Wave Accounting Review: App Features, Pricing, Pros & Cons

I sent them proof of our business AGAIN and a nasty gram; they turned it back on claiming they were unable to verify our business before. If they couldn’t verify our business, why did they turn on Wave Payments the first time for a year?! Accounting transactions are very limited; gotta have workarounds to fix issues. As noted up and down this article, Wave has become one of the most popular accounting software platforms for small businesses and freelancers out there. However, there are also a few negative Wave accounting reviews.

  1. From this software, you can monitor the status of all your invoices and payments.
  2. Our research finds that QuickBooks is a stronger accounting tool than Wave, offering the best set of features we’ve reviewed, including standout budgeting and inventory management functions.
  3. He is most interested in project management solutions, believing all businesses are a work in progress.
  4. 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.

Wave is cloud-based software that boasts a solid set of accounting features suitable for most small businesses. These features are especially https://quickbooks-payroll.org/ appealing when you consider that Wave is absolutely free. To recap, Wave can manage invoicing, track expenses, and do bookkeeping.

Wave user reviews

B2B & SaaS market analyst and senior writer for FinancesOnline. He is most interested in project management solutions, believing all businesses are a work in progress. From pitch deck to exit strategy, he is no stranger to project business hiccups and essentials. He has been involved in a few internet startups including a digital route planner for a triple A affiliate. Each company has its own characteristics, and might require a specific Accounting Software solution that will be designed for their company size, type of clients and staff and even specific niche they deal with. It’s not wise to count on finding a perfect app that is going to be suitable for each business regardless of their background is.

The great news is there’s a free app called Wave to help you handle bookkeeping. 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.

Best Free Accounting Software for Small Businesses

The site’s onboarding process is a breeze; first provide a few basic details about your business, such as name, address and industry. Then answer questions from a drop-down menu about the direction you want to concentrate on—invoicing, accounting or payroll—and you are directed to link financial accounts. 1 Payouts are processed in 1-2 business days for credit card payments and 1-7 business days for bank payments. Deposit times may vary due to processing cutoff times, third party delays, or risk reviews. UK customer and used wave for about 4 years and found it very user friendly and easy to reconcile accounts etc.

Credit Cards

The integrations Wave directly connects with are PayPal, Etsy, and Shoeboxed. You can also use the Checkouts feature to create buttons on websites, such as Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress. Unfortunately, Wave does not offer a project management feature.

We’re beginning to sound like a broken record, but yes, with Wave, you’ll be able to take care of your accounting and bookkeeping for free. That’s worth reiterating over and over, because it’s hard to find functional accounting software tools without ponying up for some recurring payments. Wave invoicing allows you to create and send professional invoices in just a few clicks. The software also allows you to set up recurring invoices and track payments.

Wave is a free accounting software platform that makes money off of its add-on services like bookkeeping and Wave payroll. There are no ads or pricing-tier feature limitations with Wave. Xero’s starting price is half the price of QuickBooks, which makes Xero a more suitable Wave alternative for freelancers on a budget. Wave and Xero also have some crucial, unique features in common, such as unlimited users, unlimited bank connections and optional invoice-based payment acceptance. Again, every online payment processing system requires its users to pay a transaction fee.

Its expense, income, cash-flow and receipt tracking features are perfectly suited to freelancers, solopreneurs and other self-employed individuals who want to keep their software expenses low. While users never pay startup or monthly fees, Wave does charge a credit card processing fee of 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction for most cards. This is a typical credit card processing fee that you’ll find on any platform. While the invoicing expesify platform is not easy to integrate with popular third-party payroll apps like Gusto or OnPay, Wave does have its own payroll software. Small businesses that plan to hire employees at some point might need to change accounting software systems in the future or upgrade to Wave Payroll. The software design and intuitive interface make Wave simple to set up and easy to use, even for those with little previous accounting experience.

With Wave’s free accounting plan, what you see is what you get. It’s useful that you can connect to a Wave customer service representative over live chat without navigating away from your accounting dashboard. However, live chat is only available during Wave’s typical business hours, and apart from the chat, your only other support option is email; Wave Accounting doesn’t offer any U.S.-based phone support. The fact that Wave lets users create and send unlimited invoices and receive payment straight from the invoices for free makes it perfect for freelancers. Instant Payout is an additional service offered by Wave subject to user and payment eligibility criteria. A 1% fee is applied to the amount you withdraw from your available balance, in addition to regular processing fees.

Wave Accounting Review: Pricing, features & more

There’s a fee involved with accepting online invoice payments, too. Customers can pay via credit card, bank payment or Apple Pay. Wave Accounting gives you free unlimited invoices, users, expense and income tracking, credit and bank account connections, and more. It also offers multi-business management for no  additional fee. You don’t have to enter a credit card number when you sign up.

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. For example, QuickBooks Online doesn’t have a free plan, but offers four paid plans, each with additional features, making it a great choice for scalability. With the higher-tier QuickBooks plans, you have access to inventory management, billable expenses and project profitability tools, none of which are offered with Wave. Strong invoicing feature competes with that of paid products; app lets users send invoices on the go; offers significantly fewer reports than competitors; no inventory tracking.

Needs A Bit More for UK Users

The app also comes with standard financial reports like Profit & Loss (Income Statement) and Balance Sheet. It helps automate account reconciliation, which helps you match your transactions in Wave to your bank and credit card statements, looking for duplicate, incorrect, and missing transactions. Xero, for example, identifies matching transactions for you and supports other automated processes.