Resources

iLab for ASU researchers

How to use iLab as an ASU researcher

Sign up for an iLab account

  1. Navigate to ASU’s landing page for iLab Solutions and click on the sign-up button in the upper-right corner.
  2. Select the option for “ASU user (with ASURITE ID)” and log in with your ASURITE credentials. 
  3. You will be prompted to select your PI/Group. Search by the PI or advisor last name or the lab/class name and select from the list. If you are paying out of pocket, pick “ASU-External” as your PI/Group
  4. After you click on “register,” you will receive a confirmation page indicating your account activation is pending approval. Either the PI or department must approve your request and assign you permission to spend on an account before you may access services at ASU’s facilities. It is highly recommended to contact your PI, advisor or department contact directly to follow up on the status of your registration.

Overall navigation

The hamburger menu (three lines at the top left of the screen) allows you to access the following features:

  • Home lists submitted service requests, messages, recently used cores and institutions.
  • Core Facilities lists all core facilities at your own institution, partner institutions, and other outside institutions using iLab as well as a search function.
    • My Reservations provides an overview of all current, upcoming and recent reservations in iLab.
    • Invoices lists all invoices from your department.
  • Manage Groups: Displays all groups in which you are a member, and allows you to request membership into another group at ASU or another institution.
    • My Group directs to the same page as clicking Manage Groups. Hovering your mouse reveals a sub-menu of your groups to display the names and contact information of everyone in the group.
    • My Departments displays the groups affiliated with your department at your institution.
    • People Search displays the names and contact information of everyone in groups for which you are a member.

The top of the screen provides access to various system functions

  • Search allows you to search for specific cores and services. Enter a key term or the first few letters and click ‘Go.’ Your results will display on the page.
  • Clicking your Username will reveal the following options:
    • My Profile, which allows you to view and edit your user profile.
    • System upgrades, which grants access to all messages regarding the system and updates/feature/bug fixes of the iLab software.
  • The Help link brings you to iLab’s customer support portal.
  • Sign Out logs you out of the system.

When you visit a specific core facility on iLab, you will see tabs at the top right that will allow you to:

  • Learn about the facility
  • Schedule equipment
  • Request services/training
  • View your requests
  • Contact the facility

Payment information

When making a reservation or requesting services, you are required to provide a funding source to charge for services, which is assigned to you by your PI, advisor or a department financial manager. For ASU researchers, the fund types available include Account and Center Fund. 

  • Account displays the various programs, grants and gifts assigned to you by your group PI, advisor or department financial manager. Additional options are available in the three dropdown menus below the account. These tags are optional and are not required to successfully submit a request or make a reservation. Check with your PI, advisor or department financial manager in case they request a specific tag to be used.
  • Center Fund: If your group was awarded a balance toward use of a core facility, then switch the first dropdown menu from Account to Center Fund. Note: You must be given permission to spend on a Center Fund in the same way as any other account type. Work with your PI, advisor or department financial manager to receive access.

Clicking on the “Split Charge” icon in the lower-right corner of the Payment Information section allows you to split the cost of a reservation or any charge within a service request on multiple funds. Change the percentage of each split to the desired amount and make sure the total of all the splits equals 100%.

Review your invoices

Invoices are accessible from the hamburger menu at the top left of your iLab window. An invoice summarizes charges per service request, per researcher. A direct link is also emailed to you whenever an invoice is generated. It is important to review the invoice right away to ensure it is accurate. 

Dispute a charge

You have three business days after the invoice is created to dispute a charge before it officially posts to the ASU Financial System. To dispute a charge:

  1. Hover your mouse over the charge’s total cost. A yellow flag will appear.
  2. Click on the yellow flag. A window will open that prompts you to select a reason for the dispute and to provide a note. Include a detailed description of the issue.
  3. Click on “initiate dispute.” Your message will be delivered to the Core Facilities Financial Office, which will work with the lab managers to verify your claim and apply any necessary changes.

FAQs

You may request access to another group that is part of ASU or another institution by doing the following:

  1. Open the hamburger menu (three lines) at the top left and select “Manage Groups.”
  2. Click on “Request Group Access.”
  3. A search window will appear requesting that you enter the institution name. If the group is part of ASU, then enter “Arizona State University” and click on the search result when it appears. If the group is part of a different institution, enter the other institution’s name.
  4. After selecting the institution, another search field will appear requesting the name of the group. You can search by the PI’s last name, the class name/number or the research lab name. Select your group from the available results, then click on “Request Access.”

    If you do not find the group you are looking for, contact iLab Support by clicking the Help link in the upper-right corner of the iLab web page.
  5. After successfully submitting your request, a notification will automatically be sent to the group for approval. We recommend that you follow up with the group’s contact (e.g., PI, department manager) if your request is not approved within a week.

As an ASU researcher, you are unable to give yourself permission to spend on an account. Instead, the PI or department financial manager of the group in which you are a member must assign this permission for you. If you need permission to spend on an account, email them directly to request access.

These other dropdown menus, including Department Reporting Roll, Department Reporting, and Audit Reporting, are used in the ASU Financial System for financial reporting and budgeting purposes. You are not required to select these fields in order to make a reservation or submit a request. However, make sure to check in with your department financial managers to verify if they would like you to pick a tag when spending on an account.

One of two scenarios will prevent you from submitting a request:

  • You did not provide an answer to a required question, or the form was not saved when completed. Open the request details by clicking on the blue triangle and view the form. Review your responses to check that all questions are answered, then click the icon to save your completed form. You should now be able to submit your request. If you continue to have trouble, submit a ticket to iLab Support by clicking the “Help” link in the upper-right corner of the site.
  • You did not select an account under Payment Information, or you do not have permission to spend on a fund. Make sure you have selected an account to pay for your request; if you do not have permission to spend on an account, then request this from your PI, advisor or department financial manager.

As a member of a group, you are permitted to agree to requests where the projected cost does not exceed a spending limit set by the PI or department financial manager. If the projected cost is greater than your spending limit, then after you agree to a request’s cost the workflow will route to capture the approval of either the PI or department financial manager. Once their approval is noted in the request, both you and the core facility will be notified that the work may start. Follow up with your PI or department financial manager if a request has not been approved.

If a charge on an invoice seems incorrect, dispute the charge directly on the invoice ASAP. You only have three business days to make any changes to the charge before it is processed in ASU’s Financial System. Here are the steps:

  1. Open the invoice in iLab via the link provided at the bottom of the notification email or find it on the Invoices page in iLab.
  2. For each charge in dispute, hover your mouse over the total cost to reveal a yellow flag, then click on it.
  3. After clicking this flag, a popup window will appear. Select the reason for your dispute and provide a detailed description in the dispute notes section. Click the Initiate Dispute icon.
  4. Your dispute(s) will be delivered to the facility’s finance office for review. They will follow up with the lab managers to verify how the charge should be modified and make any applicable changes directly on the invoice.

Whether your account is a grant or a special program, you must ensure any reservations or service requests occur prior to the account’s expiration date (aka the period of performance). Many core facilities generate invoices after the service month has closed, meaning the account may not be charged until after the account has expired, which is not problematic. The billing workflow is not tied to this expiration date and has a longer administrative window to close out any final expenses, so long as they occurred during the period of performance.

For issues related to: