Questions, answered

Yes. A Solo account is free for a rope access technician: invoices, quotes, the kit register, the ticket wallet, the logbook, finances and the job board, with no card and no trial clock. A company account is free too: posting a job costs nothing and Cowstail takes no cut of the rate.

There is an app for iPhone and for Android, and the same account works in your browser at app.cowstail.app. The apps add a push the moment a job matches you and scan your IRATA card from the camera. Get the app, or start in the browser and install later: it is one account either way.

About two minutes: your name, your email, your IRATA level and your day rate. Scan your IRATA card and the ticket wallet fills itself in. The first invoice takes about a minute after that.

UK rope access technicians, IRATA Level 1 to 3, self-employed or on a company's books, and the companies that hire them. It speaks the trade: LOLER, CIS, logbook hours, cowstails and descenders, not generic invoicing.

From companies that post on Cowstail, and from techs who share a job they saw in a trade group. A shared post is credited to the tech who shared it, never to the group, and the poster's contact only shows to signed-in technicians.

Every job says what it needs: IRATA level, tickets, where and when. Cowstail reads your ticket wallet and your distance and tells you in one line whether you fit. You apply with your wallet: the company sees your level and expiry dates, not a CV.

Yes, if you have the app and allow notifications. The moment a job is live that fits your level and distance, you get a push. Without the app, a morning email lists what came in overnight. You can switch alerts off in Settings.

Yes. Paste the post, or share it to Cowstail from your phone, and the app reads it into a job card. It goes live for you at once and for everyone once a human has checked it. You are credited on the card.

A snapshot of your wallet: your IRATA level and number, your tickets with their expiry dates, your base and how far you will travel, plus your answers to any questions the post asked. Nothing you did not put in your profile.

Yes. You send a clean PDF by email or share a link, and you see the moment it was opened. If the client is a company on Cowstail, the invoice lands on their Finances page and you see when it is approved and paid.

Yes. Mark each line as labour or materials and the CIS deduction applies to labour only, at 20% or 30%, and shows clearly on the invoice. The total deducted in the tax year is on your Money tab, ready for Self Assessment.

If you are VAT-registered, switch VAT on once in Settings and every invoice adds it. If you are not, it never appears.

Yes. A booking drafts the invoice for you: the days, the rate, the site and the company's own payment terms, PO and CIS status. You check it and send.

You add each piece of kit with its serial number and the date of its last thorough examination. Cowstail shows what is due in the next weeks and reminds you before a six-monthly examination lapses, so you are never caught out on site.

Yes. IRATA, CSCS, first aid, GWO, confined space and any other ticket live in the wallet with expiry reminders. Scan the card and the fields fill themselves in. You can share your passes with a client or supervisor by link.

Yes. Log the day, the hours, the kind of work and the supervisor as you go. Hours toward your next level and your revalidation date are counted for you, and the logbook exports when an assessor asks.

Yes. A free company account lets you post any kind of work, a few days, a contract or a permanent role, and reach technicians matched by IRATA level, tickets and distance. Applicants come with a verified wallet, not a CV. See for companies.

Nothing. Posting is free, hiring is free, and Cowstail takes no cut of the day rate. You agree the rate and the terms with the technician directly.

A company links its Companies House registration and confirms its email. Posts from a company that has not yet verified say so on the card, and a first post waits for a human check before it goes live.

Your data is yours. It is stored in the EU, encrypted in transit and at rest, backed up daily, and you can export it any time. Cowstail is registered with the ICO. See the Security page and the Privacy Policy.

Only when you tap scan, and only the photo you chose, to read the fields. You see what was read and confirm before anything is saved. You can always type instead.

Yes, from Settings, or by asking at delete account. Your data is removed within 30 days.