We wanted to share 15 of the new features we have and will be shipping to make bookkeeping more accurate, faster, and hopefully more enjoyable on Puzzle. If you would like to see a sneak peak of any of these, let us know.
We wanted to share 15 of the features we've shipped to make bookkeeping more accurate, faster, and hopefully more enjoyable on Puzzle. If you would like to see a sneak peek of any of these, let us know.
TLDR:
Status: Live
Hit Cmd+K to get to where you need to go faster, without lifting your hands off the keyboard. We're continuing to add more and more shortcuts to help you get your work done more efficiently.
Puzzle's Command + K Menu
Status: Live
Status: Continuously improving
Improved Transactions Panel
Status: Live
In addition to the Command+K shortcut, a refreshed navigation structure lets you access the most common accounting workflows directly from the left sidebar (Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Reconciliations, Locked Periods, and more) far more efficiently than before.
Bookkeeper focused navigation sidebar
Status: Live
Controllable automation settings let you pick which bookkeeping processes to automate and which to handle yourself, putting you in control of exactly how much the AI does.
Status: Live
Generate Stripe receivables account workpapers in Excel to verify your Stripe balance every month. We also added a smart notification to the Monthly Checklist if we detect an anomaly. See it on the reports page.
Status: Live
Added: Editable columns, filters, downloadable reports, and links to the original source (like Stripe or BILL), count and total, and quick button to add an invoice manually, including multiple line items and draft accrual schedules.
Status: Live
Add, edit, modify, and merge vendors, with improved 1099 tracking and document retention. Visit the Vendors Page to get started.
Status: Live
Apply cash beyond a simple 1:1 match: to a vendor balance, bill, invoice, or GL account, in full or partial amounts.
Status: Live
Edit, add, or manage your bills and invoices. Fix fields, add vendor or product context, or create line item accrual schedules.
| Report | Formats | Status | What's new |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial statements | CSV, Excel, PDF | Live | Improved formatting across all financial statement exports |
| Invoices report | CSV, Excel, PDF | Live | New dedicated invoices report in all formats |
| Stripe reconciliation report | CSV, Excel, PDF | Live | New Stripe reconciliation report in all formats |
| Bills report | CSV, Excel, PDF | Live | New dedicated bills report in all formats |
| Transactions report | CSV, Excel, PDF | Live | Full or individual transactions reports in all formats |
We've shipped improvements across our integrations with Rippling, BILL Invoices, multiple Stripe accounts, and Bitwave Crypto, with more integration updates continually in progress.
AI-native accounting has crossed from experiment to expectation. According to a 2026 Capterra survey, 53% of accounting teams are already using AI inside their accounting software, and 89% of adopters report positive ROI, with the top gains coming from productivity improvements, fewer errors, and faster closes. More telling: 46% of companies surveyed switched to a different software primarily for its AI features. A 2026 accountant technology survey found that 77% of accounting professionals agree the gap is widening between firms where AI is embedded daily and those that use it only occasionally.
The next wave is agentic AI: purpose-built agents that handle targeted finance tasks autonomously, from catching duplicate invoices to surfacing early payment discounts. Industry analysts now draw a hard line between legacy platforms that bolt on AI features and tools built AI-native from the start. The features we've shipped (controllable automation, real-time reconciliation, and AI agent workflows for the close) are exactly the capabilities that differentiation now turns on.
By shipping these capabilities now, Puzzle users are ahead of a shift that is still catching most teams flat-footed.
Xero and QuickBooks were built for general small-business bookkeeping; they've since added AI features on top of legacy architecture. For a SaaS startup, that matters because the workflows you need most (revenue recognition, deferred revenue, multi-account reconciliation, real-time burn and runway) were not the design center of either platform.
