Balances have developed to the point that, in general, they provide accurate results in most lab environments, with the possible exception of ultra-micro balances.

Technological advances in electronics have considerably simplified the operation of balances, reducing weighing times. Moreover, the touchscreen digital display makes operation of the balance intuitive.

However, this apparent ease of use can lead to insufficient care being taken to avoid the negative influence on analysis results caused by multiple factors affecting weighing accuracy. External influences are defined as physical effects that are measurable for all laboratory balances. Examples of external influences include: