Overview
Genohub connects service providers with researchers interested in sequencing and library prep by
taking structured service entries from providers, creating optimized sequencing packages, and
displaying them to researchers who seek these services. By leveraging our database of instrument
specifications such as read length and number of reads per run, Genohub is able to present your
services to researchers who may not be familiar with NGS technology specifications and
facilitate the entire order process, from shopping to project management. To get started, sign
up, complete your facility profile, and begin listing your regular and one-time services. Once
you’ve completed these entries, you’ll be on your way to receiving and accepting orders from
researchers. When you receive project requests, manage them through Genohub’s project interface.
After your work is complete and you've sent your deliverables to the researcher, we’ll send you
payment for the total amount of your order minus our service fee. Each step of your interaction
with Genohub is described in detail in this guide. If you have any additional questions, just
contact us
Listing Your Services
Use the Service Listings page to add
your services to Genohub. You can currently list the following types of services:
- Next-generation sequencing (priced per-lane)
- Library preparation and gene panel service (priced per sample)
- Combination of library preparation and sequencing (priced per sample)
- Bioinformatics (flexible pricing)
- Genotyping (flexible pricing)
- Nucleic acid extraction (flexible pricing)
Click the + Add New Service button to open the Add Service form, which will
guide you through listing your services.
For each service some or all of the following fields may be required:
Pricing model:
The pricing model determines the meaning of the unit in the unit price
field. Options are:
- Per-sample
- Per-lane*
- Per-hour
- Flat price
- Other
* Please note the following platform-dependent definitions of
per-lane :
- For the NextSeq and Roche
454 platforms interpret per-lane as per one flow cell.
- For the IonTorrent platform interpret per-lane as per one
chip.
- For all other platform interpret per-lane as per one lane.
Unit Price:
This is the price that the client is charged. When entering prices for your services ensure that
they are inclusive of all taxes and fees. Genohub will send payment to you from Austin, Texas
(USA). In most cases this eliminates your need to charge tax, however you are responsible for
determining your own tax liability.
Please include any associated sample QC costs for any service listing involving library
preparation. If you must keep the QC costs separate, explicitly state in the Description box
that sample QC costs are not included.
Minimum and maximum number of units:
Use these fields to define the range of units that this price applies to. You can leave the
maximum field blank if you only have a single pricing tier.
The minimums and maximums for NGS service are enforced by our matching engine. For example if
you’ve listed a service with 10 samples as the minimum number of units, that listing won’t be
displayed to a customer who is running a search for 8 samples.
Where it makes sense you can enter an amount smaller than 1 for the minimum number of units. For
example enter 0.25 for a quarter of a lane of sequencing.
Typical turnaround time:
This is the estimated number of calendar days this service typically takes to be completed.
When customers use our Matching Engine to get auto-generated estimates this value
will be displayed as the Estimated TAT.
You will have the opportunity to revise both the estimated and
guaranteed TAT on a per-quote basis when confirming the quote. See the
Turnaround Time section
for more details.
How do I list my sequencing services?
There are two ways to list your sequencing services: per-lane (sequencing-only)
or per-sample (includes both sequencing and library prep). We recommend that
you list both, and also separately list your library prep services.
To do this, click on the Add Service button the
Service Listings
page and select the corresponding category from the category dropdown.
Please note the following platform-dependent definitions of
per-lane :
- For the NextSeq and Roche
454 platforms interpret per-lane as per one flow cell.
- For the IonTorrent platform interpret per-lane as per one
chip.
- For all other platform interpret per-lane as per one lane.
See this section for a detailed description of each field on
the service listing page.
For some background, here's a rough overview of how our NGS matching engine works:
When a client has pre-constructed libraries and is only looking for a sequencing service, our
matching engine only returns matching sequencing services with per-lane pricing. Our algorithm
uses our database of instrument specs to calculate how much capacity (i.e. how
many lanes) is needed to meet customer's requirements.
When a client needs both library preparation and sequencing our matching engine returns two
types of results:
- Results that are put together by automatically combining your per-lane sequencing listings
with your matching library prep services. In this case the prices and estimated turnaround
times are simply added together to calculated the total price and turnaround time.
- Results that directly use your combination library prep and sequencing packages.
When a client only needs library preparation, our matching engine matches both your library
prep
How do I specify tiered pricing?
