Wave Accounting Review: Pros, Cons, Alternatives
Moreover, you can integrate QuickBooks with hundreds of third-party tools available in the app marketplace. There are also add-on Intuit services like QuickBooks Payroll or QuickBooks Time. Our (non-judgmental) team of bookkeeping, accounting, and payroll experts is standing by to coach you—or do the work for you. By providing feedback on how we can improve, you can earn gift cards and get early access to new features. You can file yourself with assistance or have your taxes filed for you. Join the thousands of people like you already growing their businesses and knowledge with our team of experts.
How does Wave Accounting work?
For instance, its unlimited invoices are much more customizable full disclosure definition and meaning (and, in our opinion, more professional-looking) than QuickBooks’ comparatively expensive invoices. Wave is cloud-based software that boasts a solid set of accounting features suitable for most small businesses. In our last review, we found these features especially appealing because they were all completely free with no artificial limits. The software must have features that allow users to set sales tax rates, apply them to invoices, and enable users to pay sales tax liability. Wave Accounting scored poorly in this criterion because of the amount of manual data entry that is required to set up a company file for existing businesses.
Accounting software that works as hard as you do
- Your only support is through an automated chatbot or self-help resources.
- “Wave invoicing makes your life a whole lot easier and takes that worry off you. I’ve tried Quickbooks—it’s a bit more complicated and technical, and takes more time to set up.”
- Our (non-judgmental) team of bookkeeping, accounting, and payroll experts is standing by to coach you—or do the work for you.
- To add an account, go to the Chart of Accounts page under the Accounting menu, and choose from the tabs at the top of the page for the account or category you wish to add.
- See our step-by-step guide on how to import bookkeeping data into Wave here.
Wave is one of our best A/P software because of its ability to record unpaid bills even in the free Starter plan. Compared with free software like Wave, QuickBooks plans are expensive. The most basic plan, Simple Start, costs $30 per month, and the top-tier Advanced plan costs $200 per month, which is a sizable investment if you’re running a business on a tight budget.
The financial management software is user-friendly and equipped with all the basics, including income and expense tracking, invoicing and reporting. Create beautiful invoices, accept online payments, and make accounting easy—all in one place—with Wave’s suite of money management tools. Yes, Wave’s accounting software does automatic double-entry bookkeeping. This accounting process generates two entries for every financial transaction. This free, easy-to-use accounting software is great for small businesses, especially for eCommerce, but lacks in project management, budgeting, and inventory tracking.
Customizable invoicing
One of the most helpful features of Wave is its tax filing feature. Wave now integrates directly with H&R Block to help you file your taxes. The only downside is that there’s no back button, but navigating the software is still pretty simple. The sales and income tax features are evaluated across the other categories, so it has no separate video. One click on the “Review & Pay” button in your invoice email. Want to look more polished, save more time, and conquer cash flow?
Best Accounting Software for Small Businesses of 2024
Additionally, your cost may rise with add-ons like payroll, payment processing, or professional bookkeeping services. In addition, Wave’s mobile app lets you send invoices and track payments on the go. The app offers a receipt scanning feature as well, but you have to pay a subscription fee to access it. There’s a fee involved with accepting online invoice payments, too. Customers can pay via credit card, bank payment or Apple Pay. However, like most products with free plans, Wave has its limitations, especially compared to more scalable small-business accounting software.
If you’re interested in the program after reading my detailed Wave review, you may sign up for the free plan (Starter) or upgrade to the paid version (Pro) for $16 monthly. 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.
Wave offers a decent number of support resources to customers, but the response times can be slow. Furthermore, customers using the free Starter plan will have limited support options. The software must also have a mobile app to enable users to perform accounting tasks even when away from their laptops or desktops. Support network refers to a community of software users that can extend professional help to businesses. Having an independent software expert perform the bookkeeping is good for overall ease of use. Lastly, our expert opinion score is our subjective rating based on our experience in trying the software.
