Compare Wave Accounting Services

Updated Dec 21, 2021


Compare Wave Accounting Service

Wave is a great bookkeeping accounting software for a service-based small business. It is a user-friendly software that syncs your expenses and gets you ready for tax time. Through this software clients can easily send invoices without having to go through the trouble to track inventory or run payroll. Wave is simple and convenient. The best part about this is that it is free and can be a good choice for freelancers and small businesses. Moreover, at the end of the year, accountants can prepare business tax return by extracting important reports

What Are The Advantages Of Using Waves Accounting Service

  • It is free of cost
  • Great for freelancing and small businesses
  • Provides free accounting, invoicing and receipts scanning
  • Offers unlimited transaction or billing
  • Allowing multiple businesses to run in one account
  • Allows multiple users to register
  • Has a user-friendly mobile application
  • Organized and stress-free accounting
  • Accountant-friendly software
  • Safe and secure service
  • Accepts online payments
  • iOS and Android apps for sending invoices on the go
  • Automatic backup in the cloud
  • Organizes the content of your invoices with drag-and-drop line items
  • Sends statements to follow up on overdue customer accounts

Main Features Of Wave Accounting Compared

Accounting

  • Simple, reliable, and secure
  • Easily manages cash flow
  • Prepares you for tax time
  • Accrual and cash based accounting
  • User-friendly software

Invoice

  • Provides invoice in any currency
  • Quickly send estimates and turn them into invoices upon approval
  • Customers can view all customer transaction history in one place
  • Managed customer communications
  • Sends statements to follow up on overdue customer accounts
  • Accepts credit cards and bank payments to get paid automatically
  • Sets up automatic payments for recurring invoices
  • Personalizes your invoices with a choice of professional invoice templates
  • Helps in customizing: you can add your logo and colors
  • Makes invoices perfect with customizable columns
  • Organizes the content of your invoices with drag-and-drop line items
  • Offers automatic and seamless accounting integration
  • iOS and Android apps for sending invoices on the go
  • You can send invoices using Wave, Gmail, Outlook and more
  • Knows when your invoices are viewed
  • Sets automatic payment reminders to nudge your customer to pay on time
  • Easy-to-understand cash flow insights
  • Duplicates invoices to save time when billing
  • Provides automatic sales tax calculations
  • Sends professional payment receipts
  • Offers an automatic backup in the cloud
  • Payment terms can be customized
  • Tracks payments, partial payments, overdue invoices

Receipts

  • Available for iOS and Android
  • Scans receipts
  • Allows reviewing of information
  • Syncs and tracks your receipts
  • Provides an accurate picture of your business expenses

Wave Prices and Plans

At present, Wave offers two packages that are free of cost and do not contain any hidden charges.

Accounting Software

  • FREE $0
  • No set-up fees, no hidden charges, no monthly fee
  • Unlimited income and expense tracking
  • Track sales tax on income and expenses
  • Add unlimited partners, collaborators or accountants
  • Fully functional double entry system. Generate financial statements for year-end
  • Powerful reports on overdue invoices & bills, cash flow, profit & loss and more
  • Unlimited bank and credit card connections
  • Easily organize income and expenses into tax categories
  • Run multiple businesses in one account
  • Instantly see how your business is performing on your dashboard

Receipt Scanning

  • Unlimited receipt scanning with our free mobile app
  • Integrate seamlessly with the accounting software by Wave
  • Capture receipts even when you’re offline
  • Say goodbye to paper receipts and spreadsheets
  • Snap a photo of your receipt, we'll automatically fill in the rest
  • Available on Android and iOS
  • Incorporate receipts into your accounting reports
  • Scan multiple receipts all at once
  • No setup fees, monthly fees, or hidden fees
  • Create your free Wave account

Waves Add-on Service

Wave currently has two payroll plans that are a part of the add-on service.

