About Wave

Online accounting software that provides features including invoicing, billing, payment tracking, payroll management, finance management, credit card processing, and receipt scanning. Wave Accounting is designed to help businesses streamline bookkeeping processes. With Wave's bank reconciliation tools, businesses can manage all bank account and credit card information in real-time to improve bookkeeping efficiency and accuracy. Businesses can also generate reports that include various data such as sales tax, balance sheet, cash flow, profit/loss, plus more. Wave's dashboard includes an invoicing tool that collects invoice payments. A small business owner can choose customizable invoicing templates based on unique business needs. Invoices can be sent via email and the software's credit card processing feature allows users to collect payments online. Recurring invoices and automatic payment features are available for regular customers. The platform ensures data availability and provides backup services for extra peace of mind. A key feature of the Pro Plan is the ability to establish unlimited bank and credit card connections, allowing users to connect their accounts within seconds. This automated process eliminates the need for manual receipt entry, saving time and reducing the risk of errors. Additionally, Wave's Pro Plan empowers users to keep track of their business's financial health by offering robust small business accounting reports. These reports, which are easy to use, provide valuable insights by allowing for month-to-month or year-to-year comparisons. By identifying cash flow trends, businesses can make informed decisions to navigate their financial landscape more effectively. Another significant advantage of the Pro Plan is the simplified tax management process it offers. By organizing income, expenses, payments, and invoices through the smart dashboard, Wave ensures that tax time becomes less burdensome for businesses. Moreover, Wave's security measures guarantee the protection of sensitive financial data. Bank data connections are read-only and encrypted using 256-bit encryption. The servers are housed under robust physical and electronic protection, and Wave is PCI Level-1 certified for handling credit card and bank account information, further enhancing the security of users' financial information.
Wave Software - Wave dashboard
Wave Software - Wave payments
Wave Software - Wave invoice schedule
Wave Software - Wave invoice list
Wave Software - Wave invoice creation
Wave Software - Wave bank transactions
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Wave Software - Wave dashboard - thumbnail
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Wave pricing

Wave has a free version and offers a free trial. Wave paid version starts at US$16.00/year.

Starting Price:
US$16.00/year
Free Version:
Yes
Free trial:
Yes

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Wave Reviews

Overall rating

4.4
Write a Review!

Feature rating

Value for Money
4.6
Functionality
4.2
Ease of Use
4.4
Customer Support
4.0
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All Wave Reviews

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1,624 reviews
Amanda
Amanda
  • Industry: Marketing & Advertising
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5.0
Reviewed on 20/09/2024

Wave - Accounting Software

I've used Wave for nearly five years now. It's simple to use, and the cost is pretty low compared to some of the other options out there. I have had a few technology hiccups from time to time that have created some extra work and had me exploring other options, but each time it was eventually resolved, and I am still with them.

Pros

Wave is pretty easy to use, and if you can't figure it out on your own, the help documents are pretty easy to follow and guide you to the right spot.

Cons

It's invoicing only so it's not as robust as some competitor products that also include documents for proposals and such.

Alternatives Considered

HoneyBook, FreshBooks and QuickBooks Enterprise

Reasons for Switching to Wave

Wave had the easiest to use interface and the options that were on the "had to have" list at the lowest rate. I really liked HoneyBook and FreshBooks, but their cheapest plans were much more expensive than Wave.
Ashley
  • Industry: Automotive
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Daily for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
0

4.0
Reviewed on 21/02/2024

Accounting without a Cost

I loved this software/app so much that I actually decided to open a personal account and use it for mine and my husbands personal finances! I had been using the good ole trusty excel for this. But this makes everything so much nicer. It imports all my husbands charges and then I can code them and see just where our money is going.

Not to mention, it has help the business I work for be more successful in bringing in a bigger profit!

If you are trying to decided between software's and don't know where to start, try Wave for your business accounting needs.

Pros

The first greatest thing about Wave is that is FREE!!! If you are just starting out, or a small business where overhead and expense need to be kept to a minimum, I recommend this app. It has all basic functions you need like, quotes, invoicing, statements, entering bills, receipts, reconciling bank statements, etc. All of these services including reporting are included in the free software! It has payroll functions for an additional charge, which we have opted out of for the time being. You can even link your bank account to it and it will import all the your debits and credits for reconciling.

