Laboratory information management software
- Full cost per test
- $29
- Analyst labour per test
- $15
- Direct cost per test: reagent, consumables, labour
- $23
- Overhead per test
- $6
Every figure on this page is computed from the inputs entered, by the method stated below it. Limslane publishes no accreditation rule, no method, no QC scheme and no retention period: the minutes, the costs, the schemes and the periods are yours, and the defaults are a worked example to replace with your own figures.
The figures above start from a worked example ($29). Change any input and the answer updates as you type.
Download the Laboratory information management software worked example (CSV)
This is a cost per test sheet, the arithmetic laboratory information management software should do and a small lab usually does once a year in a spreadsheet nobody can find. Reagent plus consumables plus analyst minutes at the hourly cost is the direct cost; monthly overhead over the month's tests is the overhead per test; the two together are the full cost; and the price less the full cost is the margin, in dollars and as a share of the price. Every figure is yours; the sheet publishes no rate and no benchmark margin. Free, on the page, no account; the paid plan keeps every test's cost against the test on the price list.
Direct cost, from the bench
$6.50 of reagent, $1.50 of consumables and 20 minutes at $45 an hour is $23 on the worked example. The analyst minutes are the figure most labs guess; the intake sheet on this site uses the same minutes, so the two agree.
Overhead per test, from the month
$9,000 of rent, instruments, quality and admin over 1,500 tests a month is $6 a test. The figure moves with volume, which is why the sheet takes the month's tests as an input: a slow month makes every test dearer. The sheet shows it rather than hiding it in the price.
Margin at the price charged
$45 less $29 is $16 a test, 36% of the price on the worked example. It is the number a vendor's proposal has to fit inside, and the guide on reading laboratory information system vendors on this site starts from it.
Laboratory information management software: common questions
How do I calculate the cost of a laboratory test?
Reagent plus consumables plus analyst minutes at the hourly cost is the direct cost; add the month's overhead divided by the month's tests for the full cost. The free sheet on this site works both, plus the margin at your price, from seven figures with no account.
What margin should a test carry?
The sheet does not say, on purpose: a test that anchors a client's whole contract can carry less than a one-off, and an accredited method costs more to keep than an in-house one. The worked example runs 36% to show the arithmetic. Compare your tests against each other.
Does the sheet keep a price list?
No. The sheet works one test on the page, free, as many times as you like. Limslane Pro keeps every test with its cost, its price and its margin against the price list, so the annual review is a list rather than a hunt for last year's spreadsheet.
Limslane Pro
Keeping what you make
The sheets are free forever. Pro turns them into the record: every sample from receipt to report with its status, every result against the sample it belongs to, every reagent lot with its expiry, every instrument with its next calibration, your lab's name and logo on the printed sheets, no watermark, and an export when the auditor or the client asks.
- Download as PDF
- No Limslane watermark
- Save every sheet and reopen it later
- Your lab's name and logo on the paperwork
- Export every sheet and every record in one go
- Calibration-due, lot-expiry and result-ready reminders emailed to the lab and the client
- Connect your own Stripe account and get paid online
- Connect your QuickBooks Online or Xero
$39per month, whole lab
Start Limslane Pro PricingRenews monthly at the price above until you cancel. We email you before any price change.
Cite or embed this figure
Laboratory information management software (Full cost per test): $29, Limslane, worked example.
Cite as: "Laboratory information management software, Limslane", updated 2026-09-04, https://limslane.com/tools/laboratory-information-management-software/.