Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs. Wave Accounting

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (formerly Dynamics NAV) is one of the ERP products in the Dynamics family. The technology is based on the Navision product acquired by Microsoft in 2002. This product is the best-selling Microsoft ERP platform, and is often used by companies in the manufacturing and distribution verticals.N/A
Wave Accounting
Score 6.0 out of 10
N/A
Wave Accounting is a free, cloud-based accounting platform exclusively for small businesses. It supports double-entry bookkeeping and permits unlimited user access, invoicing, and expense management. Wave Accounting integrates with Wave's invoicing, receipt scanning, payment processing and payroll apps.N/A
Pricing
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralWave Accounting
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralWave Accounting
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralWave Accounting
Considered Both Products
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

No answer on this topic

Wave Accounting
Chose Wave Accounting
Wave stacks up well against QuickBooks especially from the price aspect. In addition the features within Wave are comparable to those found in QuickBooks. We selected Wave based on the reviews from other consumers and the ease of use with its web based application. Wave is so …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralWave Accounting
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
7.6
6 Ratings
5% above category average
Wave Accounting
6.2
24 Ratings
19% below category average
Pay calculation7.86 Ratings7.123 Ratings
Benefit plan administration7.04 Ratings7.54 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.35 Ratings1.220 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings7.712 Ratings
Reimbursement management00 Ratings7.48 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
8.0
16 Ratings
10% above category average
Wave Accounting
8.5
13 Ratings
19% above category average
API for custom integration8.015 Ratings9.99 Ratings
Plug-ins8.013 Ratings7.011 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
9.0
20 Ratings
10% above category average
Wave Accounting
9.5
43 Ratings
19% above category average
Single sign-on capability9.016 Ratings9.730 Ratings
Role-based user permissions9.020 Ratings9.334 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
5.1
21 Ratings
31% below category average
Wave Accounting
8.2
70 Ratings
8% above category average
Dashboards5.117 Ratings9.368 Ratings
Standard reports5.121 Ratings9.467 Ratings
Custom reports5.120 Ratings5.734 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
8.8
21 Ratings
14% above category average
Wave Accounting
6.8
73 Ratings
9% below category average
Accounts payable9.020 Ratings9.356 Ratings
Accounts receivable8.419 Ratings9.567 Ratings
Global Financial Support9.08 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers10.07 Ratings7.04 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations10.010 Ratings6.228 Ratings
Configurable Accounting10.010 Ratings5.516 Ratings
Standardized Processes9.011 Ratings4.317 Ratings
Cash management00 Ratings9.359 Ratings
Bank reconciliation00 Ratings9.563 Ratings
Expense management00 Ratings9.561 Ratings
Time tracking00 Ratings9.411 Ratings
Fixed asset management00 Ratings9.412 Ratings
Multi-currency support00 Ratings10.019 Ratings
Multi-division support00 Ratings7.19 Ratings
Regulations compliance00 Ratings6.815 Ratings
Electronic tax filing00 Ratings5.914 Ratings
Self-service portal00 Ratings1.739 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings4.05 Ratings
Localizations00 Ratings5.23 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings4.07 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings1.03 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
8.7
16 Ratings
10% above category average
Wave Accounting
8.1
11 Ratings
14% above category average
Inventory tracking9.016 Ratings5.68 Ratings
Automatic reordering6.79 Ratings9.95 Ratings
Location management9.013 Ratings8.12 Ratings
Manufacturing module00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
7.9
19 Ratings
2% above category average
Wave Accounting
7.6
52 Ratings
2% above category average
Pricing7.117 Ratings9.926 Ratings
Order entry8.016 Ratings10.018 Ratings
Credit card processing10.011 Ratings2.345 Ratings
Cost of goods sold8.015 Ratings10.033 Ratings
Order Orchestration8.05 Ratings5.85 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings8.24 Ratings
Order exception Resolution00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
Subledger and Financial Process
Comparison of Subledger and Financial Process features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
8.4
11 Ratings
13% above category average
Wave Accounting
-
Ratings
Billing Management8.39 Ratings00 Ratings
Cash and Asset Management9.010 Ratings00 Ratings
Travel & Expense Management7.86 Ratings00 Ratings
Budgetary Control & Encumbrance Accounting8.37 Ratings00 Ratings
Period Close10.010 Ratings00 Ratings
Project Financial Management
Comparison of Project Financial Management features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
8.7
8 Ratings
13% above category average
Wave Accounting
-
Ratings
Budgeting and Forecasting10.08 Ratings00 Ratings
