Accounting firms today face a difficult balance: increasing client demands, higher complexity, tighter deadlines, and rising expectations for faster reporting. At the same time, most “Accounting AI” products promise full automation or “self-driving bookkeeping” or “Autonomous bookkeeping” often at the expense of accuracy and professional control.
Puzzle built a different type of Accounting AI.
Instead of removing accountants, Puzzle’s AI helps firms eliminate manual drudgery, catch errors earlier, and deliver more accurate books in less time. Firms that adopt Puzzle aren’t chasing the latest technology trend, they’re gaining a tangible operational advantage that compounds month after month.
This article outlines the Accounting AI innovations Puzzle brought to market first, how firms use them, and why Puzzle’s approach to AI is centered on accuracy, control, and firm scalability — not automation for automation’s sake.
We test, validate and refine the best models for the job at hand, to bring you the best capabilities the market offers, all in a SOC2 secure, encrypted environment.
.png)
Accounting AI that reduces back-and-forth and manual categorization.
Puzzle was one of the first platforms to use LLMs (ChatGPT 3.5 → 4) to categorize transactions from simple natural-language messages between accountants and their clients. Clients could reply in plain English:
“This was our AWS hosting payment.”
The system categorized it instantly — no rules to maintain, no manual tagging.
How this helps firms:
This was Accounting AI used the right way — to support clear communication and remove friction.
.png)
Accounting AI that saves hours on reconciliations.
Accounting AI can not only read documents better, but can draft, assemble, review and identify anomalies better than historical OCR or machine learning.
Puzzle began matching transactions and balances automatically, reducing reconciliation time dramatically.
Outcomes for firms:
Firms consistently cite this as one of the biggest time savings in their month-end close.
.png)
Accounting AI that checks every transaction for accuracy — not just a sample.
Puzzle launched accuracy reviews that scan the full ledger for:
How firms use this Accounting AI:
This feature alone reduces review time by hours each month.
.png)
Accounting AI that learns vendor patterns with greater accuracy.
Puzzle quietly introduced vector-similarity categorization using Vertex AI to identify patterns across thousands of vendors and transaction descriptions.
This improves classification accuracy for edge cases and reduces the need for custom rules.
How firms benefit:
This matters because categorization quality impacts every downstream workflow.
.png)
Accounting AI that evaluates your financial health and identifies insights
This AI acts like a financial analyst, telling you financial health and insights in multiple ways. The good, bad and ugly, which we call “Steve Jobs” style (formerly Elon Musk style), a blend of good and bad, which we call “like a friendly investor” style, and just the good stuff, which we call “don’t hurt my feelings” style.
Firm impact:
Accounting AI doesn’t replace judgment. It ensures nothing gets overlooked.
.png)
Accounting AI that checks financial statements line-by-line.
This AI reviews books using GAAP-aligned logic to identify misstatements or unusual trends.
Firm impact:
Accounting AI doesn’t replace judgment — it ensures nothing gets overlooked.
Accounting AI that drafts accruals, prepaids, depreciation, and revenue recognition entries.
Models: ChatGPT 5, Claude (testing)
Puzzle is already well known for automating accruals native in software, a breakthrough first developed by Puzzle through a mix of software and design.
Benefits for firms:
This is Accounting AI that supports better accounting, not shortcuts.
Puzzle’s automation reduces categorization and reconciliation workloads so firms can grow without proportional hiring.
Review-only workflows replace manual matching, checking, and spreadsheet-heavy processes.
AI Accuracy Reviews and accrual drafting catch issues before they become problems.
Accountants spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time on client-facing work.
Tech-forward firms using Puzzle deliver faster reporting and cleaner books — a major advantage in today’s market.
Accounting that is drafted by software and AI, and reviewed and improved by accountants. No self driving accounting AI or changes made autonomously behind your back.
Our public pledge:
https://puzzle.io/blog/our-commitment-to-accounting-firms
Puzzle is built on a modern ledger designed for real-time checks and error detection. We constantly test the best models on the market, so you don’t have to.
No hidden automation, no “books changed overnight.”
Features were co-developed with firms like Trivium, Burkland, and Decimal.
Puzzle helps firms:
This is Accounting AI with measurable business impact, not marketing claims.
The future of accounting isn’t AI that replaces accountants, it’s AI that empowers them to deliver better service at scale.
Puzzle gives firms:
That’s why more firms are adopting Puzzle as their Accounting AI platform — and why the most forward-thinking teams see it as their competitive advantage for the next decade.
Want to learn more? Become an accounting firm partner here.
