Wave Accounting at a Glance
Wave Accounting offers free software, meaning you won’t need to submit a credit card or payment information to use it. It can help you manage your bookkeeping, accounting and invoicing processes through a few internal integrations.
With Wave, you’ll be able to send unlimited, customized invoices to your customers, manage an unlimited number of expenses and track unlimited receipts through its receipt scanning and capture feature.
Wave allows you to search transactions, design accounting reports and reconcile data across other Wave products. Plus, you can calculate sales tax automatically, customize payment terms and enjoy access to easy-to-understand cash flow insights. It also features a well-laid-out, clutter-free dashboard with individual tabs for sales, purchases, accounting, banking, payroll and reports.
Featured Partners
1
Xero
Special Offer: 75% off for 6 months
Yes
30 days
2
Sage Intacct
Yes
Yes
Yes
3
QuickBooks
$15 per month (for the first 3-months, then $30 per month)
30 days
Expert help, Invoicing, maximize tax deductions, track mileage
Other Benefits
Wave also offers a free app to help you manage your invoices on the go. With Wave Invoicing, you’ll be able to track, edit, send and pay invoices from any mobile device. In addition, Wave allows you to manage multiple businesses on one free account and uses double-entry accounting, which is ideal for accountants and tax time.
In addition to its free software, Wave offers two paid add-ons including Wave Payments and Wave Payroll, which can come in handy if you’d like to accept credit card and automated clearing house (ACH) payments or process payroll.
Fine Print
While Wave is free to use, it doesn’t offer multiple plans to increase its functionality. It lacks some of the useful features you may find in other accounting software, such as project management, time tracking and inventory management. This can be problematic if you’re ready to scale.
Also, Wave Accounting only offers self-serve customer support. If you have a question or issue, you can browse the help center or reach out to Mave, the automated chatbot. You can’t contact Wave via phone or email. If you do want live support, you’ll need to invest in an Advisor or paid service.
How Wave Accounting Stacks Up
| Wave Accounting | Intuit QuickBooks | FreshBooks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Plan | Yes | No | No |
| Payment Processing Available | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Customer Support | Self-serve support through the help center and Mave, the automated chatbot | Live chat, video tutorials, phone and email support | Phone and email support, live chat, knowledge base and help center |
| Ease of Use | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| Read Reviews | – |
Before you commit to accounting software, it’s in your best interest to shop around and compare all your options. Unlike QuickBooks and FreshBooks, Wave Accounting is completely free to use. It can allow you to manage all your accounting processes without paying a dime. It’s also intuitive so you don’t need to be an accountant to use it successfully.
Where Wave falls behind, however, is its customer support. There’s no live support unless you pay for it so you’ll have to dig for the answers to your questions in the help center or cross your fingers that the automated chatbot will help you out.
Explore more details on the competition in our full roundup of the best accounting software for small businesses.
Featured Partners
1
Xero
Special Offer: 75% off for 6 months
Yes
30 days
2
Sage Intacct
Yes
Yes
Yes
3
QuickBooks
$15 per month (for the first 3-months, then $30 per month)
30 days
Expert help, Invoicing, maximize tax deductions, track mileage
Is Wave Right for You or Your Business?
If you’re a startup, micro-business or sole proprietor who doesn’t want to invest in accounting software but needs to keep track of your finances, Wave Accounting is a great option. As long as you’re content with basic features and don’t see yourself expanding in the foreseeable future, you’ll find this completely free, easy-to-use software particularly appealing. Since you don’t have to pay anything to get started, it’s certainly worth trying out.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do you get started with Wave Accounting?
Once you sign up online, you can start using Wave’s features right away. All you have to do is share your business name, type, address and the currency you use. There is no training involved.
Is Wave Accounting free?
Wave Accounting is 100% free. You can enjoy features such as unlimited income and expenses tracking, digital receipt upload and transaction management and access its invoice mobile app at no cost.
Can I share Wave Accounting with accountants?
You can invite your accountants, bookkeepers or other business partners to Wave via email and designate their user roles. They can receive “editor permissions” and access accounting and reports as well as purchases easily.
Is accounting software secure?
Today’s leading accounting platforms offer standard security features, such as data encryption, secure credential tokenization and more. While human error will always play some role in security breaches, you can be confident in your accounting platform when it comes to keeping your information safe.
How is Wave different than QuickBooks?
Wave’s software is simpler—designed for easy use for freelancers and small businesses—while QuickBooks’ platform is designed to cover complex business needs and grow as your business grows. If you’re a freelancer or other solo service provider, Wave is a better option. Read our Wave vs. QuickBooks review to learn more.
