QuickBooks Online Advanced vs. Wave Accounting

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
QuickBooks Online Advanced
Score 7.8 out of 10
N/A
QuickBooks Online Advanced is a SaaS-based accounting software designed to scale with growing businesses. It includes the functionalities of QuickBooks Online, as well as more robust business analytics, customization, and resource management.N/A
Wave Accounting
Score 6.1 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
QuickBooks Online AdvancedWave Accounting
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
QuickBooks Online AdvancedWave Accounting
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
QuickBooks Online AdvancedWave Accounting
Considered Both Products
QuickBooks Online Advanced
Chose QuickBooks Online Advanced
I evaluated other packages. Wave is/was very appealing because it is free. However, I'm not certain is would scale enough with our business. Xero was tempting but it could not integrate with our bank and thus required manual entry. QuickBooks allowed us to maximize our …
Chose QuickBooks Online Advanced
There is literally no comparison - Wave is a "cute little" accounting software system that does a nice job tracking someone's checking account and basic household expenses, but if you are a serious business, you certainly need a comprehensive software package like QuickBooks …
Chose QuickBooks Online Advanced
QuickBooks Online Advanced is on par with Xero, and both are market leaders in the Online Bookkeeping solutions. Multi-dimensional reporting is better than Xero but Xero has better WorkPapers, Hubdoc app and allows for online filing of accounts to Companies House and to HMRC. …
Chose QuickBooks Online Advanced
QuickBooks is much easier to use and train on. It makes dealing with your company's taxes a breeze. Reporting on your financial information is easy. Much of the functionality in the software is intuitive and easy to figure out. Other software reconciliation features aren't as …
Chose QuickBooks Online Advanced
QuickBooks Online is a no brainer; everything is going cloud so your accounting should too. That trumps the desktop versions of this software hands down. Price is a factor as desktop versions are bought outright and supported for about 5 years, so they are a little bit cheaper. …
Wave Accounting
Chose Wave Accounting
This was my first invoice company. I had seen Freshly before. Venmo is far less of an accounting tool. QuickBooks seems terrible with a monthly cost. Which is why I hadn't moved companies yet. But I just learned my Website host, Wix, offers it right through my site and Clients …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
QuickBooks Online AdvancedWave Accounting
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Online Advanced
8.5
90 Ratings
19% above category average
Wave Accounting
8.5
13 Ratings
19% above category average
API for custom integration8.773 Ratings9.99 Ratings
Plug-ins8.478 Ratings7.011 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Online Advanced
8.2
160 Ratings
3% above category average
Wave Accounting
9.5
43 Ratings
17% above category average
Single sign-on capability8.2143 Ratings9.730 Ratings
Role-based user permissions8.2156 Ratings9.434 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Online Advanced
8.6
173 Ratings
13% above category average
Wave Accounting
8.2
70 Ratings
8% above category average
Dashboards8.8163 Ratings9.468 Ratings
Standard reports8.8172 Ratings9.567 Ratings
Custom reports8.1164 Ratings5.734 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Online Advanced
8.1
175 Ratings
9% above category average
Wave Accounting
6.9
73 Ratings
7% below category average
Accounts payable8.7169 Ratings9.456 Ratings
Accounts receivable8.9164 Ratings9.667 Ratings
Cash management8.0145 Ratings9.459 Ratings
Bank reconciliation8.2167 Ratings9.663 Ratings
Expense management8.5154 Ratings9.661 Ratings
Time tracking8.188 Ratings9.511 Ratings
Multi-currency support7.444 Ratings10.019 Ratings
Multi-division support8.374 Ratings7.19 Ratings
Regulations compliance7.977 Ratings6.815 Ratings
Electronic tax filing9.097 Ratings5.914 Ratings
Self-service portal8.692 Ratings1.739 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers8.673 Ratings7.04 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting6.874 Ratings4.05 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations8.4151 Ratings6.228 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting6.863 Ratings4.07 Ratings
Configurable Accounting8.581 Ratings5.516 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework6.961 Ratings1.03 Ratings
Standardized Processes7.7115 Ratings4.317 Ratings
Fixed asset management00 Ratings9.512 Ratings
Global Financial Support00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Localizations00 Ratings5.23 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Online Advanced
8.1
70 Ratings
14% above category average
Wave Accounting
8.1
11 Ratings
14% above category average
Inventory tracking8.170 Ratings5.68 Ratings
Automatic reordering00 Ratings9.95 Ratings
Location management00 Ratings8.12 Ratings
Manufacturing module00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Online Advanced
8.8
118 Ratings
17% above category average
Wave Accounting
7.6
52 Ratings
3% above category average
Pricing8.786 Ratings9.926 Ratings
Order entry8.879 Ratings10.018 Ratings
Credit card processing9.0103 Ratings2.345 Ratings
Cost of goods sold00 Ratings10.033 Ratings
Order Orchestration00 Ratings5.85 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings8.24 Ratings
Order exception Resolution00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Online Advanced
-
Ratings
Wave Accounting
6.2
24 Ratings
19% below category average
