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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    QuickBooks Desktop Premier

    Score8 out of 10
    N/AQuickBooks Desktop Premier is an installed version of QuickBooks for general business, contractors, manufacturing and warehouse accounting, as well as nonprofits, professional services, and retail.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 PremierWave 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 PremierWave 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 PremierWave Accounting
    Considered Both Products
    Intuit
    No answer on this topic
    Wave
    Chose Wave Accounting
    I have used QuickBooks Premier. Compared to that, Wave looks like a very amateurish bookkeeping system. It is however a LOT less expensive. Also, QuickBooks has a TON of bugs that are known but never fixed. Wave tends to have bugs that get fixed in a more timely fashion. With …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    82%
    Would buy again
    14 Answers
    53%
    Would buy again
    8 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    88%
    Delivers good value for the price
    14 Answers
    67%
    Delivers good value for the price
    10 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    94%
    Happy with the feature set
    16 Answers
    67%
    Happy with the feature set
    10 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    87%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    13 Answers
    54%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    93%
    Implementation went as expected
    14 Answers
    73%
    Implementation went as expected
    11 Answers
    Features
    QuickBooks Desktop PremierWave Accounting
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of QuickBooks Desktop Premier and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    8.5
    54 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Wave Accounting
    6.2
    24 Ratings
    20% below category average
    Pay calculation9.252 Ratings7.123 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration8.425 Ratings7.54 Ratings
    Direct deposit files8.242 Ratings1.220 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management8.433 Ratings7.712 Ratings
    Reimbursement management8.336 Ratings7.48 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of QuickBooks Desktop Premier and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    7.5
    24 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Wave Accounting
    8.5
    13 Ratings
    12% above category average
    API for custom integration8.017 Ratings9.99 Ratings
    Plug-ins7.024 Ratings7.011 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of QuickBooks Desktop Premier and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    8.3
    58 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Wave Accounting
    6.4
    45 Ratings
    24% below category average
    Single sign-on capability8.450 Ratings6.432 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions8.349 Ratings6.436 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of QuickBooks Desktop Premier and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    8.3
    69 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Wave Accounting
    9.5
    73 Ratings
    19% above category average
    Dashboards8.758 Ratings9.471 Ratings
    Standard reports8.468 Ratings9.770 Ratings
    Custom reports7.766 Ratings9.337 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of QuickBooks Desktop Premier and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    7.8
    72 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Wave Accounting
    7.4
    76 Ratings
    3% below category average
    Accounts payable8.370 Ratings9.659 Ratings
    Accounts receivable8.571 Ratings9.670 Ratings
    Cash management8.765 Ratings9.862 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation8.769 Ratings8.565 Ratings
    Expense management8.768 Ratings9.664 Ratings
    Time tracking7.535 Ratings9.811 Ratings
    Fixed asset management6.249 Ratings9.812 Ratings
    Multi-currency support7.623 Ratings10.019 Ratings
    Multi-division support8.239 Ratings7.19 Ratings
    Regulations compliance8.224 Ratings5.016 Ratings
    Electronic tax filing7.836 Ratings5.914 Ratings
    Self-service portal5.923 Ratings8.040 Ratings
    Global Financial Support6.09 Ratings9.02 Ratings
    Primary and Secondary Ledgers7.014 Ratings9.05 Ratings
    Intercompany Accounting7.917 Ratings4.05 Ratings
    Localizations7.66 Ratings5.23 Ratings
    Journals and Reconciliations8.725 Ratings8.530 Ratings
    Enterprise Accounting8.313 Ratings4.07 Ratings
    Configurable Accounting7.915 Ratings5.017 Ratings
    Centralized Rules Framework7.210 Ratings1.03 Ratings
    Standardized Processes8.315 Ratings7.019 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of QuickBooks Desktop Premier and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    8.0
    43 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Wave Accounting
    8.1
    11 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Inventory tracking8.342 Ratings5.68 Ratings
    Automatic reordering7.321 Ratings9.95 Ratings
    Location management8.825 Ratings8.12 Ratings
    Manufacturing module7.722 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of QuickBooks Desktop Premier and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    8.2
    47 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Wave Accounting
    7.6
    53 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Pricing8.037 Ratings9.926 Ratings
    Order entry7.838 Ratings10.018 Ratings
    Credit card processing9.134 Ratings2.345 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold8.943 Ratings10.034 Ratings
    Order Orchestration7.58 Ratings5.85 Ratings
    End-to-end order visibility8.59 Ratings8.24 Ratings
    Order exception Resolution7.56 Ratings7.02 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    QuickBooks Desktop PremierWave 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 PremierWave Accounting
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.2
    (75 ratings)
    9.4
    (82 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.5
    (14 ratings)
    7.8
    (3 ratings)
    Usability
    8.9
    (26 ratings)
    9.7
    (17 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (6 ratings)
    6.7
    (4 ratings)
    Performance
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    2.9
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    4.0
    (13 ratings)
    2.1
    (12 ratings)
    Online Training
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    4.7
    (3 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    7.2
    (7 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    8.1
    (27 ratings)
    8.0
    (8 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    3.0
    (2 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    6.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    QuickBooks Desktop PremierWave Accounting
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Intuit
    We really think that ANY typical business would be a reasonable fit for QuickBooks Desktop Premier. While not necessary, even a comparatively unexperienced accounting person could look at the "Home" screen and follow their nose thru typical daily accounting processes without much detailed knowledge. Reporting is simple, looking up customer info and prior transactions is simple, looking up vendors and prior payments is simple... all in all, quite straightforward. I really can't think of an instance where it would be 'less appropriate'.
