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Wave Accounting

Wave Accounting

Overview

What is Wave Accounting?

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.

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

Wave Accounting is a reliable tool for staying up to date with accounting tasks such as creating invoices, tracking payments, and managing …
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Disappointed in Wave Accounting

1 out of 10
January 19, 2024
I am an artist and the only user. In trying to reconcile sales tax in wave to what I report to the state by quarter using the P&L, all …
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Good Accounting Software for SME's

9 out of 10
January 13, 2022
We use Wave Accounting for all the financial data of the organization (SME.) The payroll, however, was outsourced. The product addresses a …
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Wave Accounting Review

1 out of 10
August 17, 2021
Went from Rave to RIOT over payout holdups. [It seems like] they've delayed my money countless times. They suspend payment, asking for …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Popular Features

View all 44 features
  • Bank reconciliation (63)
    9.6
    96%
  • Accounts receivable (67)
    9.6
    96%
  • Standard reports (67)
    9.5
    95%
  • Dashboards (68)
    9.4
    94%

Reviewer Pros & Cons

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Pricing

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Unavailable

What is Wave Accounting?

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…

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Alternatives Pricing

What is Xero?

Xero is an online accounting software product for small businesses and personal finance. Its features beyond general ledger and double-bookkeeping include quotable invoicing, bank reconciliation, purchase order and expense management, and tax management. Third party apps can extend its features…

What is QuickBooks Online?

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.

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Product Demos

How To Use Wave Accounting App | Get a hold of your Money! | Ibukun Awosika

YouTube

Wave Accounting Demo

YouTube
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Features

Payroll Management

Provides for pay calculation and benefit plan administration, in addition to managing direct deposit, salary revisions and payroll tracking.

6.2
Avg 7.5

Customization

This addresses a company’s ability to configure the software to fit its specific use case and workflow.

8.5
Avg 7.1

Security

This component helps a company minimize the security risks by controlling access to the software and its data, and encouraging best practices among users.

9.5
Avg 8.0

Reporting & Analytics

Users can report on and analyze usage, performance, ROI, and/or other metrics of success.

8.2
Avg 7.6

General Ledger and Configurable Accounting

Financial management solution, including capabilities for general ledger and configurable accounting

6.9
Avg 7.4

Inventory Management

The ability to track and manage the flow of goods or materials into and out of an inventory.

8.1
Avg 7.0

Order Management

The ability to process orders, and track them from quote to cash.

7.6
Avg 7.4
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Product Details

What is Wave Accounting?

Wave Accounting is a fast growing, free, cloud-based accounting platform exclusively for small businesses (less than 9 employees) offered by Wave in Toronto. It supports double-entry bookkeeping and permits unlimited user access to always-available records and reports, as well as unlimited invoicing and expense management. Wave integrates with expense tracking software Shoeboxed. The software is mobile-accessible.

Wave Accounting integrates with Wave's invoicing, receipt scanning, payment processing and payroll apps, into one relatively comprehensive package. However, the automated payments and payroll functionality must be purchased; the payments addition bills per transaction, and the payroll feature bills by number of employees over a flat rate. To support the free platform, Wave integrates advertisements from business partners. Thus these are a necessary facet of the service.

Wave Accounting Competitors

Wave Accounting Technical Details

Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

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.

QuickBooks Online, FreshBooks, and Xero are common alternatives for Wave Accounting.

Reviewers rate Multi-currency support and Order entry and Cost of goods sold highest, with a score of 10.

The most common users of Wave Accounting are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(172)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

Wave Accounting is a reliable tool for staying up to date with accounting tasks such as creating invoices, tracking payments, and managing financial obligations. Users appreciate how Wave Accounting simplifies these processes, eliminating the need for manual tracking. The software offers an intuitive interface and essential accounting features that make it a popular choice for small businesses. It has been commended for its ability to quickly generate professional estimates and invoices, as well as provide performance insights through flow graphs and profit and loss graphs. Although some users have experienced drawbacks such as limited customer support and lengthy credit card acceptance processes, overall, Wave Accounting has been highly recommended by users who find it valuable for organizing their businesses. It is particularly useful for tracking inventory purchases, sales, expenses, managing independent contractor businesses, and is considered an affordable and powerful solution by accounting professionals in service-based industries.