For tiered pricing list identical entries with different prices and different minimum and maximum
number of units. For example for a given library preparation service you can have two
listings:
$200 per sample for 1 to 20 samples (min = 1, max = 20)
$180 per sample for 21 samples and higher (min = 21, max = blank)
How do lane fractions work?
Allowing lane fractions will make your prices more competitive for clients who don’t really need
full lanes.
If you allow lane sharing, for per-lane sequencing services you can enter a value smaller than 1
for the minimum number of units. For example you can enter 0.25 as the minimum number of units,
and $1000 as the unit price. In this case our matching engine will match your sequencing
services in quarter lane increments, e.g. a quarter of a lane at $250, half a lane at $500,
etc.
Turnaround Time (TAT)
Turnaround time (TAT) is defined as the number of calendar days from when the service order
starts to when the results are delivered. A project may have one or more service orders, each on
a different timeline and a separate TAT. For every service order, we ask that you specify two
kinds of TAT: Estimated TAT and
Guaranteed TAT.
Estimated TAT (or Typical TAT) is your best-guess estimate of how long the
service order will take. For every service that you list on Genohub, we ask you to indicate a
Typical turnaround time. This number will be used to pre-populate the Estimated
TAT in quotes. For example, if a quote includes a sequencing service with a typical TAT of 20
days and a library prep service with a typical TAT of 10 days, the Estimated TAT for the
combined service order will be pre-populated to 30 days. You will have the opportunity to revise
this when you confirm the quote.
Guaranteed TAT is a number that you are required to separately specify for each
confirmed quote, and is strictly enforced by Genohub. This represents the maximum time the
service order should take. Please see the Turnaround
Time Policy section of Genohub Project Policies for more details. You don't have to worry
about entering a Guaranteed TAT when listing your services.
Managing Projects and Service Orders
A Project on Genohub is a container for quotes, service orders, messages, files,
etc related to a broader project request by a client. Each project can now have one or more
Service Orders. A service order represents a distinct part of the project
(typically with its own specific quote or purchase order) and has its own status, timeline, and
deliverables.
Both clients and providers can initiate projects on Genohub.
Client-Initiated Genohub Projects
As a provider using Genohub, you may receive project requests from researchers. All
client-initiated projects on Genohub are subject to
Genohub Project Policies. The typical project
lifecycle involves the following
steps:
- Researcher finds a matching service package on Genohub. A quote is auto-generated for
the project based on your service listings.
- Researcher starts a project and sends you a request for confirming the auto-generated
quote. At this stage you get an automatic e-mail
notification letting you know that there is a new project awaiting your response.
- You can either confirm the auto-generated quote or revise it based on the client's specific
needs.
- The client accepts the confirmed quote. This creates a confirmed Service
Order.
- Genohub sends you a Purchase Order for the Service Order, and work can begin (e.g., the
client can send you samples).
- You and the client use the project page to communicate. You will update the status of each
Service Order independently. The available statuses are: On Hold,
Confirmed, Started, Paused, Results Delivered, and Complete.
- Once you have completed the work for a service order, you upload the results/data and set
the service order status to Results Delivered.
- The client has up to 20 days to review the results and raise issues. Absent any issues, we
mark the service order as Complete.
- You will be paid no later than 30 days after the service order status is set to
Complete.
Provider-Initiated Genohub Projects
Provider initiated projects (PIP) are projects that you start for a client. PIPs
are
typically
started under the following scenarios:
- You would like to use our project management and quotation tools for free with your own
clients or
internally at your own institution.
- A client finds your service on Genohub and contacts you directly about starting a
project.
- You would like start a project involving a service that you haven’t actually listed on
Genohub.
Depending on your preference and the type of client, a provider-initiated project can either
be
Genohub-managed or provider-managed.
Provider-Managed Projects
With Provider-Managed projects, you can use Genohub’s project management and quotation tools
free of charge with clients internal or external to your organization that you already have
a
prior relationship with. Genohub does not charge you or the client service fees for these
projects. However, unlike Genohub-Managed projects you will be responsible for all
invoicing,
billing, and administrative support. Genohub will only provide customer support for technical
issues related to our website.
The only clients you may not start a provider-managed project with are the ones who first
found
your services through Genohub within the past year.