Also, this software is super user friendly and you do not need to be a tech expert to understand it. It will set you up with preloaded items it thinks you need for your business and then you can change them or delete them. You can also add new ones super easy while doing this or after the fact. I really love that its cloud base and can be accessed anywhere. This makes it key for me when traveling for work.

Cons

Honestly Wave is pretty awesome that it was hard to find cons with it. The only drawback for me is the reporting. I wish I was able to customize them and select certain data to analyze. The reports are basic and standard, they just don't quite cover what I am looking for in my reporting.

Alternatives Considered

QuickBooks Enterprise

Reasons for Switching to Wave

I choose Wave due to pricing, that its also stored on the cloud so it can be accessed anywhere at anytime. Also the setup was super easy and done in a day.
Daniel
  • Industry: Accounting
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
3
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
3

3.0
Reviewed on 14/10/2024

Good software for basic use, great for personal accounts.

It was great solution for small business in the UK market, however with the introduction of MTD in the UK, Wave has decided to stop developing the product for the UK market within MTD.

Pros

I liked that it was an online free solution for the UK customers.

Cons

The reporting side is very limited, only basic reports are available.

Alternatives Considered

FreshBooks and FreeAgent

Reasons for Choosing Wave

We needed an online solution for the clients that we would be able to monitor on an ongoing regular basis.

Switched From

Microsoft Excel

Reasons for Switching to Wave

It was free software that our clients were comfortable to use.
Josh
  • Industry: Sporting Goods
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

4.0
Reviewed on 2/08/2024

Not paying for more than I need!

Overall I’m extremely satisfied. I don’t feel like I’m forced to pay for things that I really don’t need. The basics are free and the add-ons are reasonably priced

Pros

It’s simple and straightforward. It’s got a clean sleek look and it’s very affordable.

Cons

I wish I could view my transactions within the app instead of just online.

Alternatives Considered

Sage Accounting, Square Payroll and Microsoft Excel

Reasons for Choosing Wave

Cost is the main reason I was looking for an alternative, but other than a much more affordable price, the simplicity and sleekness of wave played a huge part in earning my business.

Reasons for Switching to Wave

The simplicity and sleekness of wave played a huge part in earning my business over the others.
hannah
  • Industry: Hospitality
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Monthly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5.0
Reviewed on 8/10/2024

better than quickbooks in my opinion

quickbooks was confusing to me. i happened to find wave just browsing the internet and it seemed a lot easier to me.

Pros

simple interface. very easy for a beginner.

Cons

no complaints really. i only use it for my commercial accounts so it's pretty simple for me.

Alternatives Considered

FreshBooks

Reasons for Choosing Wave

quickbooks was too confusing for me. it was probably my fault though. i'm not an expert in accounting nor do i want to be. i'm just a small business owner learning as she goes and just hired a bookeeper finally after being in business for 6 years.

Switched From

QuickBooks Solopreneur

Reasons for Switching to Wave

at the time, wave was free and i liked the look and flow of the interface.
Karen
  • Industry: Mental Health Care
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5.0
Reviewed on 14/10/2024

An Accounting Dream!

Fantastic! I'm able to pull my profit and loss statement quickly and clearly. There are many options for running reports and seeing where your money is going.

Pros

Wave is fantastic! It's easy to use and provides many options for running reports and managing your money. I also love the ability to connect my business card and my business bank account.

Cons

Any problems I have with Wave are not because of the software. Wave has made it as easy as possible.

Reece
Reece
  • Industry: Nonprofit Organisation Management
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5.0
Reviewed on 10/09/2024

Wave - Perfect for New Businesses

Wave has been wonderful, I use it to manage my accounting, and also invoice. I imagine that in the future I would use it for payroll as well. All of this is done with no monthly charge, and a very fair charge for ACH payments on my invoices.

Pros

It can do pretty much anything that QuickBooks can do, but it can be used for free! This was perfect for when I was setting up the back-end of my entrepreneurial business.

Cons

It required a bit of learning to use, I was used to QuickBooks, and some of the language, UI, and functions look or work differently. After this initial period it has become perfectly simple and useful.

Serene
  • Industry: Retail
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
4
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5.0
Reviewed on 14/09/2024

What I am Experiencing with Wave

Pros

Wave automates over 86% of manual repetitive accounting tasks such as invoicing and billing.