Comprehensive and Versatile Software: Users have found Wave Accounting to be a comprehensive and versatile solution for bookkeeping and budgeting. It has been praised for its ability to effortlessly track and categorize financial transactions, streamline invoice creation without redundant data entry, as well as generate various financial reports.

Cloud-based Accessibility: The cloud-based nature of Wave Accounting is highly appreciated by users, providing them with easy accessibility from any computer while eliminating concerns about computer glitches or server problems. This feature has been mentioned by numerous reviewers.

Powerful Invoicing Feature: Users have lauded the invoicing feature in Wave Accounting for its power and user-friendliness. They can easily create and send invoices, keep track of due dates, and mark off paid invoices. The software also provides automatic invoice numbering, facilitating quick reference to different invoices.

Horrible Reconciliation Process: Users have expressed frustration with the reconciliation process in Wave, describing it as horrible. They find it difficult to match transactions and suggest a simpler method for reconciliation.

Lack of Customer Support Options: Many users complain about the lack of customer support options in Wave. They mention the absence of phone or chat lines and express frustration with the frequent response to read documentation. Users desire more personalized assistance and quicker ways to resolve their issues.

Limited Reporting Features: Users feel that the reporting features in Wave could be more robust and flexible. They report issues with exporting general ledger items and mention the need for improvements in sorting options for reports. Some users desire preset date options for reports and request further development of this aspect in Wave.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(51-75 of 79)
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Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Accounting by Wave is used across the organization for invoicing and accounting.
  • Credit Card Acceptance, an excellent feature that makes payment convenient for clients. It's also a very quick set up.
  • Estimate to Invoice Lifecycle: Incredibly useful and time-saving to convert quotes instantly.
  • Usability: Very intuitive and a lovely dashboard for financial overviews.
  • Invoice templates can be customised and look instantly impressive. Very easy to edit, filter, arrange and most importantly, they're easy to process from the client's point of view.
  • Great customer support. The first day I had an IT issue, they solved it straight away.
  • Invoices look great on desktop and device formats.
  • Upload your receipts direct to Wave, even if it's not a unique feature, I love that Wave includes it.
  • My accountant is happy to use the data from it.
  • Seriously everything, every tiny, well thought out feature that I've discovered so far.
  • None found, not yet. It's brilliant.
I'm in awe of this software. I'm a small start up and I've gone through at least 10 or 12 other platforms with a Goldilocks effect of 'This layout is too unimpressive' or 'This makes payment too laborious for clients'...until Wave. It's just right.
Marc Palud | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Wave is used to manage our quotes and invoicing for project work.
  • Simple to use.
  • Cloud based.
  • Works on mobile via a web browser.
  • They also have an app for invoicing.
  • It's an ad supported platform, [with] Google AdSense within the app. Other than that, fairly clean.
[Accounting by Wave is well suited for] Quick creation of invoices. [Also to] Send out overdue reminders, which can be automated.
Hanna Geshelin | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
I am semi-retired, with a small home-based business where I teach adults and children to sew as well as do clothing alterations. For most of my worklife I was a writer and editor, and I still do some of that. I use Accounting by Wave to keep track of all my earned income from every source. I formerly used QuickBooks, but it was so complex that I made frequent errors that made my accounting a nightmare. Wave is designed to be user-friendly for small companies such as mine, and can be used by someone without training in accounting. With Wave, many problems are handled easily:
  • Categorizing income & expenses by accounts
  • Simple reports
  • Customizable, attractive, professional invoices
  • Easy recurring invoicing
  • Ability to send invoices through Wave or through my own email program
  • Customers can pay directly from their invoice over the internet
These are just a few features that are much easier than on other programs I've used.
  • Wave has a good on-line database of help articles. Additionally, their staff responds to customer service problems and inquiries received via email quickly and completely, even without their premium customer service option. They follow up on inquiries to make sure that the problem has been solved. Plus, I have seen that a few issues that were not supported at the time of my inquiry became updates. This means that they pay attention to the needs of their users and incorporate user suggestions to make the program stronger and better, yet still easy to use.
  • I was able to create a unique, custom invoice template in just a few minutes using clip art. Having a professional-looking invoice helps project the image that I want my school to have.
  • Setting up additional businesses is easy. My writing/editing business has its own custom invoice template, and I was able to set up deposits from those invoices into an account at a different bank than that used for my sewing school. Wave made it very easy to keep track of both businesses without any danger of confusing expenses and income.
  • The receipt function from my smartphone is really handy and easy to use.
  • I would like to be able to customize the reminder sent to customers who haven't paid invoices. The boiler-plate text doesn't apply to my situation, so I can't use this feature and have to write each reminder separately.
  • I bank with two small credit unions that are not supported by Wave, which means that transactions aren't automatically downloaded to my Wave account. Of course when clients pay using the link on their invoices the deposits are made to my accounts; but Wave can't connect directly to my credit union for other transactions.
  • Sometimes it is slow to load.
Wave is wonderful for a very small business such as mine. It provides all the functionality that I need and while it has many functions that so far I haven't needed, these in no way interfere with the functions I do use. The learning curve is short because it is user-friendly and doesn't try to be all things to all people.
December 28, 2016

