6 Essential Software Platforms for Fast-Scaling Labs
If your lab still relies on Excel spreadsheets to manage data, you could be burning thousands per technician every year in hidden inefficiencies.
These silent killers in your lab slow your staff down, undermine their work, and put you at risk of non-compliance.
Yet if you're like most lab managers, you're still fighting an uphill battle against preventable errors that could derail your entire operation. According to a study of clinical labs, 73% of errors in a lab could be considered preventable. Even more concerning? The fact that the majority of errors occur in the preanalytical phase (61.9%-68.2% of all errors).
In other words, most of the errors in a lab occur before samples are even processed and tested; furthermore, nearly ¾ of these errors could be prevented in the first place.
The solution?
It’s not more SOPs for your staff to follow; it’s software that streamlines your workflows and catches errors before they occur.
Software is not perfect, but by automating processes, lab staff can free up more time and brain power to fine-tune their workflows, implement guardrails, and review data to catch errors that slip through the cracks sooner.
This guide aims to introduce you to the types of software that can generally benefit a lab. We’ve broken out six categories of software and listed specific products we recommend within each category.
Why Labs Should Use Software Over Pen & Paper or Spreadsheets
Consider this: Your QC manager needs to access batch records from home during a weekend audit. Your R&D director wants to compare last quarter's results with current data. Your lab technician discovers a potential contamination issue at 2am.
Or even the more mundane: your lead tech calls in sick, and nobody can find last week’s sample data because she saved it to an Excel file on her machine.
Labs that insist on manual, local, or physical systems quickly break down under increased throughput and compliance demands.
With manual processes, these scenarios become bottlenecks. With the right software, they become routine. Not only will you find that software can reduce error rates and improve data integrity, but you’ll also find it helps with the following:
- When the FDA shows up, your chain of custody is scattered across 23 different Excel files.
- When your star researcher quits and takes 18 months of protocol knowledge with him because it was all in paper notebooks.
- When a contamination event forces you to trace back 200 samples, and you realize your tracking system is three different spreadsheets and a whiteboard.
- When your biggest client demands a real-time update, and you're still manually updating status reports.
Ready to ditch manual processes for automated and secure software platforms? Read on for the best types of software to invest in, along with our product recommendations.
How We Chose These Platforms
As a quick aside before we get to the breakdown, why these six platforms and corresponding products?
We chose these six categories of lab software because they fulfill specific roles for almost any lab. While the needs for a biotech lab will differ from those of an environmental testing lab, there are core “jobs to be done” for each that we used as a guide. Whether you need to lower TAT, prepare for an FDA inspection, or reduce wasted inventory, the following software platforms will be able to help.
As for the specific products themselves, we chose our rankings based on:
- Authority in the industry
- Online reviews and customer sentiment
- Product quality and update frequency
Bearing this in mind, we recommend the following software platforms for your lab.
Top Software Platforms for Labs
In general, the following categories of software platforms are a wise investment for labs looking to improve data integrity, productivity, and collaboration:
- Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS)
- Data and instrument control
- Quality Management System (QMS)
- Data analysis
- Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN)
- Collaboration/communication
- Visualization and reporting
Let’s walk through each category and share the top picks to choose from.
The Best LIMS
When it comes to digitizing your data, improving compliance processes, and automating workflows, there is nothing that compares to a LIMS.
A LIMS (Lab Information Management System) is a comprehensive platform that serves as the central hub for sample tracking, workflow management, and data organization. A LIMS can manage sample lifecycles from receipt through disposal, track the chain of custody, and integrate with other laboratory systems.
There are plenty of LIMS available on the market, though the top ones we’d recommend are:
When to Prioritize: If any of the following rings true:
- Two or more techs burn >6 hours/week reconciling Excel trackers
- Audit prep steals a full week per quarter
- A single mis‑routed sample could wipe out ≥$10k in materials or client penalties.”
Then a LIMS should be your foundation investment. This becomes critical when you're handling over 100 samples per week, managing multiple concurrent projects, or facing regulatory audits where traceability is essential.
When evaluating LIMS options, what separates leading platforms from the pack isn’t just a slick sales page; it’s the right blend of configurability without complexity.
Take QBench, for example.
QBench strikes the right balance between configurable flexibility and ease of use. Unlike legacy LIMS, which lock you into on-prem installations and expensive development services, QBench takes a highly configurable, flexible approach that puts customization power directly in your hands — no coding required.