Cons

I slightly dislike that Wave lack capabilities for global enterprise organizations but it has a robust backend integration capability.

Allison
  • Industry: Marketing & Advertising
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
5

4.0
Reviewed on 23/10/2024

Great for personal and small business!

Pros

I like that there's a pretty robust free version and I can use it for both personal and business use. I can also link multiple business Wave accounts under a single login.

Cons

I sometimes have trouble reconciling credit card payments within the app.

Jérôme
  • Industry: Financial Services
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Features
4
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
4

4.0
Reviewed on 16/10/2024

Take the Wave!

Very straight forward and easy to getting to know

Pros

Quick and easy invoicing tool that allows online payment

Cons

Limited options to use for al types of customers

Verified Reviewer
  • Industry: Management Consulting
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 6-12 months
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
4
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5.0
Reviewed on 3/12/2019

Wonderful accounting software for starting and growing a service business

I haven't gone through a tax season with my business yet, but I have been an independent consultant and I anticipate having everything tracked in Wave is going to help me out a lot come April. It's so easy to use and I can focus on my core business rather than spending a lot of time on admin.

Pros

Wave helps me do so much. I can issue invoices, track them (I.e. I can see when a client has viewed it!), and allow clients to make payments directly through the invoice. I can also customize my invoice, which is great. I could do all of this from day 1. I'm a solopreneur and launched my business this summer. I was able to issue professional invoices from day 1 and track my expenses using their receipts app. The other thing I love about Wave is that they are very interested in feedback from their customers. I've had a few interactions with them and it's always been really pleasant. It's also free which helps me out a lot. I do use the credit card payments, which has a fee like any other service would.

Cons

Their mobile app could use some work, and I've given them this feedback. The receipts app is great to take pictures really quickly, but I generally have to use the browser to do anything else.

Alternatives Considered

FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online

Reasons for Choosing Wave

I needed something professional and long term.

Switched From

Microsoft Excel

Reasons for Switching to Wave

The core software was pricey and I could have easily used Word and Excel and if I wanted a 'free' option. I also didn't need all the bells and whistles, so paying so much for this service didn't make sense for me.
Proinsias
Proinsias
  • Industry: Online Media
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
4
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
4

5.0
Reviewed on 3/03/2021

Wave Accounting is great for a Startup Business

I was very happy with the invoicing, payments, and the Design and functionality. I was able to search past transactions very easily. I did not pay for premium support, but the support that I recieve is excellent.

Pros

It was free to use the accounting services
I was able to invoice customers using Stripe as a Payment Gateway which was great value
The Design and User Interface is very professional compared to others that I have seen
The Payment Gateway was also very professional when sent to customers, it added to the credibility of the business

Cons

My particular Bank would not allow me to sync my account with Wave, but that was a local issue not a general issue.
I was very very happy with the invoicing. but I always felt that the ledger views were not as robust.

Alternatives Considered

Sage 100 and Zoho Expense

Reasons for Choosing Wave

The functionality that I really needed was free and I was very happy with that.

Switched From

Sage 100 and Zoho Expense

Reasons for Switching to Wave

It was really cost, efficiency, and user interface. It looked good from the customer side and that was important for me.
Jonathan
  • Industry: Marketing & Advertising
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
3

5.0
Reviewed on 11/08/2022

It’s free, but better than any paid accounting software.

We’ve been using wave since beta. We tried Quickbooks and a few other accounting platforms after a consultant suggested we review other platforms. Ultimately, we never left wave and will not in the foreseeable future.

Pros

Wave is free, but it’s powerful. Wave is suitable for any small to medium business. Wave handles all our accounting needs.

Cons

Wave has two major areas of improvement. 1. Their customer service is difficult, especially if you have an urgent matter. Their chargeback dispute process is not easy and confusing. Again, customer support regarding chargebacks is difficult considering you have a few days to submit a dispute package.

Alternatives Considered

QuickBooks Online

Reasons for Choosing Wave

At first it was because Wave is free. But then we discovered how powerful Wave is, it’s perfect for our business.

Switched From

QuickBooks Desktop

Reasons for Switching to Wave

It was free.
Andrew
  • Industry: Accounting
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
3

5.0
Reviewed on 21/12/2022

Wave Accounting

My overall experience with Wave was excellent and I had no issues with this software. If it was not for a change in business practice, I would still be using Wave now.

