After leading airCFO for a decade, Justin McLoughlin founded Anchor to revolutionize startup accounting. By building the firm around Puzzle's modern ledger, Anchor delivers real-time insights, automated workflows, and strategic guidance to startups. Their approach demonstrates how modern accounting technology can transform service delivery.
After a decade leading airCFO, Justin McLoughlin recognized a turning point in the evolution of startup accounting. He set out to build a firm from the ground up to run on the power of real-time data and automation, treating them not as added features, but as core principles. This vision led to the creation of Anchor, a new accounting firm dedicated exclusively to serving startups, and powered by the purpose-built Puzzle ledger. For Justin, the goal wasn't to keep pace with change, but to define the future of startup finance.
TLDR:
The pain points of traditional accounting software were clear:
Justin saw the immense potential of Puzzle to reshape startup accounting. To fully realize this potential, he chose to build Anchor as a "future-first" firm built around Puzzle from the ground up:
"Puzzle's modern, real-time accounting software aligns perfectly with the needs of tech startups," explains Justin. "Its native integrations and automation capabilities allow us to provide our clients with accurate, up-to-date financial information, so they can make informed decisions swiftly."
While Anchor is in its early stages, the benefits of this approach are already coming into focus:
| Area | Legacy Approach | Anchor + Puzzle |
|---|---|---|
| Reconciliation | Manual, time-consuming workflows | Automated via native integrations (Stripe, Mercury, Ramp, Brex) |
| Financial Insights | Month-end reports, weeks late | Real-time burn, runway, and margin data, updated daily |
| Tool Integration | CSV exports, manual imports | Native sync with Gusto, Rippling, Ramp, Brex, Stripe, Mercury |
| Team Focus | Repetitive data entry and categorization | Strategic advisory and proactive guidance |
| Client Experience | Reactive reporting, compliance-only | Growth partnership with just-in-time insights |
"The automation has been a real shift," says Justin. "Puzzle cuts the time spent on repetitive tasks, letting us focus on helping startups grow instead of just keeping their books in order."
Anchor's vision goes beyond modernizing workflows. By building on Puzzle, they're reimagining what an accounting firm can be:
"Puzzle gives us the ability to deliver a more personalized and responsive experience for our clients," Justin notes. "By using real-time data and AI-native accounting software, we're able to act as true partners in their growth journey, not simply service providers. That level of support is something legacy systems just don't allow."
When Anchor launched, building a firm entirely around a real-time, AI-native ledger was a contrarian move. In September 2026, it looks prescient. Agentic AI (systems that handle narrow, rules-based accounting tasks with minimal human input) has moved from experiment to standard practice at forward-thinking firms. Forward-thinking firms are already seeing this shift firsthand: accountants who remain will spend less time on historical reporting and more time on strategy, scenario modeling, and advising founders on where to invest. The accounting agent software for startups talent pipeline keeps shrinking while transaction volumes keep climbing; the math only works with deep automation. Anchor's architecture was built for exactly that equation.
The market data backs up what Anchor built toward. A 2026 Capterra survey found that 53% of accountants now use AI in their primary accounting software, up from a fraction of that just two years ago. Gartner projects that by 2028, roughly 33% of all enterprise software will include agentic AI capabilities, compared to less than 1% in 2024. And according to Kognitos, organizations that have deployed advanced agentic AI systems report 55% higher output per hour on average. The window between early mover and table stakes is narrowing fast. Firms like Anchor that built their infrastructure on real-time, AI-native architecture before the mainstream shift aren't scrambling to retrofit: they're already operating at the standard the rest of the industry is racing toward.
For firms facing similar decisions about modernization, Justin's advice is clear: "Take the leap. Puzzle is built for where accounting is headed, especially for firms working with startups. It adapts to your needs, simplifies workflows, and allows you to deliver value that legacy platforms just can't compete with."
The partnership between Anchor and Puzzle represents more than a technology choice: it's a bet on where accounting is headed. As startups increasingly demand real-time insights and strategic guidance, firms that adopt modern platforms will be best positioned to serve them.
