How accounting firms should think about accounting

While the fundamentals of accounting don't need to change, the process—especially for private companies—can be improved to increase user satisfaction and reduce stress for all parties. Software has historically been a limiting factor, but that's no longer the case.

Though accounting must remain precise for the IRS and investors, the traditional day-to-day accounting process needs rethinking.  The process has been built around Quickbooks and Netsuite, and their inherit limitations.

• What exists today: A set of summary, static reports, sent weeks after the month ends.
• What should exist: A summary of cash, variance, budget and insights on the 1st of the month, organized around cash in and cash out, while closing out the final details of accrual books for fundraising and tax optimization later in the month.
• Results: happier clients, less stress on the timing to get the books closed to unlock insights, and overall lower stress for everyone.

Getting to perfect accrual accuracy—a process that takes weeks and often delays cash reporting - should not be the bottleneck for business operations.

That's why we designed Puzzle to handle both needs. It provides penny-perfect accrual accounting while offering clear visibility into cash positions, variances, significant changes, new vendor relationships, and budget comparisons. This dual approach reduces stress around monthly closes. While special circumstances like audits or shareholder requirements may necessitate adjustments, we believe this represents best practices for most companies.