With software updates released every three weeks, QBench demonstrates a commitment to continuous innovation and user-friendliness that adapts to your lab's evolving needs.
That’s not just us saying so. QBench has earned numerous top awards from G2, including:
- #1 Highest-Rated LIMS list
- #1 Easiest to Use LIMS list
- #1 Highest-Rated LIMS in North America
- #1 on the Results Index for Spring 2025 (which estimates best ROI)
- #1 on G2’s Momentum Grid
As a G2 Momentum Leader, QBench has shown an exceptional growth trajectory based on user satisfaction scores, employee growth, and digital presence, outperforming competitors across the Customer Satisfaction dimension.
And busy lab managers would agree:
“QBench is easy to use and understand, allowing laboratory management to configure almost everything with minimal support needed. It is highly configurable while not overwhelming.
Implementation is much faster than other systems due to the ease of use and configuration. Plus, QBench is constantly enhancing the product with new features and providing easily accessible help tools.”
- Lab Supervisor, EO Science Lab
Second-time LIMS buyers consistently choose QBench after experiencing the limitations of legacy systems. In fact, one client picked QBench as their top choice among 15 vendors!
What sets QBench apart for them? Unlike vendor-created, code-driven customizations that lead to slow, costly updates, QBench offers deep workflow configurability and flexible, user-friendly tools for quick workflow adjustments, report modifications, and automation enhancements.
That plus a tightly-integrated QMS means your data, SOPs, documents, and tests are all under one roof and perfectly synced.
The Best Data and Instrument Control Platforms
Data acquisition and instrument control platforms help orchestrate the “communication” between analytical instruments, sensors, and automated equipment. This includes chromatography data systems, spectrometer software, microscope control systems, and automated liquid handling platforms.
The top data and instrument control platforms include:
- LabVIEW (National Instruments)
- Agilent ChemStation
- Thermo Scientific Chromeleon
- Waters Empower
- Bruker TopSpin
When to Prioritize: If you're running multiple instruments from different vendors and spending significant time manually transferring data between systems, this should be a top priority. Start here if instrument downtime due to integration issues is costing you more than 5% of your operational time, or if you're struggling with data consistency across different analytical platforms.
The Best Data Analysis Platforms
Beyond data management, numerous excellent data analysis software options are available to labs.
Data analysis and statistical software encompass tools for processing experimental data, performing statistical analysis, and creating visualizations. This ranges from specialized scientific computing platforms to general statistical packages and custom analysis scripts. Note: not all of the following are standalone software; we’ve included some statistical analysis libraries and tools that work well with Python for custom-coded data analysis.
The best software we recommend is:
When to Prioritize: Focus here after you've solved your data collection and management challenges. If your team is spending hours in Excel manipulating data, struggling to reproduce statistical analyses, or if you need publication-quality visualizations regularly, invest in dedicated analysis software. This is especially crucial for R&D labs where statistical rigor directly impacts product development decisions.
The Best ELNs
Research-heavy labs may want to consider purchasing an ELN in addition to a LIMS. Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs) replace traditional paper notebooks with digital documentation systems that can capture protocols, observations, results, and integrate multimedia content while maintaining proper audit trails. They help most when labs need to track a mix of unstructured and structured data.
The best ELNs available are:
- Benchling
- LabArchives
- SciNote
- eLabFTW (a free, open-source option)
When to Prioritize: Make this a priority if your team frequently references historical experiments, collaborates across multiple locations, or if you're in a regulated environment where documentation integrity is critical. An ELN becomes essential when you have more than 3-4 researchers who need to share protocols and results, or when intellectual property documentation is a key concern.
The Best QMS
While a LIMS can help centralize and organize data, it’s not an all-in-one compliance solution by itself. For that, you need a QMS. A Quality Management System (QMS) ensures laboratories meet regulatory requirements and maintain quality standards. This includes audit management, standard operating procedure (SOP) management, and compliance reporting tools.
Some LIMS come with a built-in QMS, meaning that you make one purchase when you buy a LIMS. The top QMS platforms (including those integrated with a LIMS) we recommend are:
When to Prioritize: This moves to the top of your list if you're facing regulatory compliance requirements (ISO, FDA, etc.), preparing for audits, or if non-conformance tracking is consuming significant administrative time. If you're spending hours each week on compliance-related paperwork or if audit preparation takes weeks instead of days, prioritize a QMS implementation.
