Question 1

What is LabOps Lite?

Accepted Answer

LabOps Lite is a lightweight ELN + LIMS for research labs — one connected workspace for your electronic lab notebook, protocols, samples, inventory, ordering, equipment booking, projects, calendar, and team chat. It replaces the tangle of spreadsheets, group chats, and shared drives most labs run on today.

Question 2

What’s the difference between an ELN and a LIMS?

Accepted Answer

An ELN (electronic lab notebook) is where researchers write up experiments — observations, results, and attached data. A LIMS (lab information management system) tracks the operational side — samples, inventory, workflows, and instruments. LabOps Lite gives you a lightweight version of each, connected: your notebook entries, samples, and reagents all reference each other.

Question 3

How is this different from a big enterprise LIMS?

Accepted Answer

Enterprise systems are powerful but typically cost thousands per year, take weeks to implement (often with a paid consultant), and charge per seat. LabOps Lite is built for academic and small labs: you set it up yourself in an afternoon, pay one flat price for the whole team, and get only the features a working lab actually uses — no bloat.

Question 4

Do I need to install anything?

Accepted Answer

No. LabOps Lite runs in the browser. You can also install it to your phone or computer home screen as an app (it’s a progressive web app) — it then opens straight to your lab.

Question 5

Does it work on my phone?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The whole app is responsive, and it’s designed for the bench: print a QR label for a sample or freezer box and scan it with your phone to check items in or out, log usage, or pull up a protocol without taking your gloves off.

Question 6

What do you mean “inventory updates itself”?

Accepted Answer

When you log a completed protocol run, the exact reagents that protocol uses are automatically deducted from your inventory — then the run is recorded with what it consumed, the calendar updates, and anything now low on stock is flagged for reorder. No spreadsheet or chat app does this.

Question 7

Can I track samples and where they’re stored?

Accepted Answer

Yes — every sample carries a full record: storage location down to the freezer box position, freeze/thaw cycle count, aliquot lineage (what it was split from), file attachments, and a complete chain of custody. You can print QR labels and scan them at the bench.

Question 8

What is the audit trail?

Accepted Answer

The Activity module is an immutable, timestamped record of everything that happens across the lab — who ran what protocol, who moved which sample, what was ordered and received. It’s the “who did what, when” record that regulated and audit-ready work depends on.

Question 9

Can the whole team use it at the same time?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Everything syncs in real time, so when one person updates inventory or checks in a sample, everyone else sees it immediately. Each member has their own login, and you control what they can do by role.

Question 10

Can I get my data out?

Accepted Answer

Always. You can export inventory, samples, protocols, and the audit trail to CSV, PDF, or calendar (ICS) files at any time. Your data is yours — there’s no lock-in.

Question 11

How much does it cost?

Accepted Answer

Two simple, flat plans: $50/month for a PI plus up to 5 members (6 total), or $100/month for a PI plus unlimited members. Every feature is included in both plans — you choose by team size, not by feature tier.

Question 12

What’s the difference between Lite and Pro?

Accepted Answer

Only team size. Lite covers up to 6 people; Pro is unlimited. Both include all thirteen modules, real-time sync, and automatic protocol-to-inventory updates.

Question 13

Can I see it before paying?

Accepted Answer

Yes — book a 15-minute call and we’ll walk you through the whole app live, module by module, and answer whatever you throw at us. There’s no self-serve trial: a subscription starts when your lab does, and you can cancel any time.

Question 14

Who can manage billing?

Accepted Answer

Billing is managed by the PI (the lab’s owner). Lab managers can run day-to-day operations and invite members, but only the PI can start, change, or cancel the subscription. If leadership changes, the PI can transfer ownership.

Question 15

Can I cancel anytime?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You manage your subscription yourself through the billing portal and can cancel whenever you like — and export your data on the way out.

Question 16

Where is my data stored?

Accepted Answer

On US-hosted infrastructure — Supabase (database), Vercel (application), and Stripe (payments). These are the same trusted providers used by thousands of production applications.

Question 17

Can other labs see my data?

Accepted Answer

No. Every lab’s data is isolated at the database level with row-level security, so one lab can never read another’s records. Within your lab, access is controlled by role.

Question 18

Is my data encrypted?

Accepted Answer

Yes — encrypted in transit (HTTPS) and at rest. Each person authenticates with their own individual account; we never share logins.

Question 19

What happens to my data if I cancel?

Accepted Answer

You can export everything before you go. We don’t hold your data hostage — export to CSV, PDF, and calendar formats is available at any time while your account is active.

Question 20

Do you sell my data?

Accepted Answer

No. We never sell your data or share it with advertisers. We use a small set of named sub-processors (like Supabase, Vercel, and Stripe) strictly to run the service — detailed in our Privacy Policy.

Frequently asked questions.

General

Features

Pricing & plans

Security & data

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