Good Work Wave

John Murray Headshots | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
I was having problems sourcing a suitable solution for taking credit card payments from clients. I found a great solution in some Irish software but was unable to charge clients remotely. To that point, my workflow was a bit all over the place. Invoicing and receipts one way; billing and accounts another. At a bit of a loss for a remote solution, I found Wave. For the first time I can manage all of my accounts in one place. [I can] record my outgoings with photographs of receipts (losing the paper bundles) and instantly invoice clients by the click of a few buttons on my phone or tablet. Brilliant software. Well worth using.
  • Fast invoicing
  • Easy to use
  • No more boxes of reciepts
  • I would like to see a button feature like the SumUp app.
  • A box for prices incl or excl tax for ease of pricing.
  • A Mac desktop version of the app. But I can use the website so I'm just being picky.
It's just so easy to use. I use it to send invoices and receipts directly to clients while still shooting with them. It's great for reminding me people owe me money. Because let's face it, I am a disaster.
Penny Breslin | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We have several clients that use Wave Accounting and utilize our bookkeeping services monthly. We set the client up in Wave train them and for some handle monthly work.
  • Great collaboration tool between our clients and the bookkeeping team
  • Wave Receipts is extremely helpful for getting source information details
  • The invoice capability is highly valued by our clients
  • We have started using the payroll feature and find it easy to implement
  • More customization of reports or at least more variety on present default reports
  • For us as the collaborating bookkeepers to have ability to run data feed updates from our view
It depends on the size of the business. This great for a service business.
Randy O'Malley | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Wave is being used for my entire organization as we use it for the general ledger, A/R and payroll. It automates many tasks saving our organization time and money. With other software we spent considerable time entering payroll, writing cheques to employees and submitting government remittances. Wave has streamlined this process since employees are paid directly to their bank accounts and government remittances are automatically paid.
  • The payroll module is fantastic. The entire process is automated and saves considerable time throughout the process.
  • The automatic download of bank and credit card transactions into the general ledger saves a considerable amount of time with data entry.
  • Allowing customers to pay invoices by credit card directly through Wave allows for faster collection of receivables.
  • The reporting features could be more robust as the number of reports are limited and not a flexible as I would like to see them.
  • I have run into issues when trying to export general ledger items. There are inconsistencies with the date formats and as a result the information does not export easily.
This software is suited for small owner managed businesses. The payroll automation and importing of bank and credit card transactions save users a significant amount of time when maintaining their records. The software only works for clients who are able to keep their records up to date and perform regular reconciliations. This software loses much of its functionality if the records are not kept up to date.
Melissa Whaley | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Wave is my primary accounting program for my business. I am a sole-proprietor business with no employees and prefer cloud based software so I can jump between working on my desktop, laptop, and tablet. I am able to use Wave accounting for all of my invoicing, receiving credit card payments, and tracking expenses. Because it is a full featured double entry accounting program it also is capable of tracking depreciable assets which many other paid online accounting programs do not do.
  • Wave invoicing is clean and easy to use to invoice all my clients, including using their mobile app.
  • Wave payments is great because you can see the payment details including when the money will deposit into your bank account. It also allows you to save payment methods for recurring payments.
  • Wave has excellent customer support, there are various subscription options if you need more dedicated support.
  • Wave does a great job of meeting the needs of small business owners by integrating receipts, invoicing, bank import, payroll, and expense tracking.
  • There are no preset date options for reports. It would be nice if you could select a quick option when running a report like "this month", "this quarter", "last month", "last quarter". It can bee a little cumbersome to manually enter the dates for a report especially when looking for previous years.
  • As a Wave Pro, I have clients who use Wave for Payroll. Under my "collaborator" access I cannot assist them with running payroll or view any payroll reports I have to use their personal login to access payroll. It would be nice to have an option to grant a collaborator more access including Payroll.
  • It would be really great to add a credit memo option. That way you could show that a client has a positive balance on their account. I know there are some funky work-arounds for this, but it's not worth the work to use them.
  • Bank reconciliation technically exists, but it's not intuitive for someone who is used to reconciling in a desktop software such as Quickbooks.
Wave is ideal for the solo-preneur service based start-up. It is meant for businesses who have operated out of a shoebox, or Excel spreadsheet, in the past and are looking to step up their game. It is not dummy proof so you still have to understand the very basics of accounting especially if you have bank accounts and credit cards auto importing transactions.

