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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    QuickBooks Desktop for Mac

    Score8.4 out of 10
    N/AQuickbooks Desktop for Mac is an accounting software designed for Mac users. It is designed to integrate with Apple iCloud. It provides core accounting features in line with the rest of the Quickbooks Desktop product line.N/A

    Wave Accounting

    Score7.3 out of 10
    N/AWave 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.

    $16

    per month

    Pricing
    QuickBooks Desktop for MacWave Accounting
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Starter
    $0
    Pro
    $16
    per month
    Pro - billed annually
    $170
    per year
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    QuickBooks Desktop for MacWave Accounting
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    QuickBooks Desktop for MacWave Accounting
    Considered Both Products
    Intuit
    Chose QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    I used to use Wave Accounting for quite awhile and switched to Quickbooks for Mac this year because I need some more rigorous software and record keeping for my accountant. Wave Accounting was an excellent start for a small company but as soon as I had decent revenue, it became …
    Incentivized
    Wave
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    80%
    Would buy again
    4 Answers
    53%
    Would buy again
    8 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    80%
    Delivers good value for the price
    4 Answers
    67%
    Delivers good value for the price
    10 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    80%
    Happy with the feature set
    4 Answers
    67%
    Happy with the feature set
    10 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    54%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    73%
    Implementation went as expected
    11 Answers
    Features
    QuickBooks Desktop for MacWave Accounting
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of QuickBooks Desktop for Mac and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    8.9
    13 Ratings
    16% above category average
    Wave Accounting
    6.2
    24 Ratings
    20% below category average
    Pay calculation8.411 Ratings7.123 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration7.98 Ratings7.54 Ratings
    Direct deposit files10.010 Ratings1.220 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management8.47 Ratings7.712 Ratings
    Reimbursement management10.09 Ratings7.48 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of QuickBooks Desktop for Mac and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    7.5
    12 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Wave Accounting
    8.5
    13 Ratings
    12% above category average
    API for custom integration7.08 Ratings9.99 Ratings
    Plug-ins8.011 Ratings7.011 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of QuickBooks Desktop for Mac and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    10.0
    22 Ratings
    20% above category average
    Wave Accounting
    6.4
    45 Ratings
    24% below category average
    Single sign-on capability10.022 Ratings6.432 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions10.019 Ratings6.436 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of QuickBooks Desktop for Mac and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    6.7
    24 Ratings
    15% below category average
    Wave Accounting
    9.5
    73 Ratings
    19% above category average
    Dashboards5.121 Ratings9.471 Ratings
    Standard reports7.924 Ratings9.770 Ratings
    Custom reports7.024 Ratings9.337 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of QuickBooks Desktop for Mac and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    7.6
    26 Ratings
    0% below category average
    Wave Accounting
    7.4
    76 Ratings
    3% below category average
    Accounts payable8.126 Ratings9.659 Ratings
    Accounts receivable7.725 Ratings9.670 Ratings
    Cash management5.520 Ratings9.862 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation9.526 Ratings8.565 Ratings
    Expense management8.622 Ratings9.664 Ratings
    Time tracking7.514 Ratings9.811 Ratings
    Fixed asset management7.016 Ratings9.812 Ratings
    Multi-currency support5.011 Ratings10.019 Ratings
    Multi-division support6.012 Ratings7.19 Ratings
    Regulations compliance10.011 Ratings5.016 Ratings
    Electronic tax filing10.017 Ratings5.914 Ratings
    Self-service portal7.715 Ratings8.040 Ratings
    Global Financial Support5.08 Ratings9.02 Ratings
    Primary and Secondary Ledgers8.615 Ratings9.05 Ratings
    Intercompany Accounting8.116 Ratings4.05 Ratings
    Localizations8.07 Ratings5.23 Ratings
    Journals and Reconciliations9.519 Ratings8.530 Ratings
    Enterprise Accounting8.67 Ratings4.07 Ratings
    Configurable Accounting6.511 Ratings5.017 Ratings
    Centralized Rules Framework6.511 Ratings1.03 Ratings
    Standardized Processes6.915 Ratings7.019 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of QuickBooks Desktop for Mac and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    7.4
    17 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Wave Accounting
    8.1
    11 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Inventory tracking9.516 Ratings5.68 Ratings
    Automatic reordering6.512 Ratings9.95 Ratings
    Location management6.911 Ratings8.12 Ratings
    Manufacturing module6.510 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of QuickBooks Desktop for Mac and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    9.1
    20 Ratings
    21% above category average
    Wave Accounting
    7.6
    53 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Pricing9.019 Ratings9.926 Ratings
    Order entry9.518 Ratings10.018 Ratings
    Credit card processing9.119 Ratings2.345 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold9.118 Ratings10.034 Ratings
    Order Orchestration9.07 Ratings5.85 Ratings
    End-to-end order visibility9.19 Ratings8.24 Ratings
    Order exception Resolution9.18 Ratings7.02 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    QuickBooks Desktop for MacWave Accounting
