Clearbooks vs Wave Accounting

What users are saying about

Score 7 out of 10

Based on 1 reviews and ratings

Score 6.8 out of 10

Based on 155 reviews and ratings

Feature Set Ratings

Wave Accounting ranks higher in 1 feature set: General Ledger and Configurable Accounting

General Ledger and Configurable Accounting

5.0

Clearbooks

50%

5.4

Wave Accounting

54%

Wave Accounting ranks higher in 20/21 features

Accounts payable

5.0

50%

1 Rating

5.7

57%

55 Ratings

Accounts receivable

5.0

50%

1 Rating

5.9

59%

66 Ratings

Cash management

5.0

50%

1 Rating

5.6

56%

58 Ratings

Bank reconciliation

5.0

50%

1 Rating

5.0

50%

62 Ratings

Expense management

5.0

50%

1 Rating

6.8

68%

60 Ratings

Fixed asset management

5.0

50%

1 Rating

4.1

41%

11 Ratings

Time tracking

N/A

0 Ratings

4.6

46%

10 Ratings

Multi-currency support

N/A

0 Ratings

6.9

69%

18 Ratings

Multi-division support

N/A

0 Ratings

7.1

71%

9 Ratings

Regulations compliance

N/A

0 Ratings

6.8

68%

15 Ratings

Electronic tax filing

N/A

0 Ratings

5.9

59%

14 Ratings

Self-service portal

N/A

0 Ratings

3.3

33%

39 Ratings

Global Financial Support

N/A

0 Ratings

9.0

90%

2 Ratings

Primary and Secondary Ledgers

N/A

0 Ratings

7.0

70%

4 Ratings

Intercompany Accounting

N/A

0 Ratings

4.2

42%

5 Ratings

Localizations

N/A

0 Ratings

5.2

52%

3 Ratings

Journals and Reconciliations

N/A

0 Ratings

5.6

56%

28 Ratings

Enterprise Accounting

N/A

0 Ratings

4.0

40%

7 Ratings

Configurable Accounting

N/A

0 Ratings

5.5

55%

16 Ratings

Centralized Rules Framework

N/A

0 Ratings

1.0

10%

3 Ratings

Standardized Processes

N/A

0 Ratings

4.7

47%

17 Ratings

Payroll Management

Clearbooks

Feature Set Not Supported

N/A

6.6

Wave Accounting

66%

Wave Accounting ranks higher in 5/5 features

Pay calculation

N/A

0 Ratings

7.2

72%

23 Ratings

Benefit plan administration

N/A

0 Ratings

7.5

75%

4 Ratings

Direct deposit files

N/A

0 Ratings

3.5

35%

20 Ratings

Salary revision and increment management

N/A

0 Ratings

7.7

77%

12 Ratings

Reimbursement management

N/A

0 Ratings

7.4

74%

8 Ratings

Customization

Clearbooks

Feature Set Not Supported

N/A

8.3

Wave Accounting

83%

Wave Accounting ranks higher in 2/2 features

API for custom integration

N/A

0 Ratings

9.7

97%

9 Ratings

Plug-ins

N/A

0 Ratings

7.0

70%

11 Ratings

Security

Clearbooks

Feature Set Not Supported

N/A

6.8

Wave Accounting

68%

Wave Accounting ranks higher in 2/2 features

Single sign-on capability

N/A

0 Ratings

7.4

74%

29 Ratings

Role-based user permissions

N/A

0 Ratings

6.2

62%

33 Ratings

Reporting & Analytics

Clearbooks

Feature Set Not Supported

N/A

6.5

Wave Accounting

65%

Wave Accounting ranks higher in 3/3 features

Dashboards

N/A

0 Ratings

5.8

58%

67 Ratings

Standard reports

N/A

0 Ratings

5.8

58%

66 Ratings

Custom reports

N/A

0 Ratings

8.1

81%

34 Ratings

Inventory Management

Clearbooks

Feature Set Not Supported

N/A

8.1

Wave Accounting

81%

Wave Accounting ranks higher in 4/4 features

Inventory tracking

N/A

0 Ratings

5.6

56%

8 Ratings

Automatic reordering

N/A

0 Ratings

9.9

99%

5 Ratings

Location management

N/A

0 Ratings

8.1

81%

2 Ratings

Manufacturing module

N/A

0 Ratings

9.0

90%

1 Rating

Order Management

Clearbooks

Feature Set Not Supported

N/A

7.2

Wave Accounting

72%

Wave Accounting ranks higher in 7/7 features

Pricing

N/A

0 Ratings

9.3

93%

26 Ratings

Order entry

N/A

0 Ratings

7.1

71%

17 Ratings

Credit card processing

N/A

0 Ratings

4.7

47%

45 Ratings

Cost of goods sold

N/A

0 Ratings

8.3

83%

32 Ratings

Order Orchestration

N/A

0 Ratings

5.8

58%

5 Ratings

End-to-end order visibility

N/A

0 Ratings

8.2

82%

4 Ratings

Order exception Resolution

N/A

0 Ratings

7.0

70%

2 Ratings

Attribute Ratings

Clearbooks is rated higher in 1 area: Likelihood to Recommend

Clearbooks

70%

1 Rating

5.2

Wave Accounting

52%

75 Ratings

Clearbooks

N/A

0 Ratings

7.8

Wave Accounting

