How to Track & Manage Lab Equipment

In biotech and life sciences, your research may be cutting-edge—but if your equipment tracking system lives in a spreadsheet, you’re not alone.

From freezers packed with reagents to high-value analytical instruments, managing lab equipment is one of those invisible operational backbones that can quietly boost or bottleneck your scientific research. At early-stage startups, it often starts scrappy—barcode labels, shared spreadsheets, maybe a QR code or two. But as your lab scales, regulatory compliance tightens, and your workflows grow more complex, staying on top of what you own (or lease), where it’s located, and how it’s performing becomes mission-critical.

The challenge? Most labs are juggling asset tracking with limited headcount, competing priorities, and a constant need for flexibility.

So how do you implement an equipment management system that goes beyond basic inventory tracking—and actually supports smarter budgeting, faster audits, and more efficient lab operations?

Let’s break it down.

Build the right foundation: Start with an inventory mindset

You can’t manage what you don’t track—and effective lab inventory management starts with more than just logging serial numbers.

A modern inventory management system should be built around real-world use cases. Think beyond static spreadsheets and ask:

• Which instruments are under warranty, leased, or fully depreciated?
• Are service contracts centralized across locations?
• Can you quickly identify calibration status, validation records, or upcoming maintenance schedules?
• Is your equipment list integrated with your LIMS, ELN, or procurement system?

This level of visibility turns your inventory into an active operational tool—not just a compliance document. To build that foundation:

• Centralize your data: Whether you’re using Airtable, a lab information management system, or Microsoft Excel, consolidate all asset data in one place. Include model numbers, serial numbers, expiration dates, service history, lease terms, and lab location.
• Assign ownership: Every piece of laboratory equipment should have a clear functional owner—someone who understands its usage patterns and coordinates upkeep.
• Tag for actionability: Use fields to track calibration status, consumables, regulatory requirements, or grant-specific allocations.

Don’t wait until an audit or grant renewal to build this. Even a basic system is better than trying to piece one together under pressure.

Streamline maintenance and calibration without adding headcount

Knowing what you have is step one. Ensuring it’s functional, compliant, and ready to use is step two.

Maintenance delays are a major source of downtime and disruptions. Yet most labs—especially biotech startups—don’t have a dedicated equipment manager. Scientists and lab managers often shoulder this responsibility informally.

The solution? Streamline with automation and delegation:

• Set recurring reminders: Use automated workflows or cloud-based calendars to flag service deadlines, calibration windows, or reorder points for consumables.
• Integrate vendor timelines: Log manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedules into your system for each piece of equipment.
• Use QR codes or barcodes: Scannable tags linked to digital records make logging events easier in real time.
• Create usage-based maintenance triggers: For equipment like HPLCs or freezers, maintenance intervals should reflect real-time usage, not just calendar dates.
• Designate responsible users: For each instrument, assign a scientist or engineer who monitors performance and communicates service needs—not necessarily to fix it, but to own it.

This approach doesn’t just reduce risk—it improves audit readiness, supports regulatory compliance, and protects high-quality data generation.

Connect equipment management to budgeting and procurement

Lab equipment is more than scientific infrastructure—it’s part of your investment strategy.

From lease agreements and warranty periods to lifecycle planning and capital allocation, your equipment tracking system should support informed decisions across teams. That means creating visibility for finance, operations, and procurement—not just science.

Practical ways to do that:

• Track lease vs. ownership: Knowing when lease terms end or which assets are leased can prevent unplanned renewals and help you right-size future procurement.
• Plan around lifecycle stages: Identify equipment approaching end-of-life or warranty expiration to support budgeting and asset replacement strategy.
• Support depreciation and grant tracking: Flag assets tied to restricted-use funds or specific cost centers. This helps avoid misallocation and ensures accurate financial reporting.
• Reduce redundant purchases: When procurement can see inventory levels and usage patterns, they can optimize stock levels and avoid overbuying.

The result? Greater cost savings, tighter alignment between operations and finance, and procurement workflows that scale with your lab.

Make it easy to track usage, not just ownership

Inventory tracking is useful. But tracking equipment usage in real time is where labs unlock operational efficiency.

Utilization data answers key questions:

• Are high-value instruments being underused?
• Is one centrifuge constantly booked while others sit idle?
• Can we delay that next equipment purchase, or do we need to scale capacity now?

To build usage tracking into your workflows:

• Use booking systems: Shared calendars or software tools can track access, utilization, and scheduling conflicts.
• Enable check-in/check-out: Barcodes and mobile apps make it easy to log time-on-instrument and note disruptions.
• Capture usage from equipment software: Systems like sequencers or automated analyzers often provide usage logs—integrate them into your data management system.
• Tie usage to maintenance: Set maintenance schedules based on run counts or instrument hours, not just dates.

When usage tracking is embedded into lab culture, it supports faster decision-making, more accurate forecasting, and smarter capital planning.

Scale without chaos: Choose systems that grow with your lab

Manual spreadsheets and email chains may work for four people—but not for forty.

To avoid future bottlenecks, build your lab inventory management system with scalability in mind:

• Go cloud-based: Enable access across locations and teams, with proper backup and version control.
• Support integrations: Choose tools that can connect with your LIMS, procurement software, or electronic lab notebook.
• Allow flexible categorization: Your system should accommodate new asset types, functions, and workflows as you grow.
• Document SOPs: Clear onboarding documents and record-keeping policies make scaling smoother and reduce human error.

Growth shouldn’t mean chaos. Choose asset management workflows that maintain clarity and control even as your ecosystem expands.

Operational clarity = scientific velocity

Tracking and managing lab equipment isn’t busywork—it’s infrastructure for speed, quality control, and better science.

When your team has real-time visibility into inventory levels, equipment usage, calibration schedules, and availability, they can:

• Avoid disruptions and downtime
• Maintain regulatory compliance
• Make informed decisions across departments
• Support long-term planning with real data

And when stakeholders—investors, grant reviewers, auditors—ask for proof, you’re not scrambling. You’re ready.

At Excedr, we help life sciences companies simplify lab equipment management—from leasing high-performance systems to optimizing workflows and scaling responsibly. If your team is rethinking how it tracks and manages lab assets, we’d love to help.

Let’s connect and figure out what works best for your lab.