A shared calendar is enough when
a handful of people share one or two instruments, nobody needs a training check, and there is nothing to bill.
Compare
Compare core scheduling options
Many cores run on a shared calendar, requests by email, and a monthly spreadsheet. Some institutions run one large system for every core. Here is how the options compare for booking and billing shared equipment.
Who sets it up
- Shared calendars, email, and spreadsheets
- Anyone, in minutes
- Institution-wide core systems
- Usually the institution, as a central project
- ConductLaboratory
- A core manager, without an IT project
Price
- Shared calendars, email, and spreadsheets
- Free
- Institution-wide core systems
- Usually quoted for the whole institution
- ConductLaboratory
- Free for labs; Core is $1,500 per core per year
Double bookings
- Shared calendars, email, and spreadsheets
- Possible
- Institution-wide core systems
- Prevented
- ConductLaboratory
- Prevented, including every day of a repeat series
Training checks
- Shared calendars, email, and spreadsheets
- Kept by hand
- Institution-wide core systems
- Usually built in
- ConductLaboratory
- Per instrument, with optional expiry
Approvals
- Shared calendars, email, and spreadsheets
- Requests by email
- Institution-wide core systems
- Usually built in
- ConductLaboratory
- Per instrument; requests hold the time
Actual usage
- Shared calendars, email, and spreadsheets
- Paper logs or self-reports
- Institution-wide core systems
- Usually tracked
- ConductLaboratory
- Check-in and check-out on any device, with audited corrections
Billing output
- Shared calendars, email, and spreadsheets
- Built by hand each month
- Institution-wide core systems
- Often tied to institutional billing systems
- ConductLaboratory
- Monthly CSV by paying account
Best fit
- Shared calendars, email, and spreadsheets
- A few people sharing one or two instruments
- Institution-wide core systems
- Institutions running every core on one system
- ConductLaboratory
- Cores that want booking and billing working this month
Institution-wide systems vary. Check the specific system your institution offers.
Choosing
Which option fits your core
An institution-wide system makes sense when
your institution already runs one for every core and requires its billing connection. Use what your institution supports.
ConductLaboratory fits when
your core needs training checks, approvals, usage records, and monthly charges now, and you want to set it up yourself.
Moving from a calendar or another system? Tell us what you use now.
Set up your core this week.
Start with a 30-day Core trial. Booking stays free after the trial.