--- title: "Arborist Equipment Inspection Software | Papertrail" description: "LOLER records for climbing equipment, rigging and chainsaw equipment, aligned to BS 3998 and ready for your ArbAC assessment. Book a demo." canonical: https://www.papertrail.io/industries/arboriculture last_updated: 2026-10-21 --- # Kit inspections for arboriculture teams LOLER records for climbing equipment, rigging and chainsaws, vehicle checks and crew training records, in one system. Trusted by Branching Out Tree Services ## Equipment, vehicles and crew, each on its own schedule | Feature | Copy | | --- | --- | | Checklist Editor | Manufacturer-approved checklists for climbing equipment, rigging and chainsaw equipment, drawn from the 120+ brands in the [Papertrail Product Directory](https://www.papertrail.io/directory), including [PPE inspection records](https://www.papertrail.io/ppe-inspection-management) for harnesses and helmets. Build your own for tree work practices with the Checklist Editor on Expert and Enterprise. | | Schedule Manager | Training renewals, equipment inspections and vehicle checks each run on their own schedule, with their own checklist, certificate and list of who's authorised to sign it off. Nobody's chasing an expiry date in a spreadsheet. | | Certificates | LOLER certificates generated from the record itself, not retyped from a spreadsheet one serial number at a time. | | Vehicle checks | Walkaround checks and service dates for every vehicle, tracked alongside your climbing equipment and rigging. | ## Every LOLER certificate generated from the record 1. "Papertrail has completely changed how we manage our LOLER inspections. Before, we were manually inputting serial numbers and dates into Excel, which was a nightmare. Now, everything is streamlined and much easier to track." Kerrie, Office Manager, Branching Out Tree Services · Read the case study → 2. "At first, some of our team found it a bit overwhelming, but once they got used to it, they saw the benefits straight away. The automated reminders and easy access to records have made a huge difference in our daily operations." Kerrie, Office Manager, Branching Out Tree Services · Read the case study → 3. "One of the biggest advantages of Papertrail is having all our records in one place. Whether it's equipment maintenance, staff training, or vehicle service histories, we no longer have to jump between different systems, it's all right there when we need it." Kerrie, Office Manager, Branching Out Tree Services · Read the case study → | Category | Copy | Links to | | --- | --- | --- | | Equipment | Climbing equipment, rigging and chainsaw equipment, each with its own inspection history. | [Inspection management](https://www.papertrail.io/modules/inspection-management) | | Staff competency | Training records with automated renewal reminders. | [Staff competency](https://www.papertrail.io/modules/staff-competency) | | Fleet services | Vehicle walkaround checks, defects and service dates, on the same system as your climbing equipment and crew training. | [Fleet services](https://www.papertrail.io/modules/fleet-services) | ## Share your LOLER certificates with clients, contractors and every site you run - **Invite** Invite a client, a subcontracted inspection contractor, or another site into a PartnerHub partnership - **See** They see the live record in their own workspace, with its full inspection history, not a certificate emailed once and now out of date - **Withdraw** Withdraw access and the record disappears from their view immediately ## Built around the standards arboriculture teams answer to `LOLER` `BS 3998` LOLER covers the equipment: climbing equipment, rigging and lowering gear, examined and certified like any other lifting gear. BS 3998 covers the work itself, the British Standard for how tree work is planned and carried out. ArbAC is different again: an Arboricultural Association accreditation of the business as a whole, judged in part against that same BS 3998 standard. Papertrail keeps records for the equipment, the job and the business, each on its own schedule. ISO 27001 Certified · Capterra 4.7 · Software Advice · GetApp **Read about our security** → [/security](https://www.papertrail.io/security) ### Will my team actually adopt it? Yes, after a short adjustment period. An inspection is a scan, a checklist and a save, and the automated renewal reminders mean nobody chases an expiry date in a spreadsheet. ### How fast can we migrate from spreadsheets or another system? You bring your climbing equipment, rigging and vehicle records across with our Import Tool: upload a CSV, match your columns, then check and correct the data in a grid before anything is created. Papertrail builds new accounts from industry-specific templates, so an arboriculture account opens with the folder structure, inspection frequencies, equipment states and record blueprint it needs, not a blank account you configure yourself. Branching Out Tree Services made exactly this move, away from Excel spreadsheets and manual serial-number entry. ### Does Papertrail generate LOLER certificates automatically? Yes, on every plan. The report of thorough examination is filled in from the equipment's record and the completed checklist, with the particulars LOLER Regulation 10 and Schedule 1 require, and exported as a PDF with your company logo. You can produce one for a single item, for several items or for a whole folder. Each certificate is kept with the item's inspection history, so you can show it whenever an auditor or client asks. If you need your own layout, we can build a custom certificate template for your account, for a one-off charge based on how complex it is. ### What's the difference between ArbAC and LOLER? They are different kinds of mark on different things. ArbAC, the Arboricultural Association Approved Contractor scheme, accredits your business as a whole: worksite safety, the quality of your work judged against BS 3998, customer care and health and safety management. LOLER is the regulation covering how your lifting equipment, climbing equipment, rigging and lowering gear, must be thoroughly examined, and it applies to the equipment rather than the business. Papertrail keeps your LOLER thorough examination records and certificates; the ArbAC assessment is a separate audit of how the business runs day to day. ### What does BS 3998 cover? BS 3998 is the British Standard for tree work practices: pruning, felling and the other operations arborists carry out. It is not a standard for inspecting climbing equipment or rigging. Papertrail's checklists and records sit alongside it as evidence of how your equipment is maintained and examined; BS 3998 itself governs how the tree work is done, not the equipment doing it. ## Get your LOLER records off the spreadsheet No credit card required.