78%

3 Ratings

Clearbooks

N/A

0 Ratings

6.5

Wave Accounting

65%

12 Ratings

Clearbooks

N/A

0 Ratings

6.3

Wave Accounting

63%

8 Ratings

Clearbooks

N/A

0 Ratings

2.9

Wave Accounting

29%

4 Ratings

Clearbooks

N/A

0 Ratings

5.2

Wave Accounting

52%

10 Ratings

Clearbooks

N/A

0 Ratings

4.7

Wave Accounting

47%

3 Ratings

Clearbooks

N/A

0 Ratings

3.0

Wave Accounting

30%

2 Ratings

Pros

SaaS, so accessible by anyone, anywhere in the world via a browser
Clear and straight forward navigation
Good choice of management reports

Read full review

Peter Cowley

Various

NumerousInvestment Management, 51-200 employees

View all 1 answers on this topic

Reconciliation is very difficult with multiple Wave transactions that need to be deleted or merged before it can be matched to a bank transaction.
Payroll worked fine for us but took several days to get it set up. We have switched to another bookkeeping system and another payroll system. Canceling with Wave took several days and they charge $6 for something even though the month was paid for in advance.
Credit card processing is nice and worked fine for us.

Read full review

Harry Abell

Treasurer

Chamber of CoommerceComputer Networking, 1-10 employees

View all 75 answers on this topic

Cons

Like any SaaS product, Clearbooks is continuously evolving and being improved
Some of the reports still need some work

Read full review

Peter Cowley

Various

NumerousInvestment Management, 51-200 employees

View all 1 answers on this topic

I know that credit card processing is a way for Wave to make money, but I really wish they offered ACH payment on Invoices.
I do cash-based accounting, which means I have to make little journal entries at the start and end of each year to get my books to balance because Wave wants to do everything differently. This should just be a setting to flip, whether you want cash-based or accrual-based.
They use Yodlee for bank connection, which doesn't play nice with 2FA. Pretty much every time I log in I have to re-enter credentials, get a code sent to me, reauthenticate, and know that I'm going to have to do it again next week. Not really on Wave, but wish they could get it together nonetheless.

Read full review

J.P. VanderLinden

Owner

EmberTribeMarketing and Advertising, 1-10 employees

View all 75 answers on this topic

Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

—

Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

Starting Price

—

General

Free Trial

—

Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

Starting Price

—

Likelihood to Renew

No score

No answers yet

No answers on this topic

Wave Accounting 7.8

Based on 3 answers

Easy to use for clients with no accounting background and the price is right.

Read full review

Jeanne Harris

President

AST Business Solutions Inc.Accounting, 1-10 employees

View all 3 answers on this topic

Usability

No score

No answers yet

No answers on this topic

Wave Accounting 6.5

Based on 12 answers

I am a professional bookkeeper and I have no problems using Wave and all of it's features. I can see that certain individuals who have no accounting knowledge might struggle with a few different features and entries, but that is why Wave has an emphasis in connecting users to Wave Pro's who will walk them through things

Read full review

Melissa Whaley

Owner

Melissa Whaley Tax and BookkeepingAccounting, 1-10 employees

View all 12 answers on this topic

Reliability and Availability

No score

No answers yet

No answers on this topic

Wave Accounting 6.3

Based on 8 answers

WAVE is always available when we need it ! Peter

Read full review

Peter Cullen

Partner at Core Performance

CorelyticsAccounting, 1-10 employees

View all 8 answers on this topic

Performance

No score

No answers yet

No answers on this topic

Wave Accounting 2.9

Based on 4 answers

Wave does tend to slow down when filtering your transactions screen especially by date. This is more of an issue when trying to trouble shoot certain transactions or clean-up a set of books.

