Puzzle is building a modern accounting suite for today’s API-enabled startups • TechCrunch

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A company starting from scratch today is likely to use a financial software stack with the most modern fintech tools. These could be things like Stripe for payments, Brex for business credit cards, and Gusto for payroll and benefits, among others, which when combined can provide a unique insight into a company’s financial health.

Puzzle, an early-stage startup, is building an accounting suite that aims to take advantage of the data flow from these tools. Today, the company is making its public debut as it announces a $15 million Series A round.

Sasha Orloff, CEO and co-founder of Puzzle, calls his company “the first smart accounting software,” combining a streaming financial data platform connected to a general ledger.

“By combining these two things, we can create a whole new set of opportunities for an organization across fundraising, taxes and understanding the complete picture of financial health [at a startup]Orloff told TechCrunch.

The streaming part is possible because of the ability to connect things like payment and payroll data in real time and update the ledger with the latest information. Instead of gathering this data on a monthly basis, the company can have the most up-to-date information at all times, and that can be a real advantage, according to Orloff.

“We naturally draw from the modern stack to create this single place where a company can see all of their data and how those things fit together to then create a picture of your financial health. So it’s like a supplement to all of the modern the innovation that has happened,” he said.

Ultimately, Orloff wants to be more than an accounting software service for startups, but he calls that a starting point for the company. He says the goal is ultimately to replace traditional enterprise resource planning (ERP) software with this “API-enabled data platform that’s connected to all the best solutions in the market, not just what happens to be bundled in [vendor’s] API.”

Launched in late 2019, the company has worked with more than 500 startups over the years to build and refine the new software. Today, the company is coming out of beta with a service that is generally available to all interested customers.

Puzzle currently has 30 employees and plans to hire for the money. Among his staff are several people with the unique combination of accounting and engineering knowledge, but he says he will need people across the board as he scales the startup.

The $15 million investment was led by General Catalyst, with participation from more than 100 industry angels, including CFOs at venture-backed startups. Today’s round closed late last year, and the company has now raised $20 million, including a $5 million seed also led by GC, according to Orloff.