Project Costing10.07 Ratings00 Ratings
Cost Capture10.08 Ratings00 Ratings
Capital Project Management8.05 Ratings00 Ratings
Customer Contract Compliance10.06 Ratings00 Ratings
Project Revenue Recognition8.04 Ratings00 Ratings
Project Execution Management
Comparison of Project Execution Management features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
7.7
4 Ratings
12% above category average
Wave Accounting
-
Ratings
Project Planning and Scheduling8.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Task Insight for Project Managers8.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Project Mobile Functionality8.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Definable Resource Pools7.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Grants Management
Comparison of Grants Management features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
9.7
3 Ratings
25% above category average
Wave Accounting
-
Ratings
Award Lifecycle Management10.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Procurement
Comparison of Procurement features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
8.0
6 Ratings
14% above category average
Wave Accounting
-
Ratings
Bids Analyzed and Compared8.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Contract Authoring8.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Contract Repository7.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Requisitions-to-Purchase Orders Integrated7.55 Ratings00 Ratings
Supplier Management8.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Risk Management
Comparison of Risk Management features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
9.6
3 Ratings
38% above category average
Wave Accounting
-
Ratings
Risk Repository9.32 Ratings00 Ratings
Control Management9.43 Ratings00 Ratings
Control Efficiency Assessments9.32 Ratings00 Ratings
Issue Detection10.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Remediation and Certification9.72 Ratings00 Ratings
Logistics
Comparison of Logistics features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
7.7
3 Ratings
12% above category average
Wave Accounting
-
Ratings
Transportation Planning and Optimization8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Transportation Execution Management8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Trade and Customs Management8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Fulfillment Management7.93 Ratings00 Ratings
Warehouse Workforce Management8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Manufacturing
Comparison of Manufacturing features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
7.1
3 Ratings
6% below category average
Wave Accounting
-
Ratings
Production Process Design9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Production Management5.83 Ratings00 Ratings
Configuration Management1.32 Ratings00 Ratings
Work Execution9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Manufacturing Costs8.63 Ratings00 Ratings
Supply Chain
Comparison of Supply Chain features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
9.5
5 Ratings
27% above category average
Wave Accounting
-
Ratings
Forecasting9.05 Ratings00 Ratings
Inventory Planning10.05 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance Monitoring10.05 Ratings00 Ratings
Product Lifecycle Management
Comparison of Product Lifecycle Management features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
9.3
2 Ratings
25% above category average
Wave Accounting
-
Ratings
Proposal Management9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Product Master Data Management9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralWave Accounting
Small Businesses
Acumatica
Acumatica
Score 8.7 out of 10
Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Infor VISUAL
Infor VISUAL
Score 7.4 out of 10
Accounting Seed
Accounting Seed
Score 8.3 out of 10
Enterprises
SAP Business ByDesign
SAP Business ByDesign
Score 7.5 out of 10
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Score 8.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralWave Accounting
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(21 ratings)
3.6
(79 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(1 ratings)
7.8
(3 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(3 ratings)
6.2
(15 ratings)
Availability
8.0
(1 ratings)
6.7
(4 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
2.9
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(2 ratings)
2.5
(12 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
4.7
(3 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
3.0
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralWave Accounting
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
It addresses well some integration and connectivity issues with other software and adapted technologies: formulation and manufacturing batching software, scanners and bar codes, inventory, financials, emailing of invoices and statement, sales and purchasing... etc. I believe it to be better suited to a medium to large company. Not as simple and seamless as we expected for migrating from another Microsoft Dynamics software product (we moved from GP to NAV). Our staff is going through a tougher time than we thought to learn some procedures. Normal growing pains?!
