receive a real sample, open the work order and assign a test.
• Enter the raw data and compare the calculation and result with your own Excel file.
• Run technical review and approval with different users.
• Produce the report and put it next to your current one.
• Correct a result and see how the change appears in the records.

The people who will use the system every day should take part in the trial, not only managers.

Common mistakes

• Looking only at the feature list: A long list does not mean the software fits the laboratory's flow.
• Carrying today's clutter over unchanged: The move is a good opportunity to remove unnecessary forms and repeated steps.
• Leaving data migration to the end: How customer, equipment and method records will be transferred should be planned from the start.
• Not asking about exit terms: The format in which your data is returned should be written into the contract.
• Leaving users out of the process: Software that is not adopted ends with Excel files living on beside it.

Calibration laboratory or testing laboratory?

The two kinds of laboratory do not have the same needs. In a calibration laboratory the work centres on the instrument and the certificate; in a testing laboratory, on the sample and the test report. We cover the difference in Calibration tracking software or laboratory management system?

Laboratory management with Mezvia

BYK Yazılım's laboratory management software Mezvia is built for ISO/IEC 17025 testing laboratories, ISO/IEC 17020 inspection bodies and ISO/IEC 17024 personnel certification bodies. Sample receipt, work orders, raw data and formulas, technical review, QR-verified reports and an audit trail sit in one system. To try the steps above yourself, open the live demo.