Puzzle
puzzle.io
What it is
Puzzle is AI-powered accounting software built around a general ledger and real-time financials. It supports cash and accrual accounting from the same underlying ledger. Puzzle Chat answers business questions in plain English, while Cowork can match invoices to payments and find subscriptions for review. AI agents can categorize transactions, reconcile accounts, and flag exceptions; users can review and edit these actions before financial statements are finalized. The listed integrations include Stripe, Ramp, Brex, Mercury, Gusto, Rippling, Deel, Meow, Causal, Runway, Bill.com, Central, MyRunwayHealth, and Joiin. Puzzle says integrations are read-only, data is encrypted using AES 256-bit encryption, and customers own their data. The company also states it is SOC 2 compliant, with role-based access, encryption in transit and at rest, and audit traceability for user activity and approvals. Puzzle is designed for startups and small and medium businesses, with services described as scaling from pre-seed to Series B. Customers can buy software alone or pair it with bookkeeping services. Starter costs $30 a month; there is no free plan, and a 14-day trial is listed.
Spec sheet
- What it does
- Puzzle is an AI-native accounting platform that maintains real-time financials and startup metrics from connected financial data.Read 21 Oct 2026 · help.puzzle.io
- Product
- Puzzle describes itself as AI-powered accounting software with a modern general ledger and real-time financials.Read 4 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- Integrations
- Supported connections include Stripe, Mercury, Brex, Ramp, Gusto, Rippling, Deel, Central, Bill.com, Plaid and Joiin.Read 21 Oct 2026 · help.puzzle.io
- Security
- Puzzle says its data is encrypted using AES 256-bit encryption and its data integrations are read-only.Read 4 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- Privacy
- Puzzle says customers own their data and that it does not share or sell their information with third parties.Read 4 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- Support
- The pricing page lists priority support on Complete and Scale, and dedicated onboarding and support on Scale.Read 4 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- Accounting views
- Puzzle supports cash and accrual accounting from the same underlying ledger.Read 4 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- AI Chat
- AI Chat answers questions about a company’s actual books in plain English, including cash and runway questions.Read 21 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- AI Close
- AI Close helps accounting firms run a structured month-end close while humans review the proposed work.Read 21 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- AI Cowork
- AI Cowork prepares routine work such as invoice matching, subscription discovery and missing-receipt follow-up for user approval.Read 21 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- AI workflows
- Puzzle Chat answers business questions in plain English, while Cowork handles tasks such as matching invoices to payments and finding subscriptions for user review.Read 4 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- API and MCP
- Customers can self-serve an MCP connection for Claude, ChatGPT and other compatible clients through app.puzzle.io/mcp.Read 21 Oct 2026 · help.puzzle.io
- Automation
- Puzzle says AI agents can categorize transactions, reconcile accounts, and flag exceptions, with actions reviewable and editable before financial statements are finalized.Read 4 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- Bank coverage
- Plaid connections provide access to thousands of US banks and cards, while native connections include Mercury, Brex, Ramp and Meow.Read 21 Oct 2026 · help.puzzle.io
- Cash and accrual accounting
- Puzzle produces cash and accrual views from the same books and supports automated revenue recognition, accruals and prepaids.Read 21 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- Close-time guarantee
- Puzzle offers a subscription-fee refund if eligible customers do not achieve at least a 50% reduction in month-end close time by their second close, subject to conditions.Read 21 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- Company facts
- LinkedIn lists Puzzle as privately held, remote-first, founded in 2019, with 51–200 employees.Read 21 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
- Company identity
- Puzzle’s privacy policy identifies the legal company as Puzzle Financial Inc.Read 21 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- Company leadership
- Puzzle identifies Sasha Orloff as cofounder and CEO and John Cwikla as cofounder and CTO.Read 4 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- Documentation and support
- The help center includes a page-by-page walkthrough covering inbox, dashboard, close checklist, accounting, transactions and integrations.Read 21 Oct 2026 · help.puzzle.io
- Financial reporting
- Puzzle provides auto-drafted financial statements, a general ledger, chart-of-accounts controls, period locking and downloadable reports.Read 21 Oct 2026 · help.puzzle.io
- Funding
- General Catalyst announced a $15 million Series A for Puzzle in February 2023 and said total funding then reached $20 million.Read 21 Oct 2026 · generalcatalyst.com
- Integration cadence
- Puzzle says partner integrations generally synchronize overnight once per day, with manual synchronization available for direct integrations.Read 21 Oct 2026 · help.puzzle.io