The Best Visualization and Reporting Platforms
Finally, we have data visualization and reporting tools.
Visualization software transforms raw data into meaningful reports, charts, and presentations for internal use and external communication with clients, regulators, or the scientific community. The top platforms we recommend are:
When to Prioritize: Focus here once your data collection and analysis workflows are solid. This becomes crucial if you're regularly presenting to executive leadership, clients, or regulatory bodies. Prioritize if you're spending hours each month creating reports manually, or if stakeholder decision-making is delayed because data isn't presented in an accessible format.
Lab Software Implementation Strategy: What to Prioritize
Most labs benefit from a phased approach that builds a solid technological foundation while minimizing operational disruption.
Taking a phased approach allows labs to get a system up and running more quickly, leading to a faster Time To Value (TTV). After working with hundreds of labs at QBench, we’ve learned that a phased approach also helps customers learn a new tool more quickly. This allows them to make better configuration decisions in the later phases of a project.
Lab software implementation is a classic case of don’t bite off more than you can chew.” We recommend that you start with the most essential pieces, get value quickly, and then layer on more elements to the system.
Given that, we’d prioritize the above platforms in the following way:
Top priority
Your top priorities for software should be:
- A LIMS to fully digitize your lab, centralize data, and automate processes.
- A QMS to improve compliance and align processes with regulations.
- An ELN to begin digitizing lab processes, findings, and results.
Medium priority
Following a LIMS and QMS, your next priorities could be:
- Instrument control platforms to automate data capture
- Data analysis platforms to speed up your path to insights
- Collaboration platforms to foster better remote communication
Lower priorities
In the longer term, we recommend investing in data visualization software to speed up your path to meaningful insights.
Why Modern Labs Trust QBench LIMS + QMS
There’s a reason that QBench is a consistent leader across categories on G2; labs can get more done with QBench LIMS. Here are the top reasons why labs of all sizes love QBench LIMS.
Configurable Automations
As you can see from the list above, automation is key for any scaling lab. With QBench, you can:
- Trigger processes for your lab.
- Easily update a process or roll out new processes.
- Save time by automating inventory stock.
- Run calculations, generate reports, and notify customers when results are ready.
- Set up workflows between tools such as a client portal, billing, QuickBooks, inventory management, and quality management systems.
What’s more, QBench is configurable, meaning that you can easily adjust automations on the fly. There is no need for complex development work or custom code - if you can dream it, you can build it.
Robust API Support
The more connected your lab software and instruments are, the smoother things will go as you scale. That’s why QBench offers a RESTful API that allows you to:
- Connect laboratory instruments with the LIMS for automatic integration and a comprehensive view of your data.
- Import or export data from external systems or to other systems. You can even use AI to make better decisions about it.
- Generate custom reports from LIMS data by integrating with external reporting systems.
- Integrate LIMS data with a dashboard or visualization tool. This enables real-time monitoring of laboratory processes and provides insights into lab performance.
QBench’s API support adds to the flexibility of its LIMS, helping you get more done.
Ease of Use
All of these powerful features are great, but if your LIMS isn’t easy to implement and use, they are for naught. Fortunately, QBench consistently earns high marks for ease of use thanks to its:
- Modern, fast, user-friendly interface.
- Configurable and flexible workflows - if you can dream it, you can build it with QBench. More importantly, you can easily modify it over time yourself.
- Simple and automated data entry.
QBench consistently earns high marks for its responsive and helpful support on top of its powerful software platform.
Choose the Right LIMS With the Free LIMS Buyer’s Guide
Ready to build your lab's technology foundation? Start with our free LIMS Buyer's Guide to identify which platform aligns with your specific workflow requirements, budget constraints, and implementation timeline.
What’s the right LIMS? Well, it could be one that…
- Matches your budget
- Provides the right integrations (along with a RESTful API for custom connections)
- Gives you the right blend of configurability with ease of use
- Is flexible enough for your changing needs
- Offers a speedy and painless implementation
But plenty of LIMS platforms claim to offer those and more. Click the button below to download the free LIMS Buyer’s Guide to learn more about what types of LIMS are available to you and determine which one is right for your lab.
