Set up a new lab, from empty software to the first report

Do these steps in order on a new installation. Have ready the lab's address and phone, the start of the financial year, your rate list, your doctors' names and numbers, and the normal ranges your pathologist approves. Practise on a demo company first, never on a customer's real data folder.

Day 0: company and users

1. Start E-Lab
   Pick the language and click Continue.
2. Create the company
   On Select Company, click Create a New Company. Fill the name, address, phone, mobile and email. Set Books Start on to the current year's start. Leave MS Access Database (Recomended) for a single computer. Click Create Company.
3. Create your own user
   On Users, fill User Name, Password, Full Name and Contact No., keep Full Rights, Save, then Close.
4. Log in
   Log in with that user. The dashboard opens.
5. Create staff logins
   In Masters › Users, create one login for each staff member. A new company has only admin and the full-rights user you made.
6. Register
   Open Help › Register Now with your licence number and partner code. E-Lab closes after success; open it again.

Day 1: masters

1. Settings first
   In Help › Settings, choose the Lab No. method, the prefix if any, and any General options you need.
2. Test groups
   The template has 53 groups. Open Masters › Test Group (Ctrl+I) to add yours: Test Group, Sr. No., Cost, MRP, then Save.
3. Tests
   The template has 321 tests. Open Masters › Test Master (Ctrl+Shift+A). For each test you do, check Unit, Method, Cost, MRP and the ranges with Min/Max. To bring a list from Excel, click Import on the test list (chapter 2).
4. Doctors
   Open Masters › Doctor. Fill Doctor Name, Qualification, Contact No., Email ID and Incentive %, then Save.
5. Company Info and report design
   Check Masters › Company Info, then pick a report design in Help › Lab Report Formats (chapter 4).

Day 2: a full trial run

1. One demo patient
   In Patient Entry, enter "Test Patient, 30, M" with two or three tests, a doctor and a cash payment. Save and print the bill.
2. One demo report
   Open Test Report, open the entry, type results, Save and print. Ask the pathologist to check ranges and units on paper.
3. One evening count
   Open Reports › Daily Collection Report and check that the cash matches what you typed.
4. One backup
   On Select Company, click Backup My Data to a pen drive. Set the second backup and email backup (chapter 9).
5. Delete the demo entry
   Delete the demo bill from Patient Entry before real patients start, so it stays out of your reports.

Questions people ask