    Incentivized
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    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
    • Employment - it makes creating paychecks a snap and tracks taxes.
    • Invoicing - they have a straightforward approach to creating invoices and you can even email them to your customers.
    • Customers - the program makes tracking customer information and balances easy.
    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
    • Support for older versions of QuickBooks ends after three years, then users must purchase the newest version at full price. Renewals should be deeply discounted for existing users.
    • I would like to see better in-product inventory tracking, so we can choose LIFO or FIFO rather than the ambiguous "average cost" method.
    • I would like to be able to assign payroll taxes to jobs for better job costing.
    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
    Because we have been extremely happy with the product and our organization tends to be creatures of habit. We rarely leave a product that works this well for the latest and greatest. Typically we follow the "if it's not broken, don't fix it rule". While QB does make changes we typically just roll with it. If we do find something we don't like we work through it until we fully understand its functionality.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Wave
    Easy to use for clients with no accounting background and the price is right.
    Read full review
    Usability
    Intuit
    We switched to a more "robust" software program with the hiring of a new CFO. The migration of historical data and ancillary information has been cumbersome and riddle with errors and issues. In hindsight much of what the new software program was touted to accomplish is not come to fruition. QB Desktop Premier was sufficient for the organization needs
    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
    This is very reliable software, the desktop version is fast. If there is a problem, it is most likely on your own hardware!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Wave
    WAVE is always available when we need it ! Peter
    Read full review
    Performance
    Intuit
    It takes forever to load.
    Incentivized
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    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
    This is where QuickBooks falls short. Many times my staff has had questions that have not been able to get resolved easily with a chat or call. I personally have had more general questions that have not been answered easily as well. I think QuickBooks needs to provide the resources of having readily accessible help in order to make it simpler to get solutions.
    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
    Implementation Rating
    Intuit
    It is important to do your research. There are tutorial videos online that could help new user of this accounting system. These tutorials are straightforward and easily understandable.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Wave
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Intuit
    QuickBooks Premier handles most of my business functions efficiently in one package. It is not my "everything." I use Replicon for time rather than QuickBooks. I don't want my WIP data interfering with my accounting. I use PaySimple for it's web interface and back office processing. I don't have security issues since I don't have any credit card data in my possession. With today's identity theft environment, I have to protect myself as much as I can. Not having credit card data in my accounting software lets me sleep much better at night. Quicken will do basic accounting but does not have all the double entry accounting systems contained in QuickBooks. QuickBooks Online does much of the basic business functions but I don't like the pricing structure. As a professional accountant, that is very important to me. Bill.com provided a good service but the ability of QuickBooks to add bills and receipts to transactions makes it redundant.
    Incentivized
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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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Intuit
    They're getting better. Still room for improvement.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Wave
    Once they out grow what is ability to move up to a more robust system?
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Intuit
    • Most of our business clients use QuickBooks which makes it efficient for us to work on clients that use the program. We can import QuickBooks data into our software which adds efficiencies to our tax practice.
    • Having staff that are familiar with the software enables our firm to provide quality service to the clients that use QuickBooks.
    • We receive referrals from satisfied QuickBooks clients.
    Incentivized
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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.
    Incentivized
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