Quick Start Guide for Lab Members

  • Updated

Download your own copy of Quick Start Guide For Lab Members at the bottom of this article.

LabArchives Inventory helps labs to save time and stay organized with an intuitive interface where you can search, use, track, and order inventory items. Record and view important details for each inventory entry including location, description, vendor, grant code, safety sheets, expiration date, current quantity and history. Use the LabArchives ELN integration to link inventory items to LabArchives Notebooks to improve data reproducibility and accountability. We recognize that we have a significant responsibility to protect and secure your data, which is why our application undergoes annual external audits.

 

Access LabArchives Inventory

The lab manager or another research team admin will extend an invitation to lab members to join the lab's Inventory. From the email invitation, click Join Your Lab to activate your account and access the Inventory Lab. 

  • Enter your email address or select your institution from the Sign in through your institution list.
  • If you would like to create a free account, click Sign up for Free.
  • If you already have a LabArchives ELN account, you can click the Test Tube icon from your notebook to access Inventory.

 

Find and Use Items

Once items have been added to Inventory, Lab Members can quickly locate items for use, review item details from the About and Details tab, and update quantities by selecting Use Now. When an item is low or out of stock, an Order request can be submitted.

  • From the main Inventory view, use the Filters to locate items by their Inventory Type, Location, Received Date Range, and Include your out of stock items.
  • Select a column header to Sort by Name, Inventory Type, Quantity, Relationships, and more.
  • Use the Search Inventory menu to look for an item by keyword.
  • Use the Advanced Search to set up more complex searches and to save a frequently used search.
  • Set up Parent-Child relationships between items by assigning Item Relationships on the Item's Details page. Note: This functionality is available only with Premium and Enterprise Inventory licenses.
  • If QR Codes or labels are printed and added to the physical items in your Inventory, scan them using the Camera button in Inventory, or directly through your mobile device’s camera.

 

Request Orders

If quantities are running low and you need a certain item to be purchased, you can submit an order request. The Lab Manager or other users with order approval rights, can approve or deny the order request.

  • Select Reorder from the Inventory list or while viewing an individual Inventory Item.
  • Click the Bell icon to check your notifications and stay up to date on any pending order requests.
  • Lab Members can receive their own orders.

 

Integrate with the LabArchives Notebook

The integration provides bi-directional links from the Notebook to Inventory including a link in Inventory that tracks the use of an item in experiments logged in Notebook.

  • From LabArchives Notebook, use the Inventory List entry type to create a list of Inventory Items that pull directly from Inventory and are linked in the Notebook.
  • When editing the Inventory List entry type, search your Inventory Lab and click Use Now to use the item and deduct the quantity used.
  • For items that are not tracked in Inventory, e.g., glassware, select the option Manually add an inventory item to the list.

 

Additional Help and Support

Find help through the Information icon and visit the Knowledgebase to browse by support topic, view Video tutorials, or submit a question directly to our Support team.