Case study

How a 1779 pub company took the grind out of CIS, statements and expenses

W. H. Brakspear & Sons runs around 125 pubs from Henley-on-Thames. Its finance team now puts three of its most repetitive monthly processes through Orka AI & Automation — and, in their words, would not want to go back.

Book a 30-minute scoping call Read their words
The client

A proper multi-site finance function — not a tech startup

Brakspear has been brewing and running pubs since 1779. Today it is still family-owned and run, operating an estate of around 125 pubs — a mix of managed houses and tenanted and leased sites — from its base in Henley-on-Thames.

That kind of estate generates exactly the finance workload you would expect: a steady stream of supplier statements from drinks, food and services suppliers across many sites; a monthly CIS cycle covering the subcontractors who keep historic pub buildings maintained; and staff expenses and mileage from people whose job is to be out at the pubs, not at a desk.

None of it is glamorous. All of it is recurring, rule-based and time-consuming — which is precisely the work automation should take.

The challenge

Three monthly processes, one pattern

Each process followed the same shape: documents arrive by email, someone reads them, keys the data somewhere else, checks it against another system, and chases whatever's missing. Skilled people, spending hours on work that follows rules.

Supplier statements

Statements arriving in every format — PDFs, spreadsheets, scans — each needing line-by-line reconciliation against the purchase ledger, with missing statements to chase and differences to investigate.

CIS deductions

Subcontractor invoices to read, labour and materials to split, the right deduction rate to apply per subcontractor, statements to send, and HMRC return figures to compile — every tax month, without fail.

Expenses

Receipts and mileage claims from staff working across the estate — each needing coding, VAT treatment, policy checks and a payroll-ready summary at month end.

What we built

Three tools, configured to how Brakspear already works

Rolled out tool by tool from spring 2026. Each one reads documents from a dedicated inbox in Brakspear's own Microsoft 365 tenancy, applies the team's rules, and leaves people only the judgement calls.

Supplier statement reconciliation dashboard — statements received, approvals and differences

Supplier statement reconciliation

Suppliers email statements to a dedicated inbox. Every line is matched against the ledger, missing statements are chased automatically, and the team reviews genuine exceptions instead of whole statements — with an Excel workbook out every period.

How the tool works →

Real product — demonstration data.

CIS tool month summary — deductions per subcontractor, ready to send

CIS deduction statements

Subcontractor invoices are read on arrival, the right deduction applied per subcontractor — 20%, 30% or gross, labour only — and every Payment & Deduction Statement generated and emailed, with return figures ready for the CIS300.

How the tool works →

Real product — demonstration data.

Expenses approval queue — claims with amounts, categories and flags

Expense management

Staff snap a photo or forward a receipt. Claims arrive coded, VAT-checked and policy-checked — duplicates and missing receipts flagged, never processed silently — with a payroll-ready export at month end.

How the tool works →

Real product — demonstration data.

In their words

The results, from the people doing the work

No vendor metrics — just what Brakspear's finance team says about working with the tools every month.

“…this Supplier Statement Reconciliation tool has transformed one of the most time-consuming, high-risk processes within our finance function. It has become an indispensable part of our month-end control environment and I would not want to return to our previous manual process.”

Rebecca Martins De OliveiraFinancial Accountant · W. H. Brakspear & Sons Ltd

On time saved

“Routine reconciliations that previously took considerable manual effort can now be completed in seconds, while even our highest-volume suppliers can be reconciled in minutes rather than hours.”

On visibility & control

“Every stage of the reconciliation process is transparent — from requesting statements, monitoring supplier responses and identifying outstanding reconciliations through to investigating queries and recording final approval. Nothing slips through the cracks.”

On financial control

“…this is no longer simply an Accounts Payable productivity tool — it is a finance control solution that materially strengthens the integrity of the purchase ledger and the quality of financial reporting across the organisation.”

“He took the time to understand exactly what we needed and created a CIS tool that was tailored to the way our business works and our processes. What used to be a fairly manual, time-consuming process is now quick and simple. The tool works exactly as we hoped and has made a real difference by streamlining the whole process.”

Tom HancockTrainee Accountant · W. H. Brakspear & Sons Ltd

On the fit

“Working with Oli was a great experience. He took the time to understand exactly what we needed — tailored to the way our business works and our processes.”

On the support

“Oli was always quick to answer any questions we had, and if we wanted something tweaking, it was sorted without any hassle. The whole process was straightforward from start to finish.”

On the result

“We're really pleased with the finished tool and wouldn't hesitate to recommend Oli and the team to anyone looking for a bespoke solution.”

Your finance team has processes just like these

If documents arrive by email and someone spends hours reading, keying and chasing — that's the work we automate. A 30-minute conversation will tell you whether yours is a good fit.

Book a 30-minute scoping call