Many Core Facilities, Shared Services and Research services groups use LabArchives to document parts of their work. Every facility can use LabArchives for different purposes including order tracking, administrative documentation, equipment records and more.
Collaboration and Permissions
LabArchives makes it easy for groups to collaborate seamlessly—whether within a Core Facility, Shared Service, or Research Service Group, or with external partners such as companies, universities, or independent research labs. For example, a Core Facility can share results from completed projects or provide training manuals to users accessing shared resources.
Notebook owners, Account Admins, and Notebook Admins have full control over access permissions, ensuring secure and flexible data sharing. Access can be granted at the notebook, folder, page, or even individual entry level, with options such as view-only permissions for specific sections. This granular control supports effective collaboration while maintaining data integrity.
Service Request Information and Documentation – Order Tracking
Often Core facilities receive requests for services and then use LabArchives to track the progress of that request. Information related to all service requests can be entered into LabArchives and then they can be managed through each stage of the request.
Often, a customized template or widget is created to standardize documentation. Once created, this form can be reused by all members of the notebook to provide consistency and a clear list of data requirements.
Order Received
Initially researchers may make a request from the Core facility. They might request to have a sample analyzed, to use a piece of equipment, to run an experiment, provide consultation, or to provide a sample. In LabArchives, you’ll want to include the entire history of the service including the initial request.
- Communication with the requester: If the person making the request files a form, sends an email, or asks questions, document this detail on the page.
- Billing Approvals, Quotes, and contact information: If the service is paid using department funds or requires approval from specific individuals, include the contact information on the page. If the facility receives approval to proceed with work, be sure to document who made the approval and when that approval was received.
- Track the type of service including details such as the PI, researchers, type of service. Include details about the services such as sample size, estimated time to complete, materials necessary and more.
- In some cases, there need to be agreements in place with the person who made the request. Include these agreements or links to these files. This may include IRB documentation, animal care records, Delegation of authority logs and more.
Order Processed
When the core facility, shared service or research service begins preparing or working on a request, it’s important to document all related information to that request. This might include:
- If the researchers are accessing the resources on site, document their arrival time, materials needed, and any necessary check in/out materials.
- Sample/Library Preparation – Images of samples, all calculations and essential information generated during the prep process.
- Device Setup – Which device, pre and post run output/log files
- All email communications - Internal Core staff and communications with the researcher or lab
- Client Workflows – Genomics, Proteomics, Imaging, and more
- External contract work
- Link to other tools including billing systems.
- Results: Data can be added to LabArchives through a variety of entry types including:
- Rich Text Entries – Enter details and notes directly into the LabArchives Notebook
- Upload Attachments – Files of any file format can be uploaded to LabArchives. For some file types like images, office documents, or SnapGene files they can be viewed directly in LabArchives.
- Widgets – Create custom forms
- Templates – Reuse content and pages to save time and to standardize the workflow
Order Results
LabArchives supports uploading virtually any file type and offers flexible options for linking to information stored outside the platform. Notebooks can be used to document and manage facility requests, store project-related documents, facilitate communication between the facility and principal investigators (PIs), track workflows, and maintain internal processes or operational guidelines. An integrated audit trail ensures full transparency by recording every entry—when it was added or edited and by whom.
For labs that need to manage physical inventory, LabArchives Inventory is an optional companion tool that simplifies tracking, organizing, and ordering items. It can be used to link inventory records directly to notebook entries, generate QR codes for labeling, and quickly look up item details using a mobile device. Sample quality control (QC) details can be documented with supporting PDFs or linked to corresponding inventory items when Inventory is in use. To learn more, visit Inventory Knowledge Base.
Equipment Maintenance and Management
Proper documentation of maintenance, calibration, and related procedures is essential for ensuring equipment reliability, regulatory compliance, and traceability. LabArchives provides tools such as templates and widgets to help standardize and streamline this documentation process.
We recommend using templates—reusable pages or entries that can be copied—to maintain consistency in how information is recorded and tracked across your team.
Key documentation types include:
- Calibration Reports – Record calibration procedures, results, and dates.
- Validation Certificates – Upload and archive official validation documents.
- Maintenance Logs – Track routine and corrective maintenance activities.
- Equipment User Manuals – Store digital copies of manuals for quick reference.
By implementing structured templates, you ensure accurate, repeatable documentation and make critical equipment information easily accessible.
Guides for Staff – Internal Processes and Documentation
The flexible, hierarchical structure available in LabArchives makes it easy to store and manage internal documents within folders and individual pages. Store all pertinent information for different assays, a resource guide for staff and the research community, and other team information in a single notebook accessible to all relevant team members.
- Checklists for each assay
- Templates for results or calibration
- Protocols
- Tips, advice, or best practices
- Training guides
- Manufacturer’s user guides
- Application notes
- FAQs
- Emails from technical support
- Webinar links
Administrative Documents
LabArchives can store documents of any file type. This can be a convenient location to store information that is used for administrative purposes. Users can easily share and collaborate with colleagues while controlling access to the Notebook.
- Meeting agendas
- Resumes and notes for employment candidates.
- Vendor information
- Budgeting
- Invoices, contracts, or purchase orders
- Safety documentation