Puzzle was built AI-native from day one, purpose-built for tech startups: automated transaction categorization, dual cash and accrual books maintained simultaneously, Stripe reconciliation workpapers, and a Command+K interface designed for speed. If your stack includes Stripe, Mercury, Ramp, Brex, or Gusto, Puzzle connects to those natively, not through workarounds. At pre-seed through Series A, you need automation that just works at your stage, not an ERP built for problems you don't have yet, and not a general-purpose tool you have to configure into a SaaS context.
VC-backed startups typically need their accounting software to handle two things legacy tools handle poorly: (1) clean investor reporting (income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements that a board or lead investor can read without a cleanup pass), and (2) cap table journal entries (recording stock-based compensation (SBC) expense, option grants, and equity transactions accurately in the general ledger).
Puzzle maintains GAAP-compliant accrual books in real time, and if you're weighing cash vs. accrual accounting for your startup, both bases are maintained simultaneously. Financial statements are board-ready at any point in the month, not just after a manual close. For cap table activity, Puzzle integrates with equity management workflows and supports manual journal entries with full audit trail, so SBC expense and equity round entries are recorded accurately and are always tied back to source documentation. Founders and their investors see the same numbers, without a week of reconciliation before every board meeting.
The AI Close agent runs through your month-end checklist automatically, reviewing transactions, flagging anomalies, and completing categorization tasks that would otherwise require manual intervention. Each action the agent takes (categorizing a transaction, matching a payment, drafting a journal entry) draws from your AI credit balance. Credits are allocated by plan; you can track usage inside Puzzle and top up if you're running a high-volume close. Templates are available for common month-end close automation workflows (standard accrual close, Stripe reconciliation review, and payroll reconciliation) so you're not starting from scratch each month. The agent works through the checklist on a schedule, meaning your close can progress overnight without anyone logged in.
Puzzle's AI chat goes well beyond Q&A. It can take direct action on your books: splitting transactions, categorizing expenses, applying rules across a batch of similar transactions, and generating mini P&L snapshots scoped to a date range, vendor, or account. If you ask it to categorize all uncategorized Stripe payouts from last month or split a mixed-vendor charge, it executes and shows you exactly what it changed before committing. The scope is purpose-built for accounting workflows: it understands your chart of accounts, your existing categorization patterns, and your integration data (Stripe, Ramp, Brex, Gusto), so its suggestions are grounded in your actual books, not generic advice.
Migration from QuickBooks to Puzzle typically runs in three phases: (1) historical data import: Puzzle ingests your existing trial balance, chart of accounts, and open transactions so you're not starting with a blank ledger; (2) integration reconnection: you repoint your bank feeds, Stripe, payroll, and expense integrations to Puzzle; (3) parallel validation: running both systems side-by-side for one close cycle to confirm balances match before cutting over fully. If you're still comparing options, see our breakdown of QuickBooks alternatives for startups before committing. For accounting firms onboarding new clients, the cleanest timing is to start Puzzle at the beginning of a new billing month so there's no overlap period where the client is paying for two active bookkeeping tools. Puzzle's onboarding team supports the migration directly; email support@puzzle.io to coordinate the timing and get a migration checklist for your firm's workflow.
Three models exist, and the right one depends on how much accounting expertise you have in-house. Using Puzzle directly gives you full control: the software handles automation, you handle review and decisions. It's the right fit if you have a founder or operator who can own the books, or if you're working with a CPA who just needs a better tool. Through a vetted Puzzle accounting partner, you get a firm that knows Puzzle's workflows deeply: they run the close, handle the exceptions, and deliver board-ready financials, while you stay in the loop via Puzzle's real-time dashboard. Pilot and Zeni are fully managed services: they own the entire bookkeeping function and you see only the output. The trade-off is visibility; with a managed service, the books are a black box until reports land in your inbox. Puzzle's partner model keeps you in the same system your accountant uses, so you can see what's happening in real time instead of waiting for a monthly PDF.
We are focusing our roadmap based on your feedback. Email us at support@puzzle.io to let us know what to tackle next. We love suggestions as well as complaints.