    Small Businesses
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Score4.2 out of 10
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Score4.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.4 out of 10
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.4 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    QuickBooks Desktop for MacWave Accounting
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.1
    (34 ratings)
    9.4
    (82 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.0
    (9 ratings)
    7.8
    (3 ratings)
    Usability
    6.1
    (8 ratings)
    9.8
    (17 ratings)
    Availability
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    6.7
    (4 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    2.9
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.0
    (4 ratings)
    2.1
    (12 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    4.7
    (3 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (8 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    3.0
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    QuickBooks Desktop for MacWave Accounting
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Intuit
    If you're a freelancer or running a very small business where you do your own bookkeeping I think this is a great option, especially if you're familiar with accounting and bookkeeping in general. If you're not so familiar with bookkeeping, I would say that the learning curve is too steep and you might want to look elsewhere for a more intuitive solution
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Intuit
    • The program is very easy to learn, the interface is incredibly user-friendly and there are tons of free resources and tutorials available
    • It makes managing payroll really easy for the employee and accountant on staff. No more lost time sheets or late paychecks!
    • Managing bills and paying them has become streamlined and it's great having everything in one place so we don't lose track of things.
    Incentivized
    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
    Intuit
    • The #1 complaint is that setting it up right is a challenge. People waste time trying to figure it out only to realize that they don't know accounting so of course they don't know how an accounting program should be set up. Like any time you are in over your head, reach out to your network and find someone who can log onto your computer and walk you through it.
    • If you need to track the cost of wages to jobs you can't do it with the online payroll, but check for yourself because it's a function that landscaping companies and construction businesses usually need, so maybe they have added it by now. That would really help!
    • It's premise-based software and that means you take on the role of hardware admin, and it's a lot of work for what is increasingly becoming a smaller gap in the functionality between QuickBooks for Mac and QuickBooks Online.
    • QuickBooks for Mac 2015 has been updated consistently over the last 3 years and continues to provide for the bookkeeping needs of small companies using Macs in their offices. However, it has limited job costing functionality. It is similar in functionality to the 2010 version of QuickBooksPro which runs on Windows.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Intuit
    I haven't spent that much time with the newer versions of QuickBooks for Mac, but I think I'm seeing it make the much-needed improvements. For example, something as simple as undoing the previous reconciliation was a terrible chore, and I'm glad that feature has been included in the newer versions of QuickBooks for Mac
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Wave
    Easy to use for clients with no accounting background and the price is right.
    Read full review
    Usability
    Intuit
    The Mac version is OK overall. I find the Windows versions to be much more robust but Mac is quite good for Mac users. Though I think die hard Mac users should consider QuickBooks Online instead as there is a new QB for Mac app that makes using QBO much better!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Intuit
    I've been using the QuickBooks online version for a little over 6 months now (upgraded from Mac desktop) and I haven't had any access issues. There have been times when it was down for service/upgrade however there is always plenty of notification time given by the Quick Books Online Support team. These upgrade maintenance time frames are always over night hours and on the weekends so everything can be worked around very easily.
    Read full review
    Wave
    WAVE is always available when we need it ! Peter
    Read full review
    Performance
    Intuit
    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
    Intuit
    Fortunately, I haven't had to reach out much for support.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Intuit
    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
    Intuit
    I love using Quickbooks compared to other software we've tried. QuickBooks Online and TSheets interface. Customer service and problem resolution are generally excellent, with well-trained and proficient agents taking calls or on chat. Ease of use and accessibility via the mobile app. Great courses were available to help with learning the basics and some advanced accounting background. I love learning! Online accessibility - it can work anywhere with an internet connection. Linking to bank and credit card accounts is handy.
    Read full review
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Intuit
    No answers on this topic
    Wave
    Once they out grow what is ability to move up to a more robust system?
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Intuit
    • It has allowed us to offer multiple bookkeeping softwares for clients that do not want to change from what they have been using.
    • Payroll filing has given us ease of mind because we can physically make the filings rather than waiting on payroll software to make them for us.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
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