Accounting Solutions For Startups: FAQs

FAQ

Is Puzzle a complete alternative to other accounting software?

Yes! Puzzle is a complete double-entry accounting system. You can rely on Puzzle reports for your most important and sensitive use cases like fundraising, communicating with investors, and filing tax returns.

What is Puzzle?

1. Is Puzzle an alternative to other accounting software?

Yes! Puzzle is a complete double-entry accounting system. You can rely on Puzzle reports for your most important and sensitive use cases, including fundraising, communicating with investors, and filing startup taxes.

2. Can I use Puzzle if I don't know anything about accounting?

Yes! We designed Puzzle to be straightforward and intuitive for founders, even without a financial background. Our software automates a majority of the preparation, so you can focus on the high-value information that comes out of the system.

3. What if I am an offline or inventory-based company?

Puzzle is currently optimized for software companies, and we work well for many service providers. Companies with inventory may have accounting needs that Puzzle is not yet optimized to support.

Get in touch at feedback@puzzle.io if you would like to be a design partner and help us understand your inventory accounting needs!

4. How does Puzzle differ from an accounting service like Pilot?

Businesses like Pilot offer outsourced accounting services, whereas Puzzle is an accounting software solution that helps early-stage companies keep their own books.

When you are ready to outsource to accountants and tax preparers, Puzzle can help you understand the right services to meet your needs and hire from our network of vetted partners.

5. How does Puzzle differ from financial planning solutions like Mosaic, Finmark, or Pry?

FP&A (financial planning and analysis) software helps companies project their future financial state by building models and predicting future growth, spending, hiring, etc.

Puzzle is focused on making your historical financial data as accurate and useful as possible. That’s why we partner with FP&A platforms that can ingest Puzzle’s information and help users build financial models, using their Puzzle data as a starting point.

6. How does Puzzle differ from spend management platforms like Brex or Ramp?

Spend management platforms allow you to view and analyze your spending in different categories. Then, these systems usually connect to an accounting solution like Puzzle, so you can see a full picture of your company’s finances.

Puzzle provides complete financial statements across all of your cards, payroll, and systems. We currently do not offer any transaction processing capabilities.

7. Why should I use Puzzle instead of other accounting platforms?

Traditional accounting software options like QuickBooks or Xero are great for some small businesses. However, technology startups have specific needs that Puzzle is designed to meet.

Puzzle is uniquely designed to be intuitive for non-finance teams while also empowering bookkeepers and accountants to elevate their work. We offer real-time financial statements that are traceable down to the micro-transaction details. Plus, Puzzle automates the more repetitive steps of accounting on our general ledger.

To see a full demo of Puzzle’s differentiated offerings, get in touch at getstarted@puzzle.io.

Need more answers?

1. Is Puzzle a financial modeling tool?

No. Puzzle is your single source of truth for financial data. However, we do not generate financial models from that data.

We generate financial statements, which can be downloaded and added to your financial projections in Excel or Google Sheets. Puzzle also integrates with Runway, FlowCog Canvas, Sturppy, and Causal for basic early-stage runway modeling.

In the future, Puzzle plans to integrate with multiple FP&A platforms to help you create further financial models and scenarios for your company. If you have ideas for how Puzzle can simplify your financial modeling, get in touch at support@puzzle.io.

2. Is Puzzle a data visualization tool?

No. While Puzzle offers some pre-built charts and graphs to help you understand your financials, we are not a data visualization tool. Instead, we encourage you to export your data from Puzzle and use it with your favorite existing data viz tools.

Over time, we will make this available via the Puzzle API. To connect directly to our API, get in touch at help@puzzle.io. If you have suggestions for how Puzzle can simplify connections to your favorite data viz tool, get in touch at support@puzzle.io.

3. Is Puzzle a bookkeeping service?

No. Puzzle is designed for founders to be able to prepare early-stage financials themselves — without a bookkeeper.

However, we understand many teams require support, especially as your business becomes more complex. That’s why you can easily invite your bookkeepers to your Puzzle account.

You can also view a list of Puzzle’s trusted accounting partners, who are all familiar with using Puzzle to provide accounting services. Unsure how to navigate these options?

Get in touch at support@puzzle.io or set up a call, so we can help you find the perfect match based on your company’s current needs and stage of growth.