Wave does not have project management, or timed billing, like some other programs do, so if that is a high priority there may be other accounting software that fit their needs better. The bank reconciliation feature is a little weird so it might not be as strong for corporations that need to keep on top of account balances for tax reporting.
Peter Cullen | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Reseller
We use Wave Software for our small business clients who are getting started and need efficient and easy to use accounting software to manage their business finances, process payroll and have support for income tax preparation.
  • So easy to use and set up
  • Easy to collaborate with our Clients
  • Easy to view reports and share information in meetings with clients
  • The journal Entry Feature definitely could use improvements by allowing billable expenses to be posted to a Customer account
  • Reporting is still very basic and needs enhancement - ability to generate custom reports is needed
It is so not good for inventory and product related customers. It is best for service based customers and early stage companies.
John Galbraith | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Wave is used in all aspects of our administration at ZonedIn and Galbro. It is used for payroll, invoicing, bookkeeping, HST (Sales Tax) management, financial reporting and business analysis. Wave has streamlined the way we collect, prepare, and analyze our financial data. It also provided us with an easy to use tool to manage all other areas of our business administration including invoicing, payments and payroll. By connecting all of our accounts to Wave we've been able see everything in real time versus more traditional accounting systems and we've saved time, money and headaches.
  • Support. There are many similar systems out there but my experiences with Wave's support team is why I will always use this product over the others.
  • Payroll. This is an area that can change your business. Harnessing the ease of use of Wave's Payroll Modules allows our company to stay lean and concentrate on growth while providing a premium experience to our awesome employees.
  • Invoicing. It may seem trivial but the invoicing modules in Wave, when used correctly are a huge time saver and enhance the overall bookkeeping experience. Not to mention the impression my client's get when they receive a professional invoice via email.
  • Sales Tax Automation. I don't even know how this would be possible but as an Ontario resident I would love to explore a way I could create parameters based on certain expenses and automatically add the HST.
  • AI for categorizations. Wave does an alright job of taking a guess at the expense categories in the data from our payment accounts. A little more would be a fine addition.
  • Speed. Sometimes I find it can be a little sluggish. Not all the time, but some.
I have yet to find a business scenario where Wave wasn't what I recommended. It is however important to understand what folks want from an accounting system and what functions/modules are important to them. That said, with Wave's feature set and the nature of today's business/entrepreneurship landscape it's mostly always a great fit.
David Goldstein | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We use Wave for several of business/personal accounts. I do all my personal bank and credit card work in Wave. I also use Wave to manage the back end of a rental property we own, and a high school reunion that has been ongoing for the past five years. As a Wave Pro Advisor, I work with a large range of clients who use Wave Accounting for their small to medium size businesses, and personal accounting. We set up the business Chart of Accounts, train in the use of Wave, assist on an ongoing basis managers and bookkeepers as needed. We encourage clients to do as much as they can and want to do in Wave, which is a great application for non-accountants who have limited or no experience in keeping a set of books.

