We have a few updates to share with you about our *new* accounting partner program.
Our goal at Puzzle is to build the best accounting software on the market. On that path we want to conclusively prove that building a bookkeeping or accounting business on Puzzle means you can deliver a better client experience at a fraction of the time, making more money with happier customers.
We can only do that with feedback from professionals, and now have 3 ways you can partner with us:
TLDR:
| Partner Tier | Who It's For | Key Benefits | Exclusivity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exclusive Partners | Independent, Puzzle-exclusive bookkeeping firms | Direct referrals, heavier product roadmap weighting, co-branded marketing campaigns | Puzzle-exclusive firms only |
| Design Partners | Early adopters providing feedback & feature requests | Monthly/twice-monthly roadmap previews, direct product influence, promotion to Puzzle clients, dedicated Slack channel & office hours | Open to all firms (not required to be Exclusive) |
| Preferred Partners | Puzzle-certified firms | Listed on Puzzle's accounting partner page, customer support for onboardings & legacy conversions, Slack access, regular calls | Certification required |
Exclusive Partners
Two new firms have joined as Exclusive Partners: DropAnchor.io founded by Justin McLoughlin and PuzzleBookkeeping.com founded by Anthony (AJ) Zepeda.
Neither firm is owned or operated by Puzzle. We are committed to building software and partnering with great firms for services. AJ asked to license our trademark and we are excited and supportive of the idea.
Exclusive partners will have more direct access to referrals, heavier weighting in product feature prioritization, and opportunities for co-branded marketing email and social campaigns.
Design Partners
We are revamping what it means to be a design partner. We especially appreciate all the feedback we received from great firms like Fondo, Burkland, and Trivium. Moving forward, we plan to structure our monthly or twice-monthly meetings with you to review the following:
We would love to invite you to be a formal design partner, and the more feedback you provide the more we will promote you to our clients as we build out full service offerings with partners. If you don't currently have a slack channel with and you’d like to, please reply to this email and we’ll get one set up. We are also open to having set office hours for you and your team to provide support and help troubleshoot any issues.
You do not have to be an exclusive partner to be a design partner.
Preferred Partners
Your firm will be listed on our accounting partner page, and we will continue to provide customer support for product issues, onboardings, and legacy system conversions. We do this through our Puzzle partner program, Slack for questions, and regular calls.
We believe in rising tides: there is more accounting work than there are accountants, so we can all succeed together. Our goal to streamline your workflows and find the right accounting software remains a priority, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration with your team.
The three tiers are Exclusive (Puzzle-only firms receiving direct client referrals), Design (feedback providers with roadmap access and product influence), and Preferred (certified firms listed on Puzzle's accounting partner page).
No. Design Partner status is open to all accounting and bookkeeping firms, regardless of whether they are Exclusive Partners. The only requirement is a willingness to provide regular feedback — feature requests, outstanding product issues, and client health updates — through monthly or twice-monthly structured meetings.
Puzzle-exclusive firms operate their bookkeeping practice entirely on Puzzle's platform — they don't use competing accounting software for their clients. Puzzle does not own or operate these firms; they're independent businesses. In exchange for exclusivity, they receive priority referrals from Puzzle, stronger weighting in product feature prioritization, and opportunities for co-branded email and social campaigns.
Preferred Partner status requires Puzzle certification. Certified firms are listed on Puzzle's accounting partner page and receive dedicated support for client onboardings, legacy system conversions (such as migrations from QuickBooks), and ongoing access to Puzzle's partner Slack and regular check-in calls.
The program is designed to give firms the infrastructure to grow in line with where accounting is heading — pairing AI-native automation with the advisory expertise that software can't replace. Firms using AI-native tools like Puzzle report significantly higher revenue per employee, while their clients get a faster close, real-time financial visibility, and a more strategic partner. The three tiers let firms choose the level of involvement that matches their current growth stage.
The shift is straightforward: AI-native platforms like Puzzle categorize up to 98% of transactions automatically, flagging only the exceptions for human review. Instead of a bookkeeper manually coding every line item, the software learns from prior finalizations, builds categorization rules over time, and applies them continuously — not just at month-end. Trivium reported that bank reconciliation dropped from two hours to five minutes — a 96% reduction in time per client. The result isn't just time saved — it's capacity freed up for advisory work that actually grows client relationships.
Puzzle has native integrations with both Gusto and Rippling. When connected, payroll data flows directly into the platform — wages, employer taxes, and benefit deductions are mapped to the correct accounts in your chart of accounts automatically, eliminating the manual journal entry process. For firms managing multiple client payrolls, this means each Gusto payroll automation or Rippling run is captured and categorized without manual intervention, and the resulting transactions are ready for your review in Puzzle's finalization queue. Connecting takes approximately two minutes per client account.
CoWork is Puzzle's AI layer that learns from your finalization decisions and builds repeatable automation rules over time. For transaction categorization, it observes how your team codes transactions, surfaces categorization suggestions for your review, and lets you lock in rules that apply automatically going forward — so the same vendor always hits the same account without manual intervention. For revenue recognition, CoWork can apply ASC 606-aligned rules across subscription and milestone-based contracts, updating deferred revenue schedules as invoices are paid. Critically, nothing posts to the books until a human approves it: the AI does the work, but you control what gets finalized.