- Inventory limitation
- Puzzle’s FAQ says the product is optimized for software companies and may not yet support companies with inventory accounting needs well.Read 21 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- Licence
- Puzzle publishes no open-source licence and presents the product as hosted accounting software accessed through its web application.Read 21 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- Limit: accounting depth
- A Reddit user reported missing IRS depreciation schedules and difficulty deleting accounts or journal entries, describing the product as unsuitable for some power users.Read 21 Oct 2026 · reddit.com
- Limit: AI corrections
- Independent feedback reports that correcting an incorrect AI categorization can be difficult and that manual override workflows feel inflexible.Read 21 Oct 2026 · beancount.io
- Limit: product maturity
- Independent feedback describes occasional lag, missing basic fields such as transaction notes and a product that can still feel like a beta.Read 21 Oct 2026 · beancount.io
- Limit: Trustpilot complaint
- The sole Trustpilot reviewer alleged being charged $630 annually after seeing a $30 monthly Core price.Read 21 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
- Missing integrations
- Puzzle states that Shopify and ShipBob are not currently integrated and inventory adjustments require manual journal entries.Read 21 Oct 2026 · help.puzzle.io
- Notable limits
- The pricing page says Core is only available for businesses with up to $10K / mo in expenses when paired with accounting services, and Expert Reviewed is limited to one entity and one accounting basis.Read 4 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- Notable news: acquisition
- Accrual announced on September 2, 2026 that it had agreed to acquire Puzzle’s accounting-firm technology and business, including its ledger and month-end close products.Read 21 Oct 2026 · markets.financialcontent.com
- Notable news: launch history
- TechCrunch reported that Puzzle launched at the end of 2019, emerged from beta in February 2023 and then had 30 employees.Read 21 Oct 2026 · techcrunch.com
- Partner API
- Puzzle’s deeper partner API is restricted to platform and accounting partners and requires a use-case review.Read 21 Oct 2026 · help.puzzle.io
- Permissions limitation
- Puzzle’s FAQ says users can create roles but all users currently retain full administrator privileges while finer permissions are being developed.Read 21 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- Praise: automation
- Independent user-feedback analysis reports recurring praise for automated bookkeeping, real-time bank synchronization and reduced manual entry.Read 21 Oct 2026 · beancount.io
- Praise: ease of use
- An independent review analysis says users repeatedly praise Puzzle’s simplicity and clean interface, especially founders without accounting backgrounds.Read 21 Oct 2026 · beancount.io
- Praise: real-time insight
- Independent reviewers repeatedly highlight the consolidated dashboard for cash burn, runway and MRR as a practical benefit.Read 21 Oct 2026 · beancount.io
- Rating on Trustpilot
- 3.2 out of 5 from 1 reviewRead 21 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
- Read-only connections
- Puzzle says connected financial-data integrations are read-only and cannot change source-system data.Read 21 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- Security encryption
- Puzzle states that customer data is encrypted using AES-256 and stored on US servers.Read 21 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- Service option
- Customers can subscribe to the software alone or pair it with a vetted partner who handles monthly bookkeeping work.Read 4 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- SOC 2
- Puzzle reports achieving SOC 2 compliance using Google Cloud, Google Workspace and Vanta controls.Read 21 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- Tax scope
- Puzzle says it does not file taxes itself, although partner firms can prepare and file returns using Puzzle financials.Read 21 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- Transaction automation
- The Starter plan advertises automatic categorization for 85–90% of transactions without requiring users to write rules.Read 21 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
- Who it serves
- Puzzle says it is designed for startups and small and medium businesses, and its pricing page describes its services as scaling from pre-seed to Series B.Read 4 Oct 2026 · puzzle.io
Plans and prices
Strong points and limits
Strong points
- Supports cash and accrual accounting from one ledger.
- Users can review and edit AI actions.
- Listed integrations include Stripe, Gusto, and Mercury.
- Software can be paired with bookkeeping services.
Limits
- There is no free plan.
- Starter costs $30 a month.
- Expert Reviewed is limited to one entity and accounting basis.
- Core with accounting services is limited to businesses with up to $10K / mo in expenses.
Who it suits
Puzzle is designed for startups and small and medium businesses. Its combination of accounting software and optional bookkeeping services is described as serving businesses from pre-seed to Series B.
Verdict
Puzzle combines accounting workflows, AI-assisted categorization and reconciliation, and cash and accrual views. Starter is $30 a month, and users can choose software alone or add bookkeeping services.
Where Specifiction places it
- AI Accounting Software#10 of 328.5
- SaaS Accounting Software#9 of 258.5
- Accounting & Finance Software#13 of 268.4