I am a huge fan of Wave, as it is easy to set up, connect bank and credit card accounts, has a very good interface for feeding all transactions into Wave, and has a good set of reports available to allow us. and the client be able to quickly get a full view of the financial condition of the company, or the personal accounts.
  • Bank and credit card transactions feed seamlessly into Wave. Users don't have to manually enter transactions, and there are no mistakes entering numbers.
  • Categorizing transactions is, for the most part, easy and quick to do. Users learn by doing, and therefore grasp a much better understanding of their company's financial condition.
  • Users can create sales invoices and purchases, easily keeping track of money owed to them by their customers, and money owed to those they purchase from.
  • A broad set of reports is available at the click of a button, allowing instant looks at a wide range of company activity.
  • For each company account opened, users get a related Wave account for personal use.
  • Wave now offers a fully integrated payroll solution through Wave Payroll, a separate, but connected application.
  • Online accounting is the future, and Wave, which was created as an online application, continues to evolve and add new features to make it a better solution.
  • Project accounting is probably the most sought-after feature. Being able to individually track revenue and expenses for various events, etc., would be a huge plus.
  • A fuller set of reports would be helpful.
  • A small consideration, but to be able to view and print a P&L with categories in alphabetical order would be a big improvement. The workaround to export the P&L into Excel and sorting A-Z resolves this issue, but it should be unnecessary.
  • Being able to group categories in the P&L, for instance, would be a nice improvement.
Wave Accounting is well-suited for service-based organizations, less so for those that utilize inventory beyond simple tracking. Smaller companies, dba, LLC, S-Corps are ideal candidates for Wave. Wave is well-suited for people who have little or no experience with bookkeeping, used to "shoebox", Excel, manual tracking of revenue and expenses. Auto-feed of transactions is a huge plus for any and all who utilize Wave.
Dave Greene | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Wave allows fast and easy email invoicing with built in credit card payment processing through Stripe. The dashboard with budget comparison as well as the weekly progress emails allow us to see exactly how the cash is flowing. The sales tax reports provides timely information on both sales tax collected and Input Tax Credits (ITC's).
  • Invoicing and credit card payment processing - set up and use in minutes with a minimum amount of hassle, even if you've never had a merchant account before!
  • Easy to read dashboards with budget comparisons - track progress graphically.
  • Weekly progress emails - keeps you informed about cash flow.
  • Allows easy separation of Company / Personal transactions for co-mingled accounts - the ideal system for new start-ups and self employed entrepreneurs!
  • Tax mapping - it can be a pain having to go through each transaction and specify whether or not to apply sales tax! You should be able to define Income and expense accounts as Taxable and then have the system calculate the tax included in the total automatically!
For startups, self-employed, proprietors and partners who are using one bank account for personal / business banking Wave is the solution you're looking for. Another advantage for startups is you can start processing credit card payments on line immediately - with only a three question application! No pledging the life of your first born child to the major banks to establish a merchant account!
Will Lopez | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Our company has been using Wave Accounting since it first started. It allowed us to fully manage our records on the accrual basis of accounting. We were so impressive that we could email clients invoices, see that they were being viewed or not, and have our clients pay us in real time. In addition, the guest collaborator feature is what allowed us to help other wave users set up their accounts, demonstrate the full double entry features of the platform. Wave accounting addresses the issues small businesses have in keeping their records in real-time. Wave helps dramatically with providing a Balance Sheet and Income Statement, tracking and allocating expenses to the proper categories. Wave helps with payroll for our employees and remitting payroll taxes to the appropriate tax agencies with ease. Wave accounting has changed our business and our lives, and we are eternally grateful for the platform. Go Wave, go!
  • Wave allows small business owners to categorize transactions quickly with their bulk categorize features, filter existing transactions painlessly and reconcile your Wave account to your actual bank institution statements.
  • Wave's invoicing feature is super powerful. You can create and send invoices. Even more, you can see if your clients have viewed them even though they may say they didn't. Lastly, the recurring invoice feature with the ability to apply credit card payments is simply AWESOME to use. Streamlining receivables is a challenge every business has, and Wave has solved it.
  • In the past, the integration of Stripe with the invoice payment feature of Wave caused issues as while wave would mark invoices paid, the deposit from that invoice payment cause a duplication of the invoice payment. But, with the slow release of the new Wave payment we believe this will solve the existing issue.
Wave accounting is well suited for companies who don't have to deal with 'manufacturing accounting' or wanting to create separate income statements for different departments of the Organization.
August 19, 2015