Plan 1

  • $20/month plus $6 per employee or contractor
  • Processes payroll and prepares payroll tax calculations
  • User has to manually complete payroll tax forms and submit payments

Plan 2

  • $35 per month plus $6 per employee or contractor
  • Offers tax filings and payments
  • Only available in14 states of the U.S

Wave Integration


Wave offers a partnership service through which you can easily grow your business with referrals and exclusive promotions. Wave works together with companies that provide software to small businesses and customers to make excellent software. It encourages independent software vendors with an application to register as well. It also offers partnership to bank, credit union, or other financial services provider.

Top 5 Wave Accounting Service Complaints

  • Third-party app integration are limited
  • Charges a higher fees on credit cards and ACH payments
  • Full-service payroll is limited to only 14 states
  • Does not have an inventory management system
  • Lacks various advanced features

Waves VS QuickBooks: A Comparison of Accounting Features

Accounting
QuickBooks Online

  • QuickBooks Online has a range of options to choose your accounting methods from.
  • It also offers cash-based and accrual methods along with journal entries and bank reconciliation.

Wave

  • Wave also offers accrual and cash based accounting. However, the Wave software is only limited to cash basis and accrual reports.

Invoicing
QuickBooks Online

  • Unlimited invoices
  • Customizes your invoices through size invoice and Microsoft Word
  • Allows users to change logo and color scheme etc.
  • Also allows users to add fields for shipping charges and discounts as well
  • Has a language translator tool
  • Auto schedules and tracks invoices

Wave

  • Offers unlimited invoicing
  • Has an excellent invoicing service without monthly fee
  • Offers only three invoice templates
  • Templates are well-designed
  • Allows users to send recurring invoices
  • Sends prompts and reminders
  • User-friendly invoice dashboard
  • Sales tax and discounts have to be added manually

Inventory
QuickBooks Online

  • Consists of an inventory feature
  • Customers will have to upgrade to the plus or advanced plan to access the full-service
  • Allows tracking of products and services
  • Higher plans are better and more convenient with their advanced features such as sales input purchase prices, SKUs, descriptions, and images

Wave

  • It has limited inventory features
  • Only allows customers to add products/services and small description along with price
  • It does not show current stock levels.

Reports
QuickBooks

  • It has over 80 reports and you can access them according to what the plan allows
  • Provides standard reports such as profit and loss statements and balance sheets and job costing

Wave

  • Only offers 12 reports
  • A good option for small businesses as it provides common reports such as cash flow statements etc.
  • Customizes reports as per you needs

Project Management
QuickBooks

  • Customers need to be on an advanced plan to be able to access all the features
  • Customers can create projects
  • Tracks billable and unbillable time
  • Tracks expenses
  • Tracks profits of each job

Wave

  • It does not have a project management

Time Tracking
QuickBooks

  • Only provides time tracking features customers that are on Essentials, Plus, or Advanced Plans.
  • Allows users to create single-time activities or timesheets
  • Tracked time can be attached to projects as well

Wave

  • It does not have a time tracking feature as of yet

Payroll
QuickBooks

  • Users can sign up for Intuit Online Payroll
  • Offers three different plans
  • Core plan is the least expensive and comes with full-service payroll
  • The Premium comes with added features such as administration and same-day direct deposit.
  • The top-level Elite has the best features such as personal HR advisor, customized setup, and 24/7 customer support

Wave

  • Offers two payroll services but with an additional monthly
  • This service is only available in 14 states. Business owners in the remaining states can sign up for self-service payroll

Lending
QuickBooks Online

  • Offers access to QuickBooks Capital through which customers can earn up to a $100,000 as their working capital
  • Includes competitive interest rates up to 12 months

Wave

  • Offers built-in lending through a partnership with OnDeck.
  • Users can receive a short-term loan up to $500,000 with terms up to 36 months.
  • Users can also qualify for a flexible line of credit up to $100,000 with repayment terms up to six months
  • It is an expensive service