Payroll by Wave vs. QuickBooks Online

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Payroll by Wave
Score 9.8 out of 10
N/A
Wave Accounting headquartered in Toronto now offers Payroll by Wave, a payroll app for small businesses.N/A
QuickBooks Online
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
QuickBooks Online is a SaaS version of the QuickBooks product. It contains all of the features found in the local version. Higher-priced plans include greater automation, payment management, inventory and time tracking, and analytics features.
$15
per month
Pricing
Payroll by WaveQuickBooks Online
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Self-Employed
$15
per month
Simple Start
$25
per month
Plus
$75
per month
Advanced
$150
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Payroll by WaveQuickBooks Online
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Payroll by WaveQuickBooks Online
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Payroll by WaveQuickBooks Online
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
9.4
5 Ratings
13% above category average
QuickBooks Online
3.2
78 Ratings
77% below category average
Pay calculation10.05 Ratings4.369 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors9.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment9.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration9.01 Ratings3.932 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.05 Ratings4.865 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management9.55 Ratings1.644 Ratings
Reimbursement management10.02 Ratings1.346 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Online
2.5
68 Ratings
93% below category average
API for custom integration00 Ratings1.354 Ratings
Plug-ins00 Ratings3.857 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Online
3.7
108 Ratings
72% below category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings2.981 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings4.5102 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Online
5.2
132 Ratings
35% below category average
Dashboards00 Ratings4.6124 Ratings
Standard reports00 Ratings5.2128 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings5.9116 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Online
3.7
143 Ratings
64% below category average
Accounts payable00 Ratings5.4122 Ratings
Accounts receivable00 Ratings6.0131 Ratings
Cash management00 Ratings6.3120 Ratings
Bank reconciliation00 Ratings6.3137 Ratings
Expense management00 Ratings5.6123 Ratings
Time tracking00 Ratings1.656 Ratings
Fixed asset management00 Ratings5.253 Ratings
Multi-currency support00 Ratings1.423 Ratings
Multi-division support00 Ratings1.442 Ratings
Regulations compliance00 Ratings1.638 Ratings
Electronic tax filing00 Ratings5.266 Ratings
Self-service portal00 Ratings2.566 Ratings
Global Financial Support00 Ratings1.316 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings3.535 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings4.929 Ratings
Localizations00 Ratings4.021 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings5.174 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings1.825 Ratings
Configurable Accounting00 Ratings2.038 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings2.924 Ratings
Standardized Processes00 Ratings3.948 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Online
1.2
47 Ratings
139% below category average
Inventory tracking00 Ratings1.245 Ratings
Automatic reordering00 Ratings1.222 Ratings
Location management00 Ratings1.321 Ratings
Manufacturing module00 Ratings1.317 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Online
3.7
86 Ratings
63% below category average
Pricing00 Ratings4.855 Ratings
Order entry00 Ratings4.853 Ratings
Credit card processing00 Ratings2.263 Ratings
Cost of goods sold00 Ratings3.868 Ratings
Order Orchestration00 Ratings4.721 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings4.720 Ratings
Order exception Resolution00 Ratings1.218 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Payroll by WaveQuickBooks Online
Small Businesses
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
Score 9.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Accounting Seed
Accounting Seed
Score 8.3 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.3 out of 10
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Score 8.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Payroll by WaveQuickBooks Online
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(6 ratings)
4.2
(161 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(1 ratings)
2.5
(24 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(1 ratings)
4.0
(76 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
2.0
(5 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
1.1
(4 ratings)
Support Rating
8.9
(2 ratings)
2.1
(68 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
3.0
(6 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
1.4
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
1.1
(2 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
1.1
(2 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
1.1
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
Payroll by WaveQuickBooks Online
Likelihood to Recommend
Wave
Great for small business payroll needs. Reports and taxes are taken care of, everything is automated and once you're set up it's literally just a matter of minutes to run payroll each time. You also get email reminders which is helpful. There are premium features available for companies with larger/more robust needs, and I would definitely recommend looking into this software if you are searching for a user friendly payroll solution
Read full review
Intuit
It seems Intuit is more interested in generating revenue than taking care of their customers. After only 28 (working) days using it, I've had to call for Help 23 times, and, in my experience, only spoken to 2 people who had an understanding of basic accounting practices and the ramifications of some of their suggested fixes on the General Ledger.
Read full review
Pros
Wave
  • An intuitive, clear UI helps you know where everything is, what options are at your disposal. Calendars and timelines show that Wave really thought out how to provide you with useful tool.
  • Pay day can be automated and straightforward.