Catch the Wave

Jeff Borschowa | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
I provide software selection and implementation services for my small to medium-sized business clients. My focus is to pair the client with the right software for their business needs. I typically recommend Wave to my small business clients that are looking for a reasonably priced accounting package that works within their needs. I find Wave to be a great accounting package for simple small businesses who need easy bookkeeping and portable access. My favorite feature is the integrated credit card processing and invoicing. This allows my clients to bill quicker and get paid faster, something very important in small businesses!

I have not used Wave with larger entities as of yet.
  • Wave excels at separating personal and business expenses for a blended bank account.
  • Wave facilitates invoicing and payment.
  • Easy interface and small learning curve.
  • Ideal for independent contractors.
  • Wave is very simple and it meets the needs of clients that it was designed for. If you use the right tool for the right job, it can be a great thing. However, the program is not yet at a stage where I would recommend it to larger entities.
Wave is best suited to simple businesses that need to be able to invoice customers and track expenses. I do not believe it would be appropriate for a complex business that needed complex invoicing or inventory management. I tend to recommend it for independent contractors, self-employed musicians, realtors, or similar.
Eric Matthews | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Wave is one of the cloud-based accounting services I use with my clients. I have been using it for a few years now. It has been a great solution for clients who want an all-in-one solution for their small business bookkeeping. I have also tested it with my own books. It's especially good if you're trying to track both your business and personal finances in one app.
  • It has a very easy to learn interface.
  • They have a great support team that is quick to answer any questions you might have along the way.
  • The core of the service is completely free, so it's a great way to track your finances on a limited budget.
  • It has an optional payroll service built-in, which most other competitors don't offer.
  • The reports need some work. I would like to see some options for how the data is sorted (either by account number or name).
  • The payroll service is a bit limited if you have staff that have varied pay structures or are paid on different schedules.
The important thing is to figure out what the client wants to get out of their accounting software. Wave is well suited to sole proprietors or small shops that don't need all of the features that something bigger like QuickBooks provides. Since it's free, it's a great way for people on a tight budget to make sure they're keeping track of their books.

