Probatus vs IndySoft
Both keep calibration records, but they were built for different jobs. This page sets out where IndySoft is the better choice, where Probatus is, and what to ask before deciding.
Last reviewed November 2026
The short answer
IndySoft is an established, configurable calibration management system used by in-house labs and by commercial labs, with an edition aimed at lab services. If you run a larger lab with shipping and receiving, many disciplines and workflows you want to tailor, it is the more complete product.
Probatus is narrower and simpler. It is built for a small service company whose technicians work on site: readings on a phone with no signal, approval, a certificate and an invoice, set up in an afternoon.
Side by side
The Probatus column describes the product as it is today. The IndySoft column is limited to what IndySoft and public software listings say about it. Where we are not sure, it says what to ask.
| Topic | Probatus | IndySoft |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Calibration service companies and field teams that calibrate instruments for customers, and backflow testers. | In-house calibration departments and commercial calibration labs, from small operations to large ones. |
| Where the work is recorded | On a phone or tablet at the instrument. Readings save on the device first and sync when there is a signal. | A desktop and browser application, with mobile tools for looking up certificates and for check-in, check-out, shipping and receiving. Ask how a full calibration is recorded on site without a connection. |
| Customers | Each instrument belongs to a customer. Customers sign in to a portal for their instruments, certificates and invoices, and can request service. | A commercial lab edition handles customer work. Ask what customers can see and do online. |
| Shipping and receiving | An optional feature: a log of instruments received and shipped, with carrier, tracking number, condition and days in the lab. No carrier labels or live tracking. | Included, for instruments sent in to a lab. |
| Decision rules and uncertainty | Simple, guarded and non-binary decision rules per job, uncertainty budgets per test point, and the reference standards on every certificate. | Ask how uncertainty and the decision rule are recorded and printed. |
| After the calibration | Supervisor approval, signed PDF certificate, work orders, invoices and QuickBooks Online. | Certificates, labels and audit trails. Ask about invoicing and accounting links. |
| Setting it up | Fixed workflows. Import instruments from Excel and start. | Highly configurable, which takes time to set up and learn. |
| Licensing | Cloud by default: a subscription per technician who records work in the month, with certificates, instruments and office users unlimited. It can also be run on your own servers, which you then install and update yourself; ask us about terms. | Per-user subscriptions and on-premise perpetual licences. Ask IndySoft for a quote. |
| Track record | A new product. | A long-established vendor, used by in-house and commercial labs. |
When IndySoft is the better choice
- Most of your work arrives by courier, and you need shipping tied into carriers, labels and tailored turnaround reporting.
- You want to configure screens, workflows and reports to match how your lab already runs.
- You need the software on your own servers with a vendor who installs and supports it there.
- You are a larger lab and want a vendor with a long list of comparable customers.
When Probatus is the better choice
- Your technicians calibrate at customer sites, often with no signal, and paper field sheets get typed up later.
- Every instrument belongs to a customer, and customers ask for their certificates and history online.
- You need as-found and as-left results, the reference standards used, the uncertainty and the decision rule on every certificate.
- You have no time for a configuration project and want to be issuing certificates the same week.
- You would rather pay per technician who did work that month than per named user.
Questions to ask either vendor
- Can a technician record a calibration with no connection, and what happens to it when the connection returns?
- What is on the certificate, and can we see one produced from our own data?
- How is a correction to a reading recorded, and can the original still be seen?
- How do our customers get their certificates?
- What does it cost for our number of technicians and office staff, in a busy month and a quiet one?
- How do we get our records out if we leave?
You can test the first three on Probatus without talking to anyone: the free certificate generator and as-found / as-left sheet use the same calculations as the product.
Other comparisons
- Probatus vs GAGEtrak: manufacturers managing their own gages, with gage R&R studies and tool crib tracking.
- Probatus vs Qualer: calibration and service providers and the asset owners they serve, including in regulated industries.
- Probatus vs Beamex CMX: process plants calibrating their own instrumentation, especially with Beamex documenting calibrators.
- Probatus vs GageList: manufacturers tracking their own gages in the cloud, with a free plan for a small number of gages.
- Probatus vs Calibration Control: organisations tracking their own equipment on Windows, who prefer a one-time licence.
- Probatus vs Fluke MET/TEAM: calibration labs, often electrical and RF, that automate procedures with Fluke MET/CAL.
Or see all of them on one page.
IndySoft is a trademark of its owner. Probatus is not affiliated with or endorsed by IndySoft. Product details change, so confirm anything that matters to your decision with the vendor.
Questions
- Is Probatus an IndySoft alternative for a commercial lab?
- For a small service company that mostly works at customer sites, yes. For a bench lab that receives instruments by courier and needs heavily tailored workflows, IndySoft covers more. Probatus has work orders, approvals, certificates, a customer portal and invoicing, and an optional receiving and shipping log without carrier integration.
- Can I move my records from IndySoft to Probatus?
- Probatus imports instruments and past calibration history from Excel or CSV files, up to 2,000 rows at a time. If you can export your equipment list and calibration records from your current system to a spreadsheet, they can be brought in. There is no direct IndySoft importer.
- Does Probatus make a lab ISO/IEC 17025 accredited?
- No software does. Accreditation is granted to a laboratory by an accreditation body. Probatus keeps the records an assessor asks to see: readings, the standards used, uncertainty, the decision rule, who did the work and who approved it.
Keep reading
Calibration management software compared
Calibration software falls into a few kinds, built for different organisations. This page sorts the well-known products by who they are for, with a closer comparison of each against Probatus.
Calibration software for small labs
A lab with a handful of technicians does not need an enterprise quality system. It needs readings captured once, certificates that are right the first time and records it can find at an audit.
Preparing calibration records for an ISO/IEC 17025 audit
An assessor picks a certificate and follows it backwards: to the readings, the reference standard, the person who did the work and the procedure they used. This guide covers what that trail has to contain and how to check yours before they do.
See it on one of your own jobs
Add a few instruments, calibrate one on your phone and download the certificate. No card is needed, and your current system can keep running alongside.