ChemInvent family of databases is designed to address the needs of users who need to record, change and obtain various reports on chemical inventory. Presently, ChemInvent databases include ChemInvent, MSDSL and Mini-Ci databases. Below is a short comparison of the products.

ChemInvent is a custom database. It is part of the AinaCo, Inc. premium software line and includes one year free design support. ChemInvent features branched inventory, capable of recording multiple locations and custodians, unlimited additions and deletions to the inventory, reporting on locations, custodians, chemicals or combinations of all the above. Reporting is also available on a container basis, meaning every container with chemical can be tracked separately. ChemInvent uses barcode-driven transaction system, with data entry performed on a PDA equipped with barcode scanner. Barcodes are generated in ChemInvent using an included tool, and can be printed by the user to help reduce the cost. Barcode font is licensed with ChemInvent for unlimited use in the organization. Loans and transfers of chemicals between custodians are supported and can be handled on the PDA as well. For chemicals that require reporting to the authorities when their threshold quantities are exceeded, ChemInvent includes a live monitoring facility that will warn the user immediately if a chemical reaches a reportable quantity. ChemInvent includes waste management and recording system to aid in inventorying chemicals that are to be transferred to waste disposal facilities. The software affords inventories of compressed gases with a vast number of cylinder sizes and custom sizes as well, that may or may not use barcodes for tracking. ChemInvent can work together with MSDSL to keep track of MSDS for chemicals in the inventory, in which case a number of additional features becomes available.

ChemInvent is a transaction-based database in which records are always added to the database and never deleted. This lends ChemInvent to some advanced uses, such as tracking of chemical consumption, ordering frequency, requirement analyses and waste prediction. User's requirements for advanced use are discussed at the time of order and can be adjusted during the one-year development support period.

MSDSL is a MSDS tracking and identification database. It is designed to allow the user to build a reusable library of MSDS by scanning their own MSDS into PDF files. MSDSL then indexes the PDF files and records MSDS locations for future retrievals. Upon request, MSDSL extracts the required pages from the PDF library and presents them to the user, who can print them out or send to their contacts electronically. MSDSL can retrieve MSDS based on chemical name, CAS number, manufacturer or other information that the user deems necessary when building the library. When used with ChemInvent, MSDSL will link to the inventory and enable recording of the chemicals that have MSDS on file and that have been added to the location's paper MSDS files. When new MSDS are added to the library, MSDSL will automatically match them to the existing inventory and prompt the user to add paper MSDS to the location's record books.

We recommend using MSDSL if you have strict requirements to use MSDS that you receive from the chemicals manufacturer. If your requirements are relaxed, it will be more cost-efficient for you to use one of the MSDS services available on the Internet.

Mini-Ci is a retail database. It is the smaller brother of the ChemInvent created to address the needs of users who require basic chemical inventory at lower cost. Mini-Ci still offers most of the features of ChemInvent, such as intuitive user interface, truly transactional structure lending itself to advanced use, handling of simple chemicals as well as mixes, flexible units of measure, reporting of summarized quantities, changes to inventory and quantified mix inventory and others. We recommend Mini-Ci to the users on a budget or those who need a basic chemical inventory database and do not require advanced features available in ChemInvent. Additionally, in Mini-Ci we did not hide the internal structure of the database and users with advanced knowledge of MS Access can take this opportunity to create their own queries and other additions to the database.