Tell us the problem. Not the budget, not the project plan, just the thing your software refuses to do. We will tell you within two working days whether it can be fixed, roughly how, and roughly what it would cost. No charge for the answer.
How this works
You describe the problem in the box above. A TotalLab developer reads it, not a sales team. Within two working days you get a plain email that says one of three things.
Yes, and here is how. A short description of the fix, which of the three sizes on the fixes menu it falls into, and a price.
Yes, but. The fix is possible and we can see a complication (file format, instrument access, validation) that changes the size or the timing. We tell you what it is.
No, and here is who might. If it is not something we should build, we say so and point you somewhere useful.
Most answers are the first kind. We have been writing software for laboratories since 1989, and the problem you have hit is usually one we have hit before.
Problems we have already solved
Every TotalLab product started as a complaint about software. These are the complaints.
“Half my spots are missing in the comparison.”
TotalLab SameSpots aligns the gel images first, then detects one spot pattern across the whole experiment. 100% spot matching, no missing values. Bio-Rad recommended it to PDQuest users when PDQuest was discontinued in 2018. SameSpots
“The imager software has no audit trail and the auditor is here in March.”
TotalLab AuditSafe is an add-on module that gives existing software audit trails, electronic signatures, granular user permissions and image authenticity verification for FDA 21 CFR Part 11 and EU Annex 11. It is designed to sit on top of what you already own. AuditSafe
“We need HCP coverage numbers the regulator will accept.”
TotalLab SpotMap 2D for 2D gel and 2D Western blot antibody coverage. TotalLab SpotMap MS for LC-MS HCP identification and quantitation on Thermo Orbitrap data. SpotMap 2D SpotMap MS
“The free software quantifies the band but won’t export the lane as a figure.”
TotalLab Phoretix 1D analyzes 1D gels and Western blots and exports publication-quality lane and band images. It reads Bio-Rad .scn files directly. Phoretix 1D
“Someone is counting colonies by hand.”
TotalLab Phoretix Colony Counter counts them from the plate image. Phoretix Colony Counter
“Our titer and infectivity calculations live in a spreadsheet nobody dares edit.”
TotalLab TiterKinetix does kinetic virus infectivity analysis in one validated application. TiterKinetix
“ELISA plate analysis is a different macro in every lab.”
TotalLab PlateLogic gives every lab the same ELISA analysis. PlateLogic
“We can see this month’s results but not the trend.”
TotalLab TrendLab, longitudinal trending for assay and QC data. TrendLab
“We make imagers. We need the analysis software to go with them.”
TotalLab built AzureSpot Pro for Azure Biosystems. We build analysis software for instrument companies under their own brand. OEM software development
“Our assay software has to be 21 CFR Part 11 and GMP compliant, and nothing off the shelf fits.”
We build it to order. Recent work includes a 21 CFR Part 11 and GMP assay application for a global pharmaceutical company. Custom software development
“The Cyber Resilience Act applies to our software and we are not ready.”
We make existing lab software CRA compliant, and we build new software to meet it. Cyber Resilience Act compliance
The fixes menu
Most problems fall into one of three sizes. Prices are fixed once we have scoped the job, so the number we quote is the number you pay.
| Size | What it covers | Examples | Typical time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fix | One change to software you already use, or one small tool. | A file importer or exporter for an instrument format. A missing export (lanes, bands, reports, CSV for your LIMS). A calculation your software lacks. A report template. | A few days to two weeks |
| Module | A new capability added to existing software, yours or ours. | AuditSafe on top of software that has no audit trail. A validation document pack. A Cyber Resilience Act compliance review and the fixes it produces. An automated workflow that replaces a chain of macros. | Two to eight weeks |
| Build | A whole application, written to your specification. | A 21 CFR Part 11 and GMP assay application. Analysis software for an instrument you manufacture, under your brand. A replacement for a discontinued or unsupported package. | Months. Scoped and priced before any work starts. |
Not sure which size you have? That is what the two-day answer is for.
Who asks us
Research labs that have outgrown free software. QC and bioanalytical groups that need compliance on tools that never had it. Instrument companies that would rather license analysis software than build a software team. More than 100 organizations use TotalLab software, including NIH, AstraZeneca, Roche, University of Cambridge, Institut Pasteur, Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Johnson & Johnson and Regeneron.
We are a software company, not a service lab. We do not run your samples and we do not sell a LIMS. We write the software that sits between your instrument and your report, and we have been doing it since 1989.
Questions
Is the two-day answer really free?
Yes. The answer tells you whether the fix is possible, which size it is and a price. You pay only if you go ahead.
What if I don’t know whether it is a software problem?
Describe what you are trying to do and what happens instead. If it is not something software can fix, we will say so.
Can you work with our existing software or instrument files?
Usually. Our products already read file formats from Bio-Rad, Thermo Fisher Scientific and other instrument makers. Tell us the format in the box and we will check.
Do you build software that has to be validated?
Yes. We build 21 CFR Part 11 and GMP software and supply documentation to support your validation. AuditSafe, our compliance module, is the same technology we use in our own products.
Do you sign NDAs?
Yes, before you tell us anything confidential. Say so in the box and we will send ours or sign yours.
How small is too small?
Nothing is too small to ask. Some fixes take a day. If a job is too small to be worth invoicing we will say so and may just tell you how to do it.
Where are you?
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Most of our customers are in the United States and Europe, and almost all of our work is done remotely.
Tell us what it won’t do
Two working days. No charge for the answer. A developer reads every message.
Or email info@totallab.com.