Genohub-Managed Projects
With Genohub-managed projects, just like regular client-initiated projects, Genohub acts as
the
payment intermediary and handles all invoicing and billing. Genohub will also offer
administrative and technical support to the extent possible.
All Genohub-managed projects are subject to Policies
for
Genohub-Managed Projects.
Starting a Provider-Initiated Project
To begin a project for a client, click on the “Start New Project” button in your Projects Page. Enter the client
information
and select whether it’s going to be a Genohub-Managed or a Provider-Managed project.
Create a quote by clicking the “Edit Quote” button. Your quote can include any service you’d
like (e.g. sample preparation, microarray, data analysis, microscopy, etc.) and doesn’t
necessarily have to relate to sequencing.
Once you’re done creating the quote, click “Confirm and Submit Quote”. Your confirmation
will
result in an email notification, giving the client access to the quote. If the client has
never
used Genohub in the past, an account will be instantly created and login information sent to
the
client. If you’re not ready to submit the quote, simply save it and come back to it later
via
your Project Dashboard.
Quotes sent to clients will require their confirmation before the project can begin. For
provider-managed projects, once the client confirms the quote, you can begin your own
billing
and invoicing process. At any point in time you may communicate with the client through the
messaging interface on the project page, and attach files related to the project. Changing
the
status of all service orders to ‘Complete’ will move the project from your active project queue
into
Closed Projects.
Project Management Features
Your project dashboard is now organized into tabs to help you find what you need faster:
- In Sales: Open projects with no confirmed service orders yet.
- Ongoing: Open projects with at least one active service order.
- Active Service Orders: A list of all individual service orders across all
projects that are not yet completed. This is your master to-do list.
- Complete: Projects where all of their service orders are marked as
complete.
Each Service Order has an optional Internal ID field that is
only visible to your team. You can use this to store your internal LIMS or order number to make
tracking easier.
At any time throughout the project:
- Provider can create and submit revised quotes.
- Client can accept proposed quotes. The amount specified in the most recent accepted
quote is what gets billed to the client.
- Provider, client, and Genohub staff can post messages to the project so everyone is on
the same page.
- Both provider and client can upload project-related files.
Payments for Genohub-Managed Projects
Genohub acts as the payment intermediary for all Genohub-Managed projects. This means that
regardless of what
organization or geographical location the client is from, you receive a Genohub Purchase
Order at the beginning of each service order and Genohub pays you on time after the service
order is
complete. Once a quote is confirmed by you and accepted by the client, we make the
necessary payment arrangements with the client and send you a Purchase Order. We will issue you
a payment as specified in the Purchase Order
no later than 30 days after the service order status is set to Complete.
Direct Projects (i.e. Offline Projects Outside of Genohub)
In some cases clients who have found your services on Genohub may contact you directly about
starting a project. In such cases we strongly encourage you to start a Genohub project for the client, but it's
also acceptable to continue working with the client offline and report a direct project to
Genohub. Both direct and Genohub projects count toward your total Genohub project count
which will in turn help your default Genohub search rankings. You can view both your direct
and Genohub projects on the Projects
Page.
Services Fees on Direct Projects
Once a client finds you through Genohub, any projects you undertake with them, whether or not
through our website, are subject to a service fee. This is true even if either you or the
client take the communication offline and work directly with each other. This applies to the
original individual starting the project on Genohub, all their collaborators, and anyone in
their institution they refer you to.
More specifically, a Genohub service fee as specified in your Pricing Agreement will apply
to those direct projects that were completed within ten years of client's first interaction.
The date of the first interaction for each client is displayed to you on the Introductions Page. If you already had a
working relationship with the client prior to their Genohub interactions please indicate
that in the project description and we'll waive the service fee.
We normally follow up with Genohub clients on their projects, but it is the provider's
responsibility to report any direct projects that would be subject to a Genohub service fee.
Please report any such direct project as soon as possible and no later 14 days
after the completion of the project.
Failure to report a direct project with a Genohub client is a violation of our
policy and may result in termination of your Genohub account. Termination of your
account does not affect your liability for the service fees described above.
How to Report a Direct Project
To report a direct project, either email us at
support@genohub.com, or look up the client by their
last name on the Introductions Page and click
the
Report Direct Project button.