4. Will Puzzle do my taxes for me?

No. Puzzle does not file taxes on behalf of companies. We do generate your financial statements — a key component of your tax filings.

We recommend working with an experienced accounting and tax firm to prepare and file your tax returns. Check out Puzzle’s list of trusted accounting partners who can help here.

5. Can I use Puzzle if I have not incorporated my business yet?

We strongly recommend incorporating and setting up business accounts before using Puzzle.

Our recommended partner: Stripe Atlas, which enables founders from anywhere in the world to form a US business and get an IRS tax ID (EIN) quickly and easily. Atlas sets up your Delaware registered agent, issues equity to founders, and files your 83(b) election in one click. After you have incorporated and set yourself up for business compliance, we recommend opening business bank accounts and, if necessary, credit card accounts to keep your personal finances separate from your business.

Puzzle's accounting automation works best with the leading startup fintech products: Mercury (banking products and treasury accounts), Brex and Ramp (spending cards and bill pay), Gusto and Rippling (payroll and HR), and Stripe (payment processing and invoicing).

Onboarding

1. Why do I have to connect my bank account to get started?

To show you the full value of Puzzle, we ask users to connect their bank. Rest assured: All connections are read-only and fully encrypted from end to end. You can delete your data at any time.

Your bank account transactions are essential for preparing your accounting system. Puzzle will automatically ingest your read-only data, organize it, and draft financial statements for you to review.

If you would like to see a demo before connecting your account(s), get in touch at getstarted@puzzle.io.

2. Can I invite other people to Puzzle? What access permissions are possible?

Yes, you can add as many people to your Puzzle plan as you like. While not required, we recommend using our multi-factor authentication feature.

We currently allow teams to create roles for different users. However, all users will have full admin privileges for the foreseeable future. Puzzle is working to add more fine-tuned permissions; get in touch at feedback@puzzle.io to provide your suggestions.

3. How do I add my bookkeeper to Puzzle?

Step 1 — Locate “User management”
Go to Puzzle → Click on your profile icon → Select User management

Step 2 — Add a new user
Click on the green button that says + Add user

Step 3 — Grant the proper permissions
Enter the email of your accountant or bookkeeper → Make sure you select the title and permissions of Bookkeeper → Click Invite

How to use Puzzle’s features

1. Are Puzzle’s financials cash or accrual basis?

Puzzle enables you to maintain both cash-basis and accrual-basis financials simultaneously. You can view your financial statements and reports with either mode!

Any bank, credit card, payroll, and related activities that we receive will be posted to both cash- and accrual-basis financial statements.
Manual journal entries can be recorded separately to cash- and accrual-basis financials.
Certain features (e.g. bills) will be treated differently on a cash vs. accrual view.

2. How do I calculate my runway?

Your Puzzle dashboard will show you a run-rated runway, assuming your business continues to operate without significant financial changes.

However, most businesses will change in time as you evolve regarding headcount, revenue, spend, and more. This is why Puzzle supports the following options:

StartupRunway.io: Puzzle is a partner of Runway (startuprunway.io) by the Long-Term Stock Exchange. Export your Puzzle data to their system, and generate as many runway scenarios as you’d like.
Excel or Google Sheets: Export your Puzzle data as CSVs or structured reports at any time to support your third-party or custom models.
API: Get in touch at api@puzzle.io to request access to Puzzle’s API (Beta).

3. How do I progress from draft financials to completed financials?

Puzzle automatically generates your draft financials. In order to increase confidence in the completeness and accurate categorization of your financials, we recommend the following steps:

Verify that all integrations are connected and live. This way, your complete data is available in Puzzle.
Review all of your transactions. Mark them as Final with a green checkmark.
Verify that your monthly cash is correct by completing reconciliations to your bank accounts.
Verify that you have all relevant supporting tax documentation (i.e. receipts for all appropriate expenses and deductions).

4. How do I see the transactions my bookkeeper has flagged?

Your bookkeeper may have questions about certain transactions and alert you about them. To view these transactions, you can go to your assigned transactions.

Managing Your Account

1. Why is Puzzle free?

Early-stage tech startups typically cannot access world-class accounting and finance teams. That’s why Puzzle believes high-tech, accessible, and intuitive accounting software can become a superpower for those businesses.

We want the next cohort of excellent founders to have real-time understanding of their financials behind every business decision they make.