Pros

The best thing about this software is that it is free and offer just as much if not more features than some of its paid competitors. You can also access it online from any PC.

Cons

They don't have a robust support line but considering you are not paying for the software, you can't blame them. Plus there really isn't any reason for you to need support as everything is user-friendly and there is adequate help features in the software.

Alternatives Considered

QuickBooks Desktop

Reasons for Choosing Wave

Wave was free and offer the same functions and services.

Switched From

QuickBooks Enterprise

Reasons for Switching to Wave

Price
Verified Reviewer
  • Industry: Civil Engineering
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Daily for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
4

5.0
Reviewed on 31/03/2022

Wave Accounting

I was able to quickly send professional estimates and invoices on go and I didn't have to keep a lot of envelopes with receipts any more, I could just scan receipts and attach them to a bank transaction. Before I even get an accountant, I would easily see the performance of the business from the cash flow graphs and profit and loss graphs.

Pros

Setting reminders to be sent to clients for payment is the most important feature from wave in my opinion. Also being able to create recurring invoices you you don't have to do the same thing every week or every month. My other favorite is customer statements. Pulling out customer statements and sending to your clients gives you points in terms of professionalism. I also appreciate that when Wave stopped operating in South Africa they recommended Zoho and gave us a year of free use of Zoho. Even though I did not like changing, this was a very thoughtful move by wave.

Cons

For some reason wave starting giving limited access to its South African customers and partnered with Zoho for customers to migrate. Even though the apps are similar, they're not the same and it took a little bit of time to now learn Zoho a new app.

Alternatives Considered

QuickBooks Online Accountant

Reasons for Switching to Wave

Wave Accounting came highly recommended by friends. In addition when I first opened wave, the dashboard look simple and it was easy for me to follow.
Michael
  • Industry: Music
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
4
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
3

4.0
Reviewed on 20/11/2020

Wave Was/Is My Go To From QB Online

My overall experience has been great! I have to do some thinking/remembering at tax time to separate the double entries of income. I show an invoice paid by check WAVE shows that income on my account. I go to the bank and deposit, there is that check again. For the total amount of money saved, around $450-500, I will put up with it.

Pros

It is FREE in the cloud, works on ALL platforms Windows 7,10, Android, iphones. Accepts all credit cards including Amex for 2.9% I am saving $420+ yearly by not having QB, I don't have to print invoices. Since WAVE is in the cloud I email my invoices and receipts.

Cons

I wish it had more storage of customer service that has been performed in the past but I suspect that would require some expense. It only had 3 invoice templates and there wasn't much customization on those. You can't compound taxes on your invoices, let me rephrase, you can compound 1 tax but no more. Since my only taxes are State and County I found it best to compound none for fear of forgetting which one I had compounded

Alternatives Considered

NolaPro

Reasons for Choosing Wave

Quickbooks Online wasn't as good as the desktop version but as long as Windows 10 is still under construction I won't chance having another desktop version made unusable due to another Windows 10 "update". I don't need to be concerned about it anymore now that I have WAVE!

Switched From

QuickBooks Online

Reasons for Switching to Wave

Wave had a more complete suite of the tools I needed that were familiar to me from my experience with Quickbooks
Verified Reviewer
  • Industry: Leisure, Travel & Tourism
  • Company size: 51–200 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
4
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
0

5.0
Reviewed on 17/11/2021

Great Software. Super Affordable.

Pros

For a small business, or probably even a larger one, it's a really great software with all of the accounting and billing basics needed, and it's basically free. The online payment system works really well for getting payments from clients. They can either pay with a credit card or ACH, which is great. You can turn off credit card payments too if you don't want to have a fee taken from your payments, which I also find as a nice feature. The invoices look very professional, can be white-labeled, so it just has your branded information on it. The invoices are also really easy to make. We had been trying to use Excel as an accounting system when we first started our small business, and found Wave soon after. It was a huge upgrade, and not very expensive. The reports are great, and it's easy to track expenses and monies brought in. It solved all of our accounting needs as a small website building business.

Cons

The one thing we really think can be improved are the recurring invoices. It doesn't make the invoice numbers in order based on that client's invoices, so they're oddly out of order. It's not a huge deal, but would be much better if it kept the invoice numbers specific to each set of clients.

