Budgeting·8 min read
The Hidden Costs Draining Your Lab Budget (That No Spreadsheet Can Find)
Price drift, untracked shipping, missed bulk thresholds — four budget leaks that hit every busy lab invisibly and how to catch them.
Read guidePractical guides on purchasing, receiving, and managing a university research lab.
Lab Guide
Compliance·6 min read
Tracking Small Business, HUBZone, and SDVOSB Spend in University Labs
Federal small-business utilization goals get reported centrally but earned at the lab level. Here's what the categories mean and how to track them without making researchers do extra work.
Read guideCompliance·4 min read
The Lab Purchasing Audit Trail: What Auditors Actually Ask For
When an auditor asks about an order from 18 months ago, you want the answer to take five minutes, not five days. Here's what the trail has to contain.
Read guideCompliance·4 min read
Writing Lab Approval Rules That Actually Get Followed
Specific, threshold-based, account-aware, plain language. The four traits that separate enforced policy from a binder on a shelf.
Read guideCompliance·4 min read
What Federal Grant Compliance Actually Requires for Lab Purchasing
Period of performance, allowable costs, prior approval thresholds, effort certification — the four areas where purchasing decisions most often go sideways.
Read guideCompliance·3 min read
Why Lab Purchasing Compliance Fails at Audit Time, Not Approval Time
Most compliance tools check purchases after they happen. By then the money is spent. The fix is enforcement at approval, not review at audit.
Read guidePurchasing·9 min read
How to Streamline Lab Purchasing at Your University
A practical guide to building a purchasing workflow that satisfies compliance requirements without slowing down your research.
Read guideReceiving·8 min read
A Guide to Receiving Lab Supplies and Reconciling Invoices
Receiving is where most lab purchasing workflows break down. Here's how to close the loop on every shipment without creating extra work.
Read guideEssentials·3 min read
Lab Essentials: Recommended Supplies for University Labs
Products consistently ordered by labs using Ixion — practical, high-quality, and available with fast shipping.
Read guide