Forward-thinking firms like Anchor use AI-native platforms to automate the two tasks that eat most of a bookkeeper's week: transaction categorization and bank reconciliation. Instead of a staff accountant manually coding hundreds of transactions, Puzzle's AI categorizes them automatically, learning from prior patterns and syncing directly from connected accounts (Stripe, Mercury, Ramp, Brex). The result is less time on data entry and more time on analysis. Anchor was built to operate exactly this way: every workflow assumes automation handles the repetitive layer so the team can focus on advisory work.
Puzzle integrates natively with the tools in your stack so transactions flow in automatically: no CSV exports or manual reconciliation bridging the gaps. For a deeper look at how one of those connections works, see how Gusto payroll automation plugs directly into accounting software. This is a core reason Anchor chose Puzzle: startups get a connected financial stack from day one.
Puzzle was built for venture-backed and accelerator-backed startups: the kind of companies that move fast, raise capital, and need real-time burn and runway data, not a monthly snapshot. Anchor, which runs on Puzzle, works exclusively with startups at every stage, from pre-seed through growth. If you're YC-backed or coming out of an accelerator, the combination of Puzzle's ledger and a Puzzle-powered firm like Anchor is built for your exact financial stack and reporting cadence. See how Puzzle supports Y Combinator startup accounting in detail.
AI handles the volume work accurately (automated categorization, bank feed reconciliation, payroll entries) but it doesn't replace the judgment a skilled accountant brings to edge cases, revenue recognition decisions, or fundraising prep. Anchor's model reflects this directly: Puzzle's AI takes on the repetitive layer so the human team can focus on the work that actually requires accounting expertise. For a 10-person startup, the right answer isn't AI or a bookkeeper: it's a firm that uses AI to do both jobs well without charging you for the hours the software handles.
The bar at Series A is different from earlier stages: investors want GAAP-compliant financials, clean revenue recognition, a clear audit trail, and the ability to answer diligence questions quickly. Legacy tools like QuickBooks can technically produce the reports, but the manual work behind them (CSV imports, end-of-month reconciliation sprints, inconsistent categorization) introduces the kind of errors that slow down or derail a raise. Puzzle was built for exactly this moment. Because transactions flow in natively from your fintech stack (Stripe, Mercury, Ramp, Brex, Gusto, Rippling) and are categorized automatically, your books are current and balanced before the diligence request arrives, not reconstructed from scratch when it does. Firms like Anchor, which run entirely on Puzzle, work with startups through Series A precisely because the real-time ledger produces the investor-ready output investors expect: accurate P&L, real-time burn and runway, and a clean cash vs. accrual close, without the emergency catch-up work that hits founders on legacy software right before a term sheet.
Earlier than most founders expect. Even before you have revenue or outside funding, you're incurring expenses, making decisions about burn, and laying the groundwork for the financial records investors will review closely at your seed round. Starting with a real-time platform like Puzzle (and a firm like Anchor built around it) means your books are clean and current from day one, not reconstructed retroactively when a term sheet arrives. The cost of catching up is almost always higher than the cost of starting right. Anchor works with startups at pre-seed through growth precisely because the foundation you build early determines how fast you can move later.
Because Puzzle pulls transactions directly from your connected accounts (Stripe, Mercury, Ramp, Brex, Gusto, Rippling) and categorizes them automatically, your P&L updates continuously: no waiting for a monthly close or a data-entry sprint from your bookkeeper. You can slice that data company-wide, by cost center, or by revenue stream at any point in the month. Firms like Anchor use this layer to give founders a live read on burn, margins, and runway without scheduling a call. If you're managing multiple locations or project types, Puzzle's real-time ledger means you're not flying blind between reports: you're looking at numbers that are current today.
With a traditional bookkeeper, your P&L is a historical document: you see last month's results two or three weeks into the current month. By then, a spending problem has compounded, a revenue dip has deepened, and the window to act has narrowed. Puzzle updates your financials continuously as transactions flow in from connected accounts (Stripe, Mercury, Ramp, Brex, Gusto, Rippling), so you can see real-time burn, runway, and margins today, not 30 days ago. Anchor's team uses that real-time layer to flag issues and advise proactively, instead of delivering a report and waiting for you to ask questions. It's the difference between a rearview mirror and a dashboard.
Learn more about Anchor's modern approach to startup accounting at dropanchor.io
