A statement you take on trust
At the end of the month the pub company's statement arrives, or appears on their portal. Beer deliveries, a couple of credits for ullage, rent, a charge for something called a service fee, a machine income line, an insurance recharge. It is several pages. You know roughly what you spent, but checking each delivery against the dray notes would mean finding every note from a month of busy mornings.
Every so often something looks wrong. A delivery you are sure was short is charged in full. A credit you were promised for a bad cask is not there. You email your business development manager, who asks for the delivery date and note number, which you cannot find.
Why tied statements are hard to check
The tie means most of your drink purchases come through one account, which sounds simpler than dealing with many suppliers. In practice it puts deliveries, credits and non-drink charges on one statement, often in the pub company's own product codes and at prices that change on their price list.
Your own records are thin. Dray notes are signed at the door and pushed into a drawer. Short deliveries and damaged containers are noted, maybe, on the driver's handheld. Credits are agreed by phone. So when the statement arrives, you are comparing a detailed document against a memory.
What goes unchecked on the tie
| Item | Why it slips through |
|---|---|
| Short or wrong deliveries | Dray notes not recorded against the order |
| Ullage and quality credits | Agreed by phone, never tracked to the statement |
| Price list changes | Not compared to what you were charged |
| Non-drink charges | Recharges and fees mixed in with beer |
| Duplicate lines | Hard to spot across several pages |
None of this assumes the pub company is getting things wrong. It is that without your own record, you cannot tell, and small differences accumulate over a year of statements. Your agreement and your adviser decide what you are entitled to. The record just makes the conversation possible.
Your own record of the tie
- Each tied order is logged when you place it, whether through the pub company's ordering portal or by phone, with the products and quantities.
- When the dray arrives, deliveries are checked on a phone against the order: tick what came, note shorts, damaged containers and substitutions, and take a photo of the signed note.
- Ullage and quality claims are logged with the container, date and who you spoke to, so each expected credit has a reference.
- When the statement arrives, it is read from the portal download or the PDF, and each line is matched to your deliveries, claims and the price list you were given.
- A short exception list shows anything that does not tie up: a charged delivery with no matching record, a missing credit, a price that differs from the list, or a charge you did not expect.
- Each exception has the evidence attached, ready to send to your business development manager.
What we build is a record and a comparison. Whether a charge is correct under your lease or agreement is a matter for you, your pub company and your adviser.
Month end with your own record
The statement arrives and within an hour you have a list of three exceptions: an ullage credit agreed three weeks ago that is not on it, a delivery charged for two kegs where one came, and a price on a cider that is different from the latest list. You send them with photos and dates. The rest of the statement ties up, which is also worth knowing.
- Every tied delivery recorded against its order
- Claims and promised credits tracked to the statement
- Exceptions listed with evidence
- Month end checked in an hour instead of taken on trust
Is this how your statements are checked?
- You rarely check the pub company statement line by line.
- Dray notes end up in a drawer or the bin.
- Credits agreed on the phone sometimes never appear.
- You are not sure which charges on the statement are for what.
- When you query something, you cannot find the evidence.