James
James
  • Industry: Professional Training & Coaching
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5.0
Reviewed on 6/04/2021

My go-to invoicing and accounting tool for my small business!

Nothing but amazing! I'm so glad I switched from Square for my invoice and payment processing.

Pros

It is so easy to use, and customized specifically for small business owners. I absolutely LOVE the invoice feature - it's the primary feature that I use - and it just works so well. My completed payments rate is 100% and I believe is at least in part due to how easy the process is to view/pay invoices.

Cons

Sometimes I wish the payment speed was faster after a client makes a payment, but then they introduced instant deposits and I'm happy to pay the small fee to get my money faster!

Alternatives Considered

Square Payments and Stripe

Reasons for Choosing Wave

Better fees, faster money and Wave is customized specifically for small business owners just like me.

Switched From

Square Payments

Reasons for Switching to Wave

The UX is so much better, less complicated and I can't say enough how much I like that Wave is designed specifically for small business owners and what matters to them.
Jack
  • Industry: Information Technology & Services
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
4
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
3

4.0
Reviewed on 14/12/2018

Wave has amazing functionality for a free product, but it's not as good as it should be

I have been using Accounting by Wave for nearly three years. It was a replacement for my Simply Accounting program. I am forever wondering how Wave can afford to make such a polished product available at no cost. Initially, there were ads, but now that they have a revenue stream from additional services, the ads have been removed. I have opted not to use their in-built payment processing feature, but I imagine it would be similar to Paypal in terms of the fees. Day-to-day operation of the program is smooth. They use a Zapier interface to my bank to update balances and download transactions. This interface is quite slow, although the speed has improved somewhat over the years. As bank transactions are imported, they are categorized into various income/expense categories. I find the categorization to be fairly unhelpful. Even after the user changes the categorization of transactions, Wave does not remember these settings. The next time data is downloaded, it will use the same, incorrect categories as the previous time. Wave is currently rolling out a new version of their software, which promises improvements to the AI (artificial intelligence) capabilities. I hope this means they will remember user-defined categorizations, but until my account is updated, I cannot speculate. There is one VERY ANNOYING bug in the program that I have described in the CONS section, since I've run out of space here.

Pros

The software is FREE for everything other than PAYROLL and PAYMENT PROCESSING. If you don't use those components, there is absolutely no charge. For the most part, it is user-friendly and straightforward, and the quality of its printed invoices, customer statements and reports is top-notch. I really appreciate the ability to create recurring invoices (subscription billing) and view monthly income/expense bar charts for a 1- or 2-year period.

Cons

This is bookkeeping software that stresses simple data entry. However, it doesn't have features such as audit trails for transaction entries. With this program, it is possible to generate transactions, generate reports, and then reverse the transactions without any way of knowing that changes were made. Wave attempts to categorize your income and expenditures, but doesn't currently have the ability to remember your categorizations. But the thing I like least about this software is a BUG that causes the program to download bank transactions and incorrectly categorize them as duplicates of previously downloaded transactions if the transaction amounts match. This bug makes it difficult to find transactions when you are attempting to reconcile your transactions.

Luke
  • Industry: Retail
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
3
Features
2
Ease of Use
2
Customer Support
2

1.0
Reviewed on 12/02/2020

A data-import nightmare - Stay away unless you love lost transactions

Support has been poor quality. As a paying customer of both their payroll service (which is solid) and their accounting coaching, I'm tremendously disappointed with the platform.

Pros

The software at it's core is very easy to use. The reliability is however a complete failure.

Cons

Throughout the past 3 years, Wave has been a game of 'make sure my bank works.' First, I closed incompatible credit card accounts in order to open accounts that were listed as compatible. A year later, Wave lost the connection with all of capital one due to an issue with switching data providers (from Plaid).

Next, Chase bank cards also disappeared. When finally reconnecting, weeks worth of transactions were intermittently missing. For a software company who's core goal is to reduce manual data entry, this platform is a nightmare. Stay away.

Spencer
  • Industry: Photography
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Monthly for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
0

5.0
Reviewed on 31/08/2021

Very powerful free features with the option to purchase high-quality premium services!

I am very impressed with Wave Accounting. Their free products aren't skimpy or limiting, but are actually very full and would likely not be free from another service provider! Wave's premium offerings are extensive as well. Overall, I've found that Wave Accounting is perfect for a wide target audience including small businesses, sole proprietors, independent contractors and freelancers, or people looking to take their invoicing, accounting, payment collecting, etc. to anything beyond their basic capacity and limitations. Highly recommend to a broad audience needing such services.

