A London start-up building AI software that automates bookkeeping and accounting work for accountants.
Briefcase is building artificial intelligence (AI) software for accountants. Much of an accountant's early-career work is repetitive: reading receipts and invoices, typing the figures in, deciding which category each payment belongs in, and closing the books at the end of each month. Briefcase aims to automate that, so accountants can spend time advising clients instead. Its tagline is “Let robots do the boring stuff”.
Tech.eu describes it as a London-based company, led by co-founder and CEO Reuben Steenkamp and co-founder Jan Stehlik. Press says Steenkamp was previously in the CFO office at Starling Bank, and Stehlik had built AI systems at the fintech Nous. Coverage from late 2024 said it was pre-launch, had piloted with several UK accounting firms and was running a beta for selected customers; a 2025 report described it the same way. A company directory lists 1 to 20 employees, and Briefcase said it planned to hire engineers and product specialists. We did not find a founding date.
Its mission, as we read it, is to transform the accounting profession by automating laborious tasks so professionals can focus on strategic advice. Steenkamp has said, “We want to use the most powerful AI technology out there and apply it to work accounting firms are already doing”, and “We want to own bookkeeping, starting with data entry.” He has also said “Accountants don't want a chatbot”, and the company describes its approach as mimicking how humans work, as a proactive “autopilot” rather than a chat assistant.
The software reads receipts and invoices, categorises them using models trained on each client's own accounting history, and uses HMRC rules to choose the right VAT rate. It flags anything it is not confident about, such as a supplier with little history, for a human to check, and it keeps an audit log to spot discrepancies. The aim reported is for about 90% of transactions to post automatically. It connects with Xero, QuickBooks Online and Sage, the accounting packages many UK firms already use, and the next planned step is a bookkeeping plus month-end service.
This is a very small startup, so expect wide responsibility and quick change. Its Notion careers page lists onsite London roles, but we could not read it and the roles we saw were for experienced hires. We found no graduate scheme, apprenticeship or internship, so anyone early in their career should contact the company directly and be ready to show curiosity about both accounting and technology.
Website: briefcase-ai.notion.site/Briefcase-Careers-151b0fc9f1cb8017ae5de809c8afc53e
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