I wouldn't recommend it to larger companies who need very detailed and customizable reports or who have complex payroll needs.
Jeanne Harris | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
I recommend it to many of my clients, set it up, monitor it and, in some cases, handle some of the date categorization. In some cases, clients use only the invoicing feature which provides us with information for revenue entries in our on-site software and information to process sales tax reports.
  • It does a wonderful job of invoicing and billing - great for tracking outstanding receivable and payables.
  • Love the ability to add my own general ledger accounts.
  • Entering journal entries is easy and provides needed flexibility.
  • We need to be able to create a template for general journal entries so that we don't have to enter every line on repetitive monthly entries.
  • Need the ability to choose cash or accrual for sales tax reporting.
  • Re sales tax liabilities, I really don't want a separate liability account for each sales tax jurisdiction. When I pay, I make one payment for multiple jurisdictions.
Who will be doing the data entry? Which features are most important?
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
WAVE is used by some of my small business accounting clients. It is a good fit for new businesses with straightforward bookkeeping and financial reporting needs,and perhaps some payroll services, such as freelancers and start ups. Unlike some free accounting softwares, WAVE does provide a balance sheet as well as a profit and loss - very important for correct tax reporting.
  • WAVE provides bank and credit card connections, which would be expected for any cloud accounting packages theses days.
  • WAVE is always evolving and has an enthusiastic, responsive support team. They seem very willing to earn their customers' loyalty.
  • Is can be somewhat clunky to refine the chart of accounts, but there was nothing I couldn't get done with a little one-time working around
  • Applying credit card payments is a little clunky, but not excessively so
A good fit for small businesses with straightforward bookkeeping needs and lite payroll. Probably not the best for companies with multiple locations, though it could work for that, too. I am not familiar with its capabilities for manufacturing companies, but that is not to say it wouldn't work - just that I have not used it for that.
Lior Zehtser, CPA, CA | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We help support clients that are using Wave Accounting to run their businesses. It provides business owners with a free platform to manage their accounting records.
  • Payroll
  • Accepting Credit Cards
  • Reporting
  • Open API for third-party apps
  • Server speed can improve
It is suitable for non-complex businesses, businesses with low transaction volume and businesses just starting out.
Michael Schwanzer | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
It enables daily insights into our cashflow without any hassle of getting the data into it. Therefore we use it to plan spendings and know right away invoices are paid. Furthermore, having an accountant overlook our finances directly, it makes everything a lot easier. Automated invoices are a great way to save time.
  • Automated import of all transactions: saves time, nothing gets lost, no human errors from data entry.
  • The android app to scan recipes with seems to be a bit slow.
Can every transaction be imported from any bank?
May 12, 2015

Wave review

Andrew Wall, CPA, CMA | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
I have used this for my own organization and have also helped several of my clients implement it for themselves. It has been used primarily for expense reporting. We use the software to sync with online bank and credit card information to eliminate the need for data entry. We also use the invoicing tool. However we have not used any of the payroll features.
  • The price. By far the best product you can get for free. The freemium model gets you a great base product that works well for most small business. In addition if you do need other features like payroll you can pay for those as needed.
  • The ability to sync with online debit and credit cards. Setting up an credit card is easy and once you set it up it will go out and fetch the transactions for you everymonth
  • The ability to deal with both personal and corporate expenses. My client base is owner managed businesses. These types of business often intermingle both their personal and corporate expenses. With Wave it is very easy for clients to deal with both personal and business expenses. As an accountant this is very useful as it gives me more insight into my clients.
  • Chart of accounts. While you can modify the chart of accounts it is really not that straight forward
  • Ecosystem. I would like to see more add-ons available
Accounting by Wave is great for owner managed business that have basic needs.
Howard Thaw | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Used across the entire organization, from Billing and Payroll, through Cash and Credit Card Management.
It solves the largest challenge to most business, staying current (by the day) with bank and credit card transactions spanning multiple currencies.
  • Dashboard gives a simple to use (and understand) visual snapshot of where the business is, at any point in time
  • Automatic import of bank account and credit card transactions across more than one currency
  • Recurring billing and taking credit cards are simple and powerful features.
  • Support (telephone and online) is Awesome
  • Financial reports lack the ability to do period-over-period comparisons
  • Missing the functionality needed to get details from the accounts payable aging reports
  • You can enter bills (not invoices), but not print them out. In other words all of the functionality that is in invoicing needs to be mirrored in bills.
If you want to stay on top of your accounting, without having to enter credit card and banking transactions manually, then use Wave.
Elaine Orr Morgan | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Wave is being used by many of our freelance and sole proprietor clients, especially those who still mingle their business income and expenses with their personal income. The business owner is able to prepare and send invoices, receive payments and record expenses, enabling them to keep on top of their financial position
  • Bank Feeds - just tell Wave what the transaction is for, even if it is a personal transaction
  • Financial snapshot - see at a glance how your business is doing
  • Wave Payments - get paid on your invoices immediately
  • I'd like to see more customization and an increased number of accounts available
Accounting by Wave is definitely well-suited to the freelancer or "single-shingle" business owner. Its versatility and ease of use, coupled with accurate accounting procedures and bank reconciliations will help most solopreneurs stay on top of their financials. It also shows the Balance Sheet which some other "cloud accounting" packages don't.
Jennifer Bauldic | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Currently, we use Wave to support our small business clients in handling their day to day bookkeeping needs. It is a straight-forward solution geared towards new entrepreneurs, and solo-preneurs. We feel it is a great tool to keep track of business activities with only a minimum of technical accounting knowledge required.
  • For starters, it's free! And every new business needs to be cost-conscious in order to successfully navigate the start-up phase and get into the Revenue Phase.
  • The bank and credit card feeds are tremendously helpful to the non-accountant. Data entry in the bookkeeping industry is being replaced by these automatic transaction feeds. This helps a great deal in ensuring both accuracy and completeness of the bookkeeping records.
  • Wave stays with you to help you grow. They offer a (paid) payroll module which allows the business owner to handle basic payroll needs without becoming an expert. Of course, we always recommend consulting a professional to confirm compliance - both legal and regulatory.
  • I would love to see a separate transaction feed for CAD and USD accounts. It is tricky right now to properly post transfers and payments between currencies as well as from bank accounts to credit card accounts.
  • Adding an invoice number field to the Verify Screen would eliminate the need to post the bill first and then record the payment second.
Making a recommendation is always very specific to the situation. In general, I urge my colleagues to learn and use Wave Accounting as it is a terrific tool and it is easy to introduce to existing "shoebox" clients. For individuals looking for a better way to manage their invoicing and expenses, we engage in a fairly detailed discussion that captures today's needs as well as considering the future before confirming that Wave is right solution for them.