Pros

Wave Apps software features not only very beautiful interfaces for their products' dashboard, but the platform is at once very feature-heavy and thoughtfully well designed. The aesthetically-pleasing graphics for content such as cash flow, profit and loss, and expense breakdowns on the primary dashboard are sharp and clean in addition to being so helpfully data-driven, and all that is just on the landing page. As you navigate through categories of sales, purchases, accounting, banking, you experience how well-constructions the pages are for options within each section including sales, purchases, accounting, etc. I love just how many of the feature-heavy options are completely *FREE.* Wave Apps offers select premium services, such as Wave Advisors and bookkeeping, even business insurance with "NEXT," while offering things such as accounting, invoicing , etc. free of charge. It's an excellent product for anyone looking for a beautiful interface, but also wanting lots of features without needing to immediately spend money for quality products.

Cons

So many elements within Wave are intuitively navigable and to use with simple data entry. One area that was a little more challenging for me to set up with the chart of accounts section in the accounting area of the interface. It's so nice that it's deeply customizable, but the challenge was that it took me a little extra time to understand and knowledgeably input the data of my assets, liabilities/credits, income, expenses, equity. This is something that would be challenging for anyone not familiar with basic accounting on any software, so I probably would've benefitted from a few "help" pop-ups/set-up assistance here than perhaps some other areas. Where my limitations with setup start is however where Wave's premium products with bookkeeping and accounting are so valuable to the user. There are many great pop-up notices throughout the platform that inform you about new features of ways to most effectively use Wave Apps features, which is great, and of course, they're complete with beautiful graphics.

Nweke
Nweke
  • Industry: Design
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Features
4
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
0

4.0
Reviewed on 11/04/2023

A good start for small businesses to easily manage their billing and invoicing

It made my startup process easy and saved my business a lot of expenses. I also learnt a lot as a novice with basic financial knowledge.

Pros

First of all, it is completely FREE part from other optional extra services that have recently been added at a cost. Very easy-to-use in creating invoices and billing customers. I was able to integrate with my startup business processes and it improved our professionalism. I loved the app because I could easily manage my business finances from my mobile phone, follow up on due payments, track payments, monitor cashflow, and also customize all correspondence with my brand colors and logo.

Cons

I was sad when most features were limited to US residents and I also couldn't access the mobile app in the app store for my region. Users outside the USA might have some limitations especially with connecting banks or credit cards and no access to the mobile app

Alternatives Considered

Sage Accounting and Zoho Invoice

Reasons for Switching to Wave

It was free and easy-to-use
Celine
  • Industry: Marketing & Advertising
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Monthly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
0
Features
3
Ease of Use
2
Customer Support
1

1.0
Reviewed on 26/11/2023

Worst nightmare during the worst time

About 6 months into the business, we heard of wave. We are based on the west coast, and saw that they were on the east coast in Canada, but we had clients in different time zones, so that was no issue. Starting out, we wanted to make a good impression, so we had 5 clients run through wave, our biggest one being my cousin's boyfriend, although that was never disclosed because it didn't have to be. Further along, readers will understand why I mentioned it. We had transactions that averages between $500-$2000, but he was the main client that we used with wave. Overall, he paid us $12,000 for all of his small businesses as he is an entrepreneur. They saw that he had made many payments within a span of 3 months, and froze our account altogether, saying that they could not release the funds until 6 months had passed, and even gave us the specific day the funds were to be released. We didn't know what to do, so we waited the entire 6 months. When we reached out to them, they told us to collect payment in another way, but they had already collected payment for us, and we can't double charge anyone. It makes no sense. [sensitive content hidden] (her boyfriend) was furious, and tried to call the company several times himself, but THERE IS NO ACTUAL PHONE LINE for them! So all that could be done were emails that were ignored. He had business up in Canada and somehow got ahold of someone, asking to refund his money so he could pay us directly, but again received no response. 6 months passed and we never received our money. My cousin would log on daily and we had our business account linked to it, so all was in order, but all it was was a copy of everything wells Fargo had. We tried for 2 years to get our money back, even after the company was dissolved, with no luck. They decided to close our account (we weren't using it for anything anyway) and gave us the reason that our company didn't have enough of a presence for them. After 3 years and the actual person that paid trying to contact them and no chargeback of any sort occuring, it's quite obvious that there is no fraudulent or suspicious activity whatsoever. My cousin spoke to a different person every day via live chat who never knew what was going on and would forget about our case. One day she finally got to the right person, who saw the mistake on their end, and we finally received our money over 3 years later.