  • Wave onboarding provides guidance at what information to input next until you are all set up.
Read full review
Intuit
  • It enables me to do a P&L for each specific program as requested by the county for the grant money that they give us.
  • It enables me to do [an] organizational budget as well as a budget for each specific program
  • It enables the accountant and the auditor access at any time for transparency
Read full review
Cons
Wave
  • Implement an employee time clock option through a separate link which automatically applies to the weekly time sheets.
  • Option to further customize payroll statements
  • Add a per employee payroll dashboard with the option to review rolling, quarterly, and weekly snapshot. Info to include gross pay, employer paid tax, employee paid tax, etc...
Read full review
Intuit
  • The budgets feature leaves a lot be desired - difficult and clunky to populate and maintain.
  • Reporting for Budget vs Actual is available but the ability to reforecast based on updated data is not.
  • The rules function to default common types of expenses isn't perfect and will get confused if like amounts or a number of similar items present.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Wave
No answers on this topic
Intuit
It like the product 'right out of the box' and I trust Intuit will continually improve it over the years based on my experience with their desktop products. The large providers of Apps makes customizing the entire package relatively easy and seamless for a wide variety of business types.
Read full review
Usability
Wave
Very simple & straightforward system to learn and when time is always of the essence the efficiency is much appreciated
Read full review
Intuit
While QuickBooks Online is generally easy to navigate, there are some features and functions that often require a Google search in order to find out where they are actually hidden. Additionally, there are some simple customization features that are surprisingly not available for an otherwise advanced program (e.g. only having a pool of 4 fonts to choose from, only having 4 very limited templates for invoicing, not color selection, etc). While I would say that about 75% of users shouldn't have a problem finding their way around with basic functions, there is a learning curve if you want to be able to dive into some of the more useful features, almost to the point that you need to have a dedicated account manager in order to use QuickBooks Online most effectively.
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Reliability and Availability
Wave
No answers on this topic
Intuit
We have rarely had outages in the last 10 years. I can only recall 2 times in the last 10 years where we were not able to access our client files.
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Performance
Wave
No answers on this topic
Intuit
There are tab issues. When I tab the field doesn't highlight and I have to backspace or delete what is in the field. Happens on the memo field and sometimes other fields. Very time consuming.
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Support Rating
Wave
Quick response times, personalized service. They offer in-depth videos and guides for helping to get set up. Any time I have a question about taxes or reporting, they answer quickly and give comprehensive answers. Members of the team with whom I've interacted have been courteous, friendly, and helpful. Overall, great support.
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Intuit
Support is great, all incidents been resolved. Quickbooks Online forum is very well organized and helpful. I like the fact that they let the community contribute in resolving issues. Most or many of your answers can be found online. You can also get help on YouTube, but the easiest way to get assistance is through their chat system.
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Implementation Rating
Wave
No answers on this topic
Intuit
The person in charge of QB needs to be very accurate with record keeping and is recommended to stay on top of tasks. The biggest issue we have is reconciliation, and those issues occur only when too much time has occurred between reconciliations
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Alternatives Considered
Wave
First is the cost. Since QuickBooks removed the inhouse solution and moved everything to the cloud, the cost for a small business is prohibited. Wave is reasonable in cost. Support for QB isn't great they are always trying to upsell and commit. Wave support in comparison is 100% better, and most of the answers are in their manual
Read full review
Intuit
I have used Wave Accounting for another business. I selected QuickBooks Online over Wave because of the features available from QuickBooks. Wave is great since it is free, but I feel that paying for QuickBooks Online is worth it for the features. In addition there is such a robust support network and training available for QuickBooks.
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Scalability
Wave
No answers on this topic
Intuit
As we have grown along our professional path, we have also expanded our use of QB. The scalability is easy and features seem to be waiting for you until you need them. We have increased profits by over 10x from our first year in business to the current and have yet to find a reason to look elsewhere
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Return on Investment
Wave
  • Peace of mind that all the payroll tax-related stuff is taken care of accurately and on time.
  • Easy to use interface saves time and helps ensure I am paid on time.
Read full review
Intuit
  • It has created a lot of cost and in-efficiency whenever we need to talk to support.
  • I spent a lot of time setting up their automatic reminders for past due invoices and it worked for a couple of months and then it stopped. It's currently being worked on by their tech team but it has been months and it is still not working. It would have saved me a lot of time.
  • Their multi-currency saves time in sending invoices abroad but it's limiting when a customer wants an invoice in USD instead of a foreign currency so I have to set up different customer accounts for different currencies.
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ScreenShots