Read full review

Melissa Whaley

Owner

Melissa Whaley Tax and BookkeepingAccounting, 1-10 employees

View all 4 answers on this topic

Support Rating

No score

No answers yet

No answers on this topic

Wave Accounting 5.2

Based on 10 answers

I never had to call Wave Support as we barely experienced any support-related problems on our side. However, I do know a few people that complained about Wave support. It would be nice as well, though if they could have more in your face tutorials for new users or how-to videos should we struggle to do something

Read full review

Verified User

Account Manager in Professional Services

Accounting Company, 51-200 employees

View all 10 answers on this topic

Online Training

No score

No answers yet

No answers on this topic

Wave Accounting 4.7

Based on 3 answers

easy to use and east to train on ! Our WAVE clients enjoy the ease of use

Read full review

Peter Cullen

Partner at Core Performance

CorelyticsAccounting, 1-10 employees

View all 3 answers on this topic

Alternatives Considered

Clearbooks was chosen 5 years ago as our accountant recommended it. There is an element of inertia in moving accounts packages.

Read full review

Peter Cowley

Various

NumerousInvestment Management, 51-200 employees

View all 1 answers on this topic

Wave is FREE for most functions. Payment processing costs no matter where you go (as does payroll or taxes). Wave rises above tools like QuickBooks Online because they know that for our small firm, being nimble is the name of the game. We don't need exhaustive reporting and management like QB offers and we certainly don't want to pay for it

Read full review

Verified User

Consultant in Engineering

Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Company, 1-10 employees

View all 75 answers on this topic

Scalability

No score

No answers yet

No answers on this topic

Wave Accounting 3.0

Based on 2 answers

Once they out grow what is ability to move up to a more robust system?

Read full review

Penny Breslin

Account Manager

FileThis, Inc.Accounting, 1-10 employees

View all 2 answers on this topic

Return on Investment

I am not sure that ROI is an appropriate measure for an accounts package. The cost is around £250/year, which is a tiny fraction of the cost of a bookkeeper/finance controller/finance director/CFO.

Read full review

Peter Cowley

Various

NumerousInvestment Management, 51-200 employees

View all 1 answers on this topic

Wave has been ROI positive for our company. With not having to pay for the service we can use our money for growing our business.
The fees on credit card transactions for invoices are reasonable especially as we don't pay a monthly subscription.
The invoicing feature has made our lives easier for us and our customers. The invoicing piece and AR tracking has been ROI positive as well.

Read full review

Lukas Sundahl, MBA

Co-Founder

Solutions Through Innovative Technologies, Inc. (dba STI Technologies, Inc.)Performing Arts, 1-10 employees

View all 75 answers on this topic

Clearbooks

Wave Accounting

Clearbooks

Wave Accounting

Accounts payable

Accounts receivable

Cash management

Bank reconciliation

Expense management

Fixed asset management

Time tracking

Multi-currency support

Multi-division support

Regulations compliance

Electronic tax filing

Self-service portal

Global Financial Support

Primary and Secondary Ledgers

Intercompany Accounting

Localizations

Journals and Reconciliations

Enterprise Accounting

Configurable Accounting

Centralized Rules Framework

Standardized Processes

Clearbooks

Wave Accounting

Pay calculation

Benefit plan administration

Direct deposit files

Salary revision and increment management

Reimbursement management

Clearbooks

Wave Accounting

API for custom integration

Plug-ins

Clearbooks

Wave Accounting

Single sign-on capability

Role-based user permissions

Clearbooks

Wave Accounting

Dashboards

Standard reports

Custom reports

Clearbooks

Wave Accounting

Inventory tracking

Automatic reordering

Location management

Manufacturing module

Clearbooks

Wave Accounting

Pricing

Order entry

Credit card processing

Cost of goods sold

Order Orchestration

End-to-end order visibility

Order exception Resolution

Clearbooks

Wave Accounting

Clearbooks

Wave Accounting

Clearbooks

Wave Accounting

Clearbooks

Wave Accounting

Clearbooks

Wave Accounting

Clearbooks

Wave Accounting

Clearbooks

Wave Accounting

Clearbooks

Wave Accounting

Likelihood to Recommend

Clearbooks

Wave Accounting

Pros