Yes. Puzzle's AI chat is designed for task-level accounting work, not just Q&A. You can prompt it to split a transaction across multiple accounts or cost centers, flag a purchase as a potential fixed asset for capitalization review, or pull a quick P&L for a specific date range or entity — without leaving the platform or opening a spreadsheet. For firms managing client books, this turns what used to be a multi-step manual process into a single conversational instruction that the AI executes and queues for your approval.
Yes. Puzzle's multi-entity portal lets you manage all client accounts — or all entities within a single client's structure — under one login, with no additional per-entity charge. Consolidated reporting pulls financials across entities into a single view, which is especially useful for holding companies, fund structures, and portfolio companies operating under one parent. Intercompany eliminations and entity-level drill-downs are supported, so you can move between the consolidated picture and the underlying entity books without switching platforms.
Digits and Kick both use AI, but their architectural choices lead to meaningfully different outcomes for accounting firms. Digits bets on autonomous AI action — transactions are categorized and decisions are made before you review them, which speeds up the workflow but reduces the human checkpoint between AI output and the client's books. Kick is optimized for self-serve business owners rather than accounting professionals managing client practices. Puzzle inverts that model: the AI does the categorization and flags the exceptions, but nothing posts to the books without your approval. For firms staking their reputation on accuracy, that human-in-the-loop architecture is the difference between a tool that helps you work faster and one that creates cleanup work downstream.
Puzzle does offer API access, and the platform has been used in embedded and white-label contexts by SaaS companies that want to surface accounting functionality within their own product. The specifics — what's available, access levels, and integration scope — depend on your use case. If you're evaluating Puzzle as an embedded layer inside a third-party platform rather than as a standalone accounting tool, the best path is a direct conversation with the Puzzle team to scope what's supported and what a partnership would look like.
The typical migration runs in three phases. First, Puzzle imports your historical transactions and beginning balances from QuickBooks — the platform handles the data pull directly, so you're not manually exporting and reformatting files. Second, your team reviews the imported data, reconciles opening balances, and maps accounts to Puzzle's chart of accounts structure. Third, you go live on Puzzle for the current period while keeping QuickBooks read-only for historical reference. On the billing side: the standard approach is to complete the migration at a month boundary, so there's a clean cutover date. Clients are on one system per billing period — no overlap, no double-billing risk. For firms running the migration from QuickBooks across many clients simultaneously, Puzzle's partner onboarding support covers the sequencing and timing so each client transitions cleanly.
Yes. Puzzle connects natively to Stripe, Shopify, and other e-commerce and payments platforms, pulling transaction data in real time. Revenue is recognized as it's earned — not just when cash lands — so your P&L reflects actual sales and margins on an accrual basis. For digital products businesses with subscription or usage-based models, Puzzle applies revenue recognition rules that match how the revenue is actually earned, keeping deferred revenue schedules accurate without manual journal entries. Profit margin visibility updates continuously as new transactions come in, so you're not waiting until month-end to know where a client's margins stand.
That's exactly what the Puzzle partner model is built for. At 50+ clients, automated categorization and exception-only review means each bookkeeper on your team can handle a significantly larger book of business — without the transaction-level work that typically forces you to hire. Burkland reported a 25% faster close and 2x faster categorization after moving to Puzzle; Trivium cut bank reconciliation from two hours to five minutes per client. At scale, that math compounds: the same team can carry a significantly larger client load when the platform is doing the transaction-level work. Puzzle's accounting software for bookkeeping firms lets you manage all client accounts under one login at no additional per-entity charge.
The accounting landscape has shifted significantly in 2026. Firms actively using AI report 37% higher revenue per employee compared to those that haven't adopted it — and client expectations have moved in lockstep. Today's clients don't just want someone to close the books; they want a strategic partner who can speak to cash flow, runway, and what comes next.
The divide is widening fast. The 2026 Accountant Technology Survey (Intuit) found that 88% of firms are now using AI for at least one client service — and 77% agree the gap between AI-embedded firms and occasional users is actively growing. At the same time, Karbon's State of AI in Accounting 2026 report found that 91% of firms believe graduates are more likely to join practices that actively use AI — meaning the talent pipeline is starting to follow the technology curve too. Firms that build now, while the infrastructure is still being established, will have a structural advantage that's hard to close later.
That's exactly the kind of firm this partner program is designed to help you build. The firms pulling ahead right now are those pairing AI bookkeeping software for CPA firms with deep professional expertise — automation handles the transaction volume, and you deliver the advisory layer that no software can replace. Whether you're joining as an Exclusive, Design, or Preferred Partner, the goal is the same: give you the infrastructure to grow a practice built for where accounting is going, not where it's been.
If you’re eager to learn more about becoming an exclusive Preferred Puzzle partner and incorporating Puzzle into your practice, please book a time for us to chat. Otherwise, please reach out with any questions or suggestions on how we can support you and your firm.