2. Will Puzzle ever cost money to use?

Puzzle will add paid plans for additional features that are more commonly needed as your startup grows more complex. These include advanced accounting, accrual automation, audit preparation, and sophisticated business analysis.

As we roll out these plans, every user will have the option to enroll in a paid plan should they choose to. Puzzle will not auto-enroll any users in paid plans.

3. Can I delete my Puzzle data?

Yes, you can delete your data at any time. We take the privacy and security of every user’s financial data seriously.

This is why all user data is read-only from the moment it enters our system. While we hope you love Puzzle, it is your data to provide and delete as you please.

4. Does Puzzle ever sell user data?

No. Puzzle has never and will never sell our users’ data.

5. Are there any surprise “lock-ins”?

No. Puzzle firmly believes the industry needs to shift from a closed to an open ecosystem.

You can download your data at any time from the Puzzle dashboard, reports page, or API (Beta). You can delete your data at any time, or you can keep it in the Puzzle system in perpetuity.

Integrations & Permissions

1. What integrations does Puzzle support?

Puzzle is currently optimized for the following integrations (all native unless marked otherwise):

Payment processors: Stripe
Payroll: Gusto, Rippling
Banks: Mercury, Brex Cash, and all other major banks and fintech products available via Plaid (e.g. Chase)
Credit cards: Brex, Ramp, and all other major credit cards available via Plaid (e.g. Chase, American Express)

We are currently focused on supporting native integrations for the most common financial providers used by early-stage tech companies. We are also constantly evaluating additional integrations. To let us know what you want Puzzle to support next, get in touch at feedback@puzzle.io. We can keep you up-to-date on the status of any integration.

2. Are integrations with Puzzle read-only?

All integrations with Puzzle are read-only.
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Some integrations are read-only by default.
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Some OAuth permissions are granted to Puzzle as admin permissions, which could include both read-only and write-only. If you grant Puzzle admin permissions, and we are given the choice, we always select read-only.

In some cases, Puzzle is granted admin permissions (both read-only and write-only). However, our system only accesses read-only endpoints. This is reviewed on a regular basis by our engineering team, legal team, and security counsel, as well as protected in your privacy policy and user agreement.

3. Are integrations with Puzzle secure?

Yes, they are secure. Puzzle does not store any usernames or passwords in our system. Meanwhile, all connections are encrypted end-to-end. Puzzle’s security practices are well-designed to protect your data — both internally and with our partners. You can read more here.

4. Can I delete my integrations with Puzzle?

You can delete all of your Puzzle data and revoke integration credentials at any time. Visit your Puzzle dashboard to manage integration credentials. In many cases, you can also manage integration credentials through the other service provider’s dashboard. For example, you may change your bank, credit card, or payroll provider. If you want to maintain all historical data for tax, audit, or financial reporting and record keeping purposes, Puzzle recommends pausing or terminating the integration.

5. Does Puzzle have limits on integrations?

Integrations with Puzzle are currently unlimited in both number and volume. If you have a high-volume business (i.e. exceeding 100,000 monthly transactions), Puzzle will limit the historical data ingestion to the last 4 months preceding the onboarding session. If you would like to integrate full historicals, get in touch at support@puzzle.io.

6. Can I still use Puzzle if it does not support part of my financial stack?

Generally, yes. As long as Puzzle can cover most of your transactions, you should have a straightforward experience with our accounting system. We also allow users to manually upload transactions from any non-integrated accounts (i.e. treasury and sweep accounts).

We acknowledge that certain processes may require more manual input, such as manually submitting payroll details. To let us know what new Puzzle integrations would be helpful to your workflow, get in touch at feedback@puzzle.io.

Contact Us

1. How do I start using Puzzle?

To view a demo, get added to our Beta list, and more, contact getstarted@puzzle.io.

2. How do I get help from the Puzzle team?

For general inquiries and help, contact help@puzzle.io.

For existing customers, you can contact us directly from the Puzzle app! We’ll be happy to set up a private Slack channel for live support.
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For Puzzle setup, we have many CPAs on our team who are available to help you get started!

3. Where do I send feedback or suggestions about Puzzle?

Want to report a bug? Have ideas for a new integration? Hate the way a feature is designed?
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Get in touch with our product team at feedback@puzzle.io!

We want to hear what you like, what you don’t like, what else we can build, etc. Our early users will shape Puzzle’s future!