Pros

The only positive thing that I can say about them, is that after THREE years and having to lose the company that my cousins and I started together, we did finally get our money, or rather most of it.

Cons

I will just tell you our story with it. My 2 cousins and I decided to go into business together before COVID happened. We all have degrees in different categories and wanted to join forces. One had a degree in computer engineering, one in graphic design, and I had a business degree although at the time I had a huge following on social media and was working as an influencer. We wanted to help small businesses get their names out, and started a business advertising for them. I used my presence on social media to advertise by word of mouth, while my cousins would design web sites, and create custom logos and business cards for our clients. We began with just friends to test, so we didn't have a set price for anyone. It was also a side gig so we let people set their prices. Thankfully wave was not the only company that we used. I will describe our experience in the next question.

Miguel
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5.0
Reviewed on 15/03/2018

Accounting, with all the bells and whistles, no costs.

My business accounting needs are not big. My business is small and provides a limited number of offerings that are easily tracked with any application. So, when I was looking for an accounting solution to further simplify and automate some functions, I was surprised at the number of products and the wide range of prices out there. I stumbled across Wave by accident and decided to give it a try. Besides being free, the list of standard features was greater than all other products out there... from free competitive services to paid basic subscriptions. Wave is truly amazing and I have found it extremely helpful. I use it primarily to bill clients: I create invoices, submit them via email, receive payments online, and request receipts to be sent to clients after payment. Wave provides notifications and simplifies all of my accounting in one place. I would not use any other product.

Pros

Wave is free, and packed with features one would typically pay for in other premium products. Wave is the perfect accounting solution for small businesses. For starters, it offers all the essential features ANY business needs... plus more. Manage estimates, invoices, and statements with ease. It even supports recurring invoicing, manage payments, and build a massive library of products and services to choose from for your estimates and invoices. Wave even manages receipts, bills and vendors to track expenses. Like more control than just simple single entries? Wave supports traditional double-entry accounting as well, for increase control of your business accounting needs. Need to accept credit card payments? Wave has a built-in merchant account feature that let's you collect payments online through your invoices. Make email invoices, or attach them as PDF files. And when you get paid, Wave notifies you. Funds are transferred to your connected business account in a couple of days. Reporting? Wave has you covered. All essential reports are available at your fingertips: financial statements, taxes, customers, vendors, and other general reports. And if your business has employees, Wave can handle your payroll. But this feature is a premium... everything else is part of your free account.

Chris
  • Industry: Consumer Goods
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
4
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
0

4.0
Reviewed on 3/11/2018

Great alternative to Quickbooks for small biz users

I have two small e-commerce business, and needed a way to track my inventory purchases, sales, shipping expenses, etc. I also had two independent contractor businesses, needing to track expenses such as mileage, supplies, etc. With Wave, I have each venture as a separate company, I can customize the chart of accounts for each one, create invoices for my independent contractor gigs, track invoice status so I don't overlook if something doesn't get paid on time, and review my income and expenses each month. I sometimes do consignment sales for clients in my e-commerce business, and Wave helps me keep track of those sales and settle up with clients each month. Truly a lot of great features offered, and I don't even use all of them (like Banking & Payroll). So glad I found Wave, and I have recommended it to many others.

Pros

Wave offers a lot of the basic accounting functions needed for small business users, and the best part is that it's FREE TO USE! Woo hoo! I used QuickBooks in my previous career, and liked the detail it provided, but once I started my own small e-commerce business, I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on software, or get locked into a recurring monthly subscription. I was thrilled to find Wave and amazed that it was FREE!

Cons

I wish there was a keyword search function in the Transactions section. Sometimes I need to look for a specific transaction but don't remember the exact date it occurred, so have to scroll through several pages to find what I'm seeking. A workaround is to export an Income Statement, then search or sort in Excel, but obviously that takes several extra steps and time. But since it's not costing me anything, this is a minor inconvenience.

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