Accounting software comparison
Autessa Accounting vs Puzzle
Puzzle is an AI-native general ledger for startups, with revenue automation, real-time burn and runway, and AI Cowork that prepares work for you to approve. Autessa Accounting shares that approve-first approach and adds what happens outside the ledger: issuing and freezing cards, budgets that act on them, and agent cards for AI spend.
Side by side
Autessa Accounting vs Puzzle, at a glance
| Capability | Autessa Accounting | Puzzle |
|---|---|---|
| Budgets that tighten or freeze cards, then undo it next month | Included | Not listed |
| Agent cards for AI agents: allowed merchants, per-charge cap, expiry | Included | Not listed |
| Issue, limit and freeze cards from your books | Included (Mercury) | Not listed |
| Department budgets by month and category | Included | Not listed |
| Bill pay | Included, via Mercury | Not listed |
| Mercury sync every 15 minutes, categories written back | Included | Daily sync, Complete plan |
| PDF, Excel and CSV statements from any bank, math checked before saving | Included | Not listed |
| Full headless access (Autessa MCP) | Included | Own MCP, read by default, write in beta |
| 100% customizable, code and all (Autobot) | Included | Developer API for dashboards |
| Same platform as your HR, CRM and IT apps | Included in Autessa | Not listed |
| AI suggests, a person approves every row | Included | AI Cowork, you approve |
| Double-entry general ledger | Included | Included |
| Revenue recognition (ASC 606) | Included | Included |
| Burn and runway | Included | Included |
✓ included · ◐ partial, plan-dependent or through another product · — not listed. Based on publicly available information as of November 2026. Product names are trademarks of their owners.
Where Autessa wins
Why teams choose Autessa Accounting over Puzzle
From reading the spend to controlling it
Puzzle reads your Mercury data each day. Accounting syncs every 15 minutes, writes your category back to Mercury, and issues, limits or freezes the cards themselves.
Budgets with teeth
Monthly department budgets prefill from a three-month average, and cards tighten or freeze on their own when a department goes over.
An agent that can run the app
Puzzle’s MCP starts read-only and its write access is in beta. The Autessa MCP gives your agent full headless access to Accounting: code the inbox, request a card, or prepare the close, within the access you set.
Your own accounting app
Puzzle’s API lets developers build on the ledger. Autobot goes further: ask for a new close checklist or investor report, and the app itself is rewritten to do it.
Getting started
How do teams switch to Autessa Accounting?
Connect Mercury or upload statements, run Getting started, and record opening balances as journal entries.
FAQ
Questions about Autessa Accounting and Puzzle
How does AI work in Autessa Accounting compared with AI-native tools?
In Autessa Accounting, AI suggests a category only when no card default or rule applies, a person approves every row, and approval can write a rule so the merchant is not asked about again.
Does Autessa Accounting have burn and runway?
Yes. It shows six months of net, average burn and runway, trend-adjusted when burn is accelerating.
Is Puzzle still available for startups?
Yes. Accrual announced it would acquire Puzzle’s accounting-firm business and technology, and Puzzle says it continues to operate independently for startups and small businesses.
What can I customize in Autessa Accounting?
Anything, including the code. Tell Autobot what you need, such as a new report or a change to the close, and it changes the app.
Can AI agents write to Autessa Accounting?
Yes. The Autessa MCP gives agents full headless access, reading and writing, and the app’s own rules still apply: a posted entry is never edited, and corrections are reversing entries that stay visible.
100% customizable, code and all
Make Autessa Accounting fully your own.
Use it out of the box, then change anything. Ask Autobot, Autessa’s AI builder, for a new field, screen, report, workflow or agent and it builds it into your copy of the app. Or open the code and edit it yourself. Nothing is locked: the app, its data and its code are yours.
Start free and make it yours