Why PitchGhost Switched From Quickbooks To Puzzle

Manual Accounting Workflows Drained Executive Bandwidth for Growth-Focused Initiatives

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When Marc Frankel founded the AI-powered social listening platform PitchGhost, he found himself caught in a common startup dilemma: balancing growth with crucial day-to-day operations. From managing customer relationships and upcoming integrations to headcount planning and company accounting, to say he wears many hats would be an understatement.

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While Marc had implemented a robust tech stack to help manage this workload, his accounting function remained a perpetual thorn in his side. PitchGhost already used modern finance tools (like Mercury and Stripe) to streamline banking and payments processing, but its accounting function still relied on spreadsheets and Notion databases.

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To keep his books accurate, Marc would spend 10-20 hours every month compiling data across PitchGhost’s databases, categorizing expenses, and upkeeping records. This process became increasingly taxing as transaction volume increased and demands for financial clarity grew. Beyond the substantial time investment, this manual workflow also fell short in delivering the financial clarity Marc needed to make ad-hoc growth decisions. 

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Marc knew that as PitchGhost continued to scale, his accounting software (and team) would also need to evolve. He knew that he would eventually need a professional CPA to manage this function for him. Plus, he was eager to find a software solution that was:

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• Accessible: Having worked with legacy accounting software (like QuickBooks) in previous roles, Marc knew he needed a solution that was much easier for him and his CPA to navigate.
• Automated: With expense categorization alone consuming many hours of his time, Marc sought a solution that would automate the most tedious elements of his accounting workflow.
• Interoperable: Marc didn't want to upend his entire finance stack to accommodate new accounting software. He needed a solution that offered native integrations with PitchGhost's existing tools.

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Fortunately, while exploring Mercury's partner ecosystem, Marc discovered Puzzle. After learning about its automated accounting workflows and on-demand financial reporting, he realized that the software was exactly what he needed.

"In the early days, our finances were pretty simple. But as the company grew, managing them in Google Sheets and Notion became too complicated and time-consuming. We knew it was time to switch to a more advanced accounting solution like Puzzle that would support us as we scale."

AI-Powered Bookkeeping & On-Demand Financial Insights With Puzzle

After onboarding with Puzzle, Marc was able to quickly transform PitchGhost’s highly manual accounting workflow into a seamless, reliable process. In just a few clicks, he integrated Puzzle into PitchGhost's existing finance stack, centralizing his accounting data in one fell swoop.

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Marc immediately dove in, leveraging Puzzle's AI-powered categorization to ensure every expense was instantly contextualized the minute it landed on the books. This feature alone saves him hours of time while ensuring he has a 360-degree view into PitchGhost's expense categories and most frequently used vendors. He also appreciated the ability to merge vendor names that had changed over time or had different statement descriptors, which helped maintain consistency across historical financial data. 

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With all his contextualized financial data in one place, Marc can also spin up in-depth reports in minutes. While this capability ensures his team has real-time clarity into PitchGhost's financial position, it also makes operational tasks second nature. For instance, when PitchGhost needed to switch its insurance provider, Marc immediately generated three years’ worth of balance sheets and P&L statements to meet the new provider’s underwriting policy.

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Of the many benefits Marc has seen with Puzzle, he was most impressed by the customer support. When tax season approached, Puzzle's team helped Marc locate an accounting professional who was already familiar with the software to handle the task. Knowing Puzzle's support team is only one Slack message away gives Marc the confidence to keep PitchGhost's accounting function in-house.

“I love that I can rely on Puzzle to ensure our books will always be accurate. The data is pulled in real-time across our entire financial footprint, which saves us a ton of time and effort.”

A Modern, Intuitive Accounting Function That Saves Time & Money

Today, Marc uses Puzzle to keep a watchful eye on his startup’s financial position — all without sacrificing bandwidth for growth-focused initiatives. Leaning on this real-time visibility, he makes informed financial decisions that maximize the impact of every dollar.

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• 75% faster closed books
• 15 hrs/week saved on accounting tasks
• 1 centralized HQ for all financial data

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As PitchGhost scales, Marc now has both the software and guidance to maintain organized financials — whether managing internally or collaborating with accounting professionals — improving his team's confidence while keeping growth plans on track.

“With Puzzle, I have real-time visibility into our financials, enabling me to make informed decisions and collaborate effectively with financial professionals when needed.”