Spotlight: Puzzle helps clients cut accounting time by 50% with Ramp

With the launch of Ramp’s App Center, companies can do more than just run on our software — they can build on it. By opening up the Ramp platform, Technology Partners can now extend the value of their core product, reaching more users and solving more challenges. In this spotlight, we highlight the multitude of ways that Puzzle is using the power of the Ramp API to create an ecosystem of financial intelligence.

About Puzzle

Puzzle is building the next generation of accounting software for startups, providing customers with real-time finance insights and metrics that drive better business decisions.

Q&A with Sasha Orloff

Puzzle CEO Sasha Orloff sat down with our team to share more about the experience and benefits of building with the Ramp API.

What is Puzzle? ‍

Puzzle was born on the belief that founders need to do more than just build great products—they must also understand their business operations, strategy, technology, industry, and financials to build an enduring company. At Puzzle, we are building the next generation of accounting software: a system of financial intelligence that helps founders make better business decisions.

What made you decide to use the Ramp API?

One of the foundations of financial management is getting the underlying data structures of accounting right — it’s hard to evaluate financial health without the right data. This is where Puzzle comes in: we’re an accuracy and automation-focused general ledger. If you fix the garbage in problem, you solve the garbage out problem.

Ramp also spends a lot of time cleansing and parsing data, from vendors to categories. The Ramp API provides additional metadata and documents that help accountants feel confident that their company spend is accurately categorized. Ramp was the first spend system to match what invoicing and accounts receivable software has done for years, giving us precise metadata to increase our automation by up to 98%.

The API provides multiple points of validation, which allows bookkeepers to work in Ramp with confidence, knowing that the direct API is a secure and reliable connection. It reduces manual errors in downloading and uploading data, and eliminates the need for a third party, often an unaccountable failure point. The API is also more reliable and well-documented than others we’ve used, enabling us to build and develop on top of it quickly and efficiently.

How are you using the Ramp API?

Combining the power of Puzzle and Ramp has allowed us to achieve new growth and scale for both our business and that of our customers. Here are five key areas where Puzzle is seeing a bigger impact with the help of the Ramp API:

1. Transaction categorization accuracy

One of the most time-consuming parts of accounting is categorization. Historically, bookkeepers have categorized expenses and reimbursements in a standalone expense management system, often duplicating efforts and re-categorizing expenses in the core accounting system. Ramp sets a new standard for accuracy and efficiency by auto-categorizing financial transactions, including non-payroll spend and employee reimbursements.

2. Uncategorized transaction investigation

Communicating back and forth with clients about uncategorized transactions can take several days, slowing accounting down. When expenses are coded in Ramp, the API automatically syncs all spend data directly into Puzzle’s general ledger, including memos and copies of receipts or invoices.

3. Dual cash and accrual books

The Ramp API allows Puzzle to record the expenses related to bills and reimbursements on an accrual basis before the corresponding bank payments are received. Once the bank payment comes in, the two items can be retroactively linked together, allowing the user to keep accurate accounting records on both a cash and accrual basis.

4. Expense reimbursement volume

Ramp’s integration with Puzzle enables detailed metadata and copies of receipts from single-line employee reimbursement items to flow seamlessly into Puzzle. Now, bookkeepers can access comprehensive context for each standalone expense reimbursement just by looking at the transaction. Ramp’s memo field and PDF copies of receipts also sync across systems, allowing Puzzle to auto-categorize the transaction with high accuracy.

5. Bill pay endpoints

Through the Ramp API, bank transactions in Puzzle are automatically linked to Ramp bills for correct accounting on autopilot. This means users can now see whether a bill has been paid or not in Puzzle, eliminating the need to switch between apps.

How much time did it take to integrate with Ramp?

We implemented different endpoints at different times, but having comprehensive documentation made the entire process much more efficient. The updates and changes are very clear and well-communicated, with new capabilities implemented every two to three days on average. Depending on the volume of transactions, this approach has the potential to save our customers anywhere from hours to days every single month.

How does the Ramp API compare to other APIs?

Ramp has more endpoints and more detailed API documentation than other comparative APIs, making implementation faster and easier than ever before. By accelerating the implementation process, we can drastically improve time to market, all with a higher rate of confidence in the output.

"How do you save accounting and finance teams real time and money? Accounting automation, so teams can focus less on whether their finances are complete and accurate, and more on improving the business. The Ramp team set the new standard for accounting accuracy and automation through their new API.” - Sasha Orloff, CEO Puzzle

How has Ramp benefitted your customers?

Two of the pillars of accounting are accuracy and speed. Now, with Ramp and Puzzle, bookkeepers and founders can save 50% or more of their time to complete their spend accounting. The Ramp API integration with Puzzle helps bookkeepers and finance teams to close their books at a faster pace and with more confidence. It enables teams to shift their focus from tedious, low-value tasks to client-facing, high-value strategic work. By centralizing all of their spend on a single platform with a world-class API, our customers get the job done faster, with less work, and higher accuracy. That’s a win all around.

Start building today

Ready to become a Ramp Technology Partner? Sign up to join the community of developers already contributing to the Ramp App Center ecosystem. By powering your product with spend management functionality, you can give your customers access to more actionable insights and get in front of thousands of other businesses already on Ramp.

We can’t wait to see what you build!