A LIMS system is the record a laboratory keeps of its samples and everything done to them, and LIMS systems differ far more by what they keep than by what they are called. What is LIMS system, asked by a small lab, is really asking which of the four records the product carries: the sample with its location and status, the test with its analyst, instrument and lot, the result with its review and release, and the retention through to disposal. A product that carries all four is a LIMS; one that carries the results alone is a database. This page is about that distinction, and the free sheets on this site work the figures a LIMS system reports from the lab's own numbers with no account.
The four records a LIMS system keeps
Samples, tests, results and retention, each with a status and each linked to the others: the sample knows its tests, the test knows its lot and instrument, the result knows its reviewer, the retention knows its disposal date. Ask a vendor for one screen with a sample and all four on it; that screen is the LIMS system, and the paid plan on this site keeps exactly that.
How LIMS systems differ
Enterprise LIMS systems are configured to a laboratory's workflow over months and priced by the analyst; mid-market systems ship a workflow and charge per sample; small-lab systems keep the four records and work the figures at one price. The difference that matters is not the tier but whether the turnaround, the utilization and the QC share come out of the record or out of a report builder.
The figures a LIMS system should report
Intake against bench capacity for the turnaround, tests against analyst hours for the utilization, QC samples against reportable tests, vials against freezer positions, cost against price per test. The seven sheets on this site work each of those from the lab's own figures, free, and a LIMS system that computes the same from its live record has understood the job.
Questions people ask about what is lims system
What is a LIMS system?
The record of samples, tests, results and retention with a status and a chain of custody, and the arithmetic worked from it. The free sheets on this site work the arithmetic; Limslane Pro keeps the record.
How do LIMS systems differ?
By what they keep and how they are priced: enterprise systems configured per lab and priced per analyst, mid-market systems priced per sample, small-lab systems at one flat price. The record is the test, not the tier.
Does a small lab need a LIMS system?
It needs the record and the figures; whether it needs an enterprise product to get them depends on its size. Work the intake sheet first: a lab whose bench carries the load with a flat-price record does not need a platform.