Pay calculation00 Ratings7.123 Ratings
Benefit plan administration00 Ratings7.54 Ratings
Direct deposit files00 Ratings1.220 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings7.712 Ratings
Reimbursement management00 Ratings7.48 Ratings
Best Alternatives
QuickBooks Online AdvancedWave Accounting
Small Businesses
Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
Score 9.1 out of 10
Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Accounting Seed
Accounting Seed
Score 8.3 out of 10
Accounting Seed
Accounting Seed
Score 8.3 out of 10
Enterprises
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Score 8.1 out of 10
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Score 8.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
QuickBooks Online AdvancedWave Accounting
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(175 ratings)
3.5
(79 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.5
(6 ratings)
7.8
(3 ratings)
Usability
9.5
(4 ratings)
6.2
(15 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
6.7
(4 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
2.9
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
2.5
(12 ratings)
Online Training
9.1
(1 ratings)
4.7
(3 ratings)
Implementation Rating
6.5
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
3.0
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
QuickBooks Online AdvancedWave Accounting
Likelihood to Recommend
Intuit
I gave this rating more from the standpoint that I enjoy using other bookkeeping platforms more than I enjoy QuickBooks Online Advanced. While QuickBooks Online Advanced is a solid platform that I have no issue working in, there are some areas that could be improved. The biggest of these areas is the overall design of the platform. I feel that when you first log in and are brought to the home screen, everything just looks cluttered.
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
Intuit
  • It allows us to link to bank accounts in order to get up-to-date, real-time information, which is so important in today's lightning speed work world.
  • The "canned" reports are excellent and allow for extreme customization also. This makes them very helpful to both me and my clients.
  • The user interface for QuickBooks Online Advanced is easy to navigate and is intuitive for novices. The screens are well laid out and have cohesiveness on each screen to match tasks with others that match up well.
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
  • Proper advice in QuickBooks Online Pro for the usage if QuickBooks Online Advanced will be more efficient.
  • More features and space in the app for organization of the self-created workflows.
  • The stability of QuickBooks Online Advanced can still be better.
  • There are still file-size issues and limitations on transactions and attributes of transactions.
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.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Intuit
QuickBooks Online Advanced is not like any other accounting software. With how great the software is now, I would definitely renew QuickBooks Online Advanced
Read full review
Wave
Easy to use for clients with no accounting background and the price is right.
Read full review
Usability
Intuit
QuickBooks Online Advanced is great and effective. I use it for almost three months and it definitely does their job
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
No answers on this topic
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
No answers on this topic
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
The online training was easy to follow and understand. The online training gave us the specific instructions to follow
Read full review
Wave
easy to use and east to train on ! Our WAVE clients enjoy the ease of use
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Intuit
Need to make an option for non-profit organizations
Read full review
Wave
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Intuit
I have not evaluated any yet. I have used QuickBooks since 2008 and I used Sage in the corporate environment before using QuickBooks. Honestly, I can't remember it because it was early 2000's. I thought about evaluating and looking because of the issues I've had with QuickBooks, but I haven't really investigated.
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
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
  • Positive - time and accuracy: Improved bank feeds with rules for automating categorization (expense account) of transactions.
  • Negative - time and efficiency: Very slow response in data entry such as estimates, purchase orders, invoices, sales receipts, bills & bill payment, and even check writing.
  • Negative - time and error correction: Payroll taxes and sales taxes remain in their own silos and are very difficult to correct OR wrong to correct with regular ledger and transaction entries.
  • Negative - time and reporting: Customer activity cannot be tracked using deposits or JE'd transactions. Reporting and research require the use of transaction forms such as invoices, sales receipts, payments, and credit memos. As an example, the transaction register for a customer can be sorted by various parameters. A default is "All" transactions but does not include all transactions -- you have to select "All plus deposits" and you will also not see checks. This is about the same for Vendor activity, where deposits (e.g. refunds) will not show in the vendor's activity register. A vendor credit memo is required, then the refund can be pushed against that credit balance. The credit memo will appear in the vendor register, but a deposit will not.
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.
Read full review
ScreenShots