Read full review
Wave
Wave Accounting was used for a small practice without a lot of the accounting considerations a large company would have. For the price, you really can't beat what Wave offers out of the box. All of the basic tools for things like invoicing and expenses are all easy to use. End of year accounting is easy with exports of data.
Read full review
Pros
Microsoft
  • Automate the creation of bills of materials for production. We can now generate a BoM from a sales order.
  • Organization of all data pertaining to thousands of parts, assemblies, and finished goods. Engineering and purchasing have a common portal.
  • We can create sales orders from quotations instead of re-entering them (this did require some bolt-on software). Less redundant work with fewer entry errors.
  • Accounting can provide reports based on specific criteria stored in NAV. We can pull better and more detailed intelligence.
Read full review
Wave
  • 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
Cons
Microsoft
  • The version of software that we currently use isn't compatible with Windows 7, therefore we had to install it using the virtual computer under Windows XP. This created a few additional steps that the users had to go through in order to access the software which generated more calls to our IT Helpdesk.
  • We did research how much it would cost to upgrade the software so that we could get a version compatible with Windows 7, but the cost was way too expensive for our organization. Also, when we need to make updates or changes to the software, there are very few consultants who are familiar with the software so we are limited in who we can use for consulting services. Since we are limited in choosing consultants who can make updates and changes to the software the fees are usually really expensive for their services.
  • There is a .zup file that we constantly have to delete in order for the database to work properly and update. Users get a pop-up about once a week asking if they want to replace the .zup file and if the file is not deleted then the opening page for the software will not show up correctly and the database will not have the most up to date information.
Read full review
Wave
  • 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.
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Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
We've already decided to continue using this software. It is too expensive for us to upgrade so we made a workaround by using the virtual computer with Windows XP installed on it. We did research replacing this software, but it was a better financial decision to keep what we had instead
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Wave
Easy to use for clients with no accounting background and the price is right.
Read full review
Usability
Microsoft
It has simplified all processes and reduces turnaround time for month end processes. You can easily navigate through the dashboard which is very user friendly and easily guides you to different functionalities. Duplications of Invoices is avoided because NAV rejects posting of an invoice number already in the system so you increase accuracy.
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Wave
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
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Reliability and Availability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Wave
WAVE is always available when we need it ! Peter
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Performance
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Wave
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
Support Rating
Microsoft
It provides one to efficiently be able to manage bookkeeping and inventory without much challenges. One can easily navigate through workflow processes while managing usages and budgets. Being able to produce reports in Word, Excel or PDF means one is able to have a working document to produce trends and graphs or produce pivot tables.
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Wave
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
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Online Training
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Wave
easy to use and east to train on ! Our WAVE clients enjoy the ease of use
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
I have personally supported all of the Dynamic family of ERP systems and made the decision to concentrate on NAV as the solution of choice. From a support and development standpoint there are few if any packages that can compare. It is not uncommon for most of the companies that I support to only call me once or twice a month after the first year. This is due to the ease of tracking down problems and errors and the ability for a developer to provide the end-user with routines that automatically correct the most basic kind of error
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Wave
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
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Scalability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Wave
Once they out grow what is ability to move up to a more robust system?
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Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • Automation processing, including EDI functionality, has increased employee efficiency and prevented the need for adding additional employees.
  • Implementation of the warehouse functionality, including cycle counts, has resulted in better inventory control/less shrinkage.
  • Implementation of e-Ship and e-Receive, has resulted in greater efficiency and order accuracy.
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Wave
  • 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
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