Certification
Certified Puzzle Advisor
Daniel Cope completed and passed Puzzle's certification program in March 2026. Puzzle is the ledger we use for startups that run on Stripe and modern banks, and it's where Tides keeps its own books.
Daniel Cope completed and passed Puzzle's certification program in March 2026. Puzzle is the ledger we use for startups that run on Stripe and modern banks, and it's where Tides keeps its own books.
Puzzle is AI-native accounting software built for startups. It's a full general ledger, not an add-on to QuickBooks. What makes it different is speed: cash position, the P&L and key metrics update daily instead of waiting on a month-end close, and the AI categorizes transactions and learns from corrections.
It connects natively to the tools startups already use, including Stripe, Mercury, Brex and Ramp. It keeps cash-basis and accrual-basis books from the same ledger, so a founder can watch runway in cash while investors get accrual financials. For Stripe businesses it automates revenue recognition and deferred revenue.
Puzzle's certification program trains accountants and bookkeepers to set up, run and close client books on its platform, and tests them before issuing the credential. It means we know where Puzzle is strong, where it needs a human, and how to migrate into it without breaking your history.
It's also a system we use ourselves. Tides runs its own books in Puzzle.
And who we don't: restaurants, inventory-heavy retailers and contractors who live on job costing are usually better served by QuickBooks Online or Restaurant365 today. We'll say so on the first call. Our Puzzle accounting review goes through the trade-offs in detail.
We'll look at your stack and tell you whether Puzzle or QuickBooks is the better home for your books.
Book a free 15-minute call →An accountant or bookkeeper who has completed and passed Puzzle's certification program for running client books on the Puzzle platform. Daniel Cope's certification was issued March 16, 2026 (certificate ID fm0kkyrnhg).
For many startups, yes. Puzzle is its own general ledger, not an add-on. For restaurants, inventory-heavy businesses and job-costing contractors, QuickBooks Online is usually still the better fit.
Yes, as a setup project. The ledger start date and opening balances get set first, then history comes across and gets reconciled before we switch you over.
The AI handles a lot of the categorizing. Someone still has to reconcile to your bank statements, book accruals, close the month and answer your CPA. That's the part we do.