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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    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

    ZipBooks

    Score7 out of 10
    Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
    ZipBooks is an accounting software solution for small business owners and accountants. Users can track expenses, manage their team, send recurring invoices and manage projects.

    $15

    per month

    Pricing
    Wave AccountingZipBooks
    Editions & Modules
    Starter
    $0
    Pro
    $16
    per month
    Pro - billed annually
    $170
    per year
    ZipBooks Starter
    $0
    ZipBooks Smarter
    $15
    ZipBooks Sophisticated
    $35
    ZipBooks Accountant
    Custom
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Wave AccountingZipBooks
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Wave AccountingZipBooks
    Considered Both Products
    Wave
    Chose Wave Accounting
    I was not impressed with Xero or ZipBooks simply because they were expensive and still as, if not more, confusing than QuickBooks. QuickBooks is, unfortunately, the standard. I dislike it, and I think it is just a huge corporation trying to steal small businesses money, but …
    Incentivized
    ZipBooks
    Chose ZipBooks
    Beats them all, singlehandedly
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    53%
    Would buy again
    8 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    67%
    Delivers good value for the price
    10 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    67%
    Happy with the feature set
    10 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    54%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    73%
    Implementation went as expected
    11 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Wave AccountingZipBooks
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of Wave Accounting and ZipBooks
    Feature
    Wave Accounting
    6.2
    24 Ratings
    20% below category average
    ZipBooks
    -
    Ratings
    Pay calculation7.123 Ratings00 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration7.54 Ratings00 Ratings
    Direct deposit files1.220 Ratings00 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management7.712 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reimbursement management7.48 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of Wave Accounting and ZipBooks
    Feature
    Wave Accounting
    8.5
    13 Ratings
    12% above category average
    ZipBooks
    9.1
    2 Ratings
    18% above category average
    API for custom integration9.99 Ratings9.12 Ratings
    Plug-ins7.011 Ratings9.11 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of Wave Accounting and ZipBooks
    Feature
    Wave Accounting
    6.4
    45 Ratings
    24% below category average
    ZipBooks
    9.5
    5 Ratings
    15% above category average
    Single sign-on capability6.432 Ratings9.74 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions6.436 Ratings9.34 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Wave Accounting and ZipBooks
    Feature
    Wave Accounting
    9.4
    73 Ratings
    19% above category average
    ZipBooks
    10.0
    6 Ratings
    25% above category average
    Dashboards9.471 Ratings10.06 Ratings
    Standard reports9.770 Ratings10.06 Ratings
    Custom reports9.237 Ratings00 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Wave Accounting and ZipBooks
    Feature
    Wave Accounting
    7.4
    76 Ratings
    3% below category average
    ZipBooks
    8.8
    6 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Accounts payable9.659 Ratings00 Ratings
    Accounts receivable9.670 Ratings8.05 Ratings
    Cash management9.862 Ratings00 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation8.565 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Expense management9.664 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Time tracking9.811 Ratings9.06 Ratings
    Fixed asset management9.812 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multi-currency support10.019 Ratings9.12 Ratings
    Multi-division support7.19 Ratings00 Ratings
    Regulations compliance5.016 Ratings00 Ratings
    Electronic tax filing5.914 Ratings00 Ratings
    Self-service portal8.040 Ratings00 Ratings
    Global Financial Support9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Primary and Secondary Ledgers9.05 Ratings00 Ratings
    Intercompany Accounting4.05 Ratings00 Ratings
    Localizations5.23 Ratings00 Ratings
    Journals and Reconciliations8.530 Ratings00 Ratings
    Enterprise Accounting4.07 Ratings00 Ratings
    Configurable Accounting5.017 Ratings00 Ratings
    Centralized Rules Framework1.03 Ratings00 Ratings
    Standardized Processes7.019 Ratings00 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of Wave Accounting and ZipBooks
    Feature
    Wave Accounting
    8.1
    11 Ratings
    11% above category average
    ZipBooks
    -
    Ratings
    Inventory tracking5.68 Ratings00 Ratings
    Automatic reordering9.95 Ratings00 Ratings
    Location management8.12 Ratings00 Ratings
    Manufacturing module9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of Wave Accounting and ZipBooks
    Feature
    Wave Accounting
    7.6
    53 Ratings
    3% above category average
    ZipBooks
    9.2
    6 Ratings
    22% above category average
    Pricing9.926 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order entry10.018 Ratings00 Ratings
    Credit card processing2.345 Ratings10.06 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold10.034 Ratings8.52 Ratings
    Order Orchestration5.85 Ratings00 Ratings
    End-to-end order visibility8.24 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order exception Resolution7.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Wave AccountingZipBooks
    Small Businesses
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Score4.3 out of 10
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Score4.3 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.3 out of 10
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.3 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Wave AccountingZipBooks
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.3
    (82 ratings)
    9.0
    (6 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.8
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    9.7
    (17 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Availability
    6.7
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    2.9
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    2.1
    (12 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    4.7
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    8.0
    (8 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    3.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Wave AccountingZipBooks
    Likelihood to Recommend
    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
    ZipBooks
    ZipBooks is really strong for small businesses (and non-profits like the ones I help manage). It may not yet be ready to handle medium or large businesses given the deep, niche functionality that is sometimes required in those cases.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    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
    ZipBooks
    • Invoicing is particularly easy-to-use, quick, clean and beautiful. GREAT for branding.
    • The time tracker was unexpected, but very useful and integrates well with the invoicing. Leads to quick invoicing every time.
    • Customer support is phenomenal -- the support staff is friendly and helpful.
    • Although they are a new company, they are definitely on the right track!
    • I recommend this software to clients, colleagues, and friends alike, mostly for it quick and beautiful invoicing.
    • They do what they can to live up to their name! It doesn't take very long to get set up, or very long to create a complete invoice and send it to the right person.
    Read full review
    Cons
    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
    ZipBooks
    • There is some difficulty with a need to learn the use of the menus, they are not open and click, at the moment, the user needs to open the menu then using the pad keys scroll down and use enter to select from the drop-down menu. A mouse does not work.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Wave
    Easy to use for clients with no accounting background and the price is right.
    Read full review
    ZipBooks
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    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
    ZipBooks
    No answers on this topic
    Reliability and Availability
    Wave
    WAVE is always available when we need it ! Peter
    Read full review
    ZipBooks
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    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
    ZipBooks
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    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
    ZipBooks
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    Wave
    easy to use and east to train on ! Our WAVE clients enjoy the ease of use
    Read full review
    ZipBooks
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    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
    ZipBooks
    I've primarily compared ZipBooks vs. Quickbooks because I've used Quickbooks at larger companies before. ZipBooks was the right fit for a smaller organization because it still had all the core features of Quickbooks but at a dramatically lower price that fits the budget.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Wave
    Once they out grow what is ability to move up to a more robust system?
    Read full review
    ZipBooks
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    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
    ZipBooks
    • ZipBooks is entirely affordable, and with my current $15/mo payments, I get ROI pretty quickly.
    • Invoices are simple and easy to make, while staying beautiful and functional at the same time. This saves me TIME, which means that I don't need to spend 15-20 minutes fiddling with the software to make it do what I want it to do. It just works. And that means, I can spend more time doing client work, and managing projects and sales.
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    ZipBooks Screenshots

    Screenshot of ZipBooks DashboardScreenshot of ZipBooks TransactionsScreenshot of ZipBooks InvoicingScreenshot of ZipBooks Accountant Messaging