When your lab prepares something rather than buying it, "Make reagent" records the whole event in one go: it creates the new batch, and it draws the inputs down from your inventory at the same time. A stock list cannot do that, which is one of the reasons this is not one.
That second part is the reason to use it. Recording a preparation by hand means creating the product and then remembering to decrement four other items. This does both, so your stock stays honest.
Making reagents needs the Team plan or higher.
Before you start
You need a makeable reagent: a reagent your lab has marked as something it makes in-house. It can already have a recipe, or you can define one as you go. See Create and manage recipes.
Open the flow
- Click Add Inventory in the top bar, or on the Inventory page.
- Choose Make Reagent.
The dialog has four steps: Reagent, Recipe, Storage, and Review.
Step 1: Reagent
Choose what you are making.
- Pick from Reagent to make, which lists your makeable reagents.
- Or turn on Create a new reagent and enter a New reagent name to define a brand new one as part of this batch.
If you have no makeable reagents yet, the step tells you so and offers to create one.
Step 2: Recipe
This is where the batch gets sized.
Base batch size is the amount the recipe is written for. The inputs listed underneath are the amounts needed for that base size.
Each input row has:
| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
| Input reagent | Which reagent goes in. |
| Amount | How much of it, for the current batch size. |
| Lot to pull from | Which specific lot in stock this comes out of. |
Use Add input and Remove input to change the recipe's shape for this batch.
Scaling
Change the batch size and every input amount scales with it. Doubling the output doubles each input.
You can still edit any individual amount afterwards to override it, which is what you want when one component does not scale linearly. The form says as much: amounts scale to your batch size, and editing any value overrides it.
Choosing lots
Lot to pull from matters. It is what ties the batch you are making back to the specific batches that went into it, which is the whole point of lot tracking. Pick the lot you are physically using.
If an input has nothing in stock, the row says there are no lots for it. There is also an Any inventory item option if you need to draw from a specific container rather than picking by lot.
Not enough stock
If any input asks for more than you have, the row shows what was requested, what is available, and how much you are short by. The form blocks the batch until you reduce the amounts or restock.
That is a real check against your recorded inventory, not against what is physically on the shelf. If it disagrees with reality, your records are behind. Fix them with Adjust Quantity first. See Update, consume, or adjust an item's quantity.
Step 3: Storage
Say what comes out and where it goes.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Output quantity | How much you are making. |
| Output unit | |
| Storage location | Where the new batch will live. |
| Lot number | Auto-filled. See below. |
| Notes | Anything worth recording about this preparation. |
You can also send the output to an existing reagent lot rather than creating a new one, when you are topping up a batch you already have.
About the auto-filled lot number
The new batch gets a lot number generated from your lab name plus a unique code.
This is not the app inventing a manufacturer's lot number. For something your lab made, your lab is the manufacturer, so the lot identifier is genuinely yours to issue. That is different from a purchased reagent, where the lot number is a fact printed on the container and Labsistant will never make one up. See Lot numbers, CAS, hazard and expiration.
If your lab has its own numbering scheme, edit the field and use yours.
Step 4: Review
The last step shows the whole picture before anything happens: the reagent, the batch size, the inputs being consumed, the output and where it is going, and an estimated output cost based on what the inputs cost.
There are two batch figures worth reading carefully:
- Expected batch is what the recipe predicted.
- Actual amount made is what you actually got.
If they match, the review says so. If they do not, enter the real number. Recording what you actually made rather than what you meant to make is the difference between an inventory you can trust and one you cannot.
Click Make reagent to finish. The inputs are drawn down and the new batch appears in your inventory.
Notes on costs and units
- The estimated cost only covers inputs that have a recorded cost.
- If the inputs were bought in different currencies, the estimate says Mixed currencies rather than adding them together wrongly.
- If components use different units, totals are shown per unit and are not combined.
What this does not do
Labsistant does not tell you how to prepare anything. It has no protocol, no method, and no opinion on whether a recipe is correct or safe. It records the amounts you tell it and moves the stock accordingly. The chemistry is yours.