Wave is very well suited to the self-employed and service oriented small businesses. The ease of creating and sending invoices is matched by the Merchant tool that helps these individuals get paid faster. Incorporated companies should carefully consider the needs of their business before selecting an accounting software. Wave is not designed for manufacturing, complex payroll systems or companies requiring inventory tracking.
May 06, 2015

Wave Review

Ryan N. Lazanis, CPA, CA | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Wave Accounting is one of our top choices when it comes to cloud accounting products in Canada. It's exceptionally user-friendly and easy to understand for small business owners (ie. non-accountants). Their payments and invoicing module makes it super easy to create invoices and accept payments on the fly. Nice system for a nice price :)
  • Easy to use
  • Great invoicing module
  • Accepting payments on the go
  • Third party integrations
It is great for small business with non-complicated business processes.
Michele Craig CPA,CMA | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Reseller
I am a small business bookkeeping consultant, that is to say that I recommend small business accounting software to other businesses who wish to manage their own basic bookkeeping. I have recommended, implemented and trained several clients on the use of Accounting by Wave. It is a robust solution which is very user-friendly for the novice bookkeeper. The bank interface ensures that business transactions are captured. It also allows my clients to track who owes them money, how much HST they owe, and other business results.
  • Bank or credit card interface - allows users to connect to their financial institutions and download transactions directly into the software. This ensures that nothing is missed. The user needs to review and accept transactions for final posting so no entries are entered without their review.
  • HST reporting - as many new businesses start as annual filers, tracking HST owing is a critical piece. The ability to separate and track HST in the software takes the guesswork out of how much money the client needs to set aside.
  • The user interface is very friendly and walks the user through setting up the software. This may seem like a small piece, but for someone who has never managed books and perhaps never managed a business before, a friendly interface is just the thing to keep them from running for the hills!
  • Well, I have to say it...it's FREE! There is an advertising sidebar and there are a couple of pay for use add-ons such as payroll and credit card processing but they are optional and economical.
  • There is a smartphone app that interfaces with the client datafile and which allows for invoicing customers on the road, reducing paperwork and speeding up collections. Invoices look polished and professional.
  • I would like to see the bank reconciliation module fleshed out. There is a basic version but no reconciling screen.
  • Their is an optical character recognition app called "Receipts by Wave" that try as I might, I just can't seem to get it to work. Some further development there would be nice.
I wouldn't recommend this software to a company that requires multi-currency accounting or inventory tracking, nor would I recommend it for a business larger than 10 employees. This software is designed for the micro business and best suits a service-based business.

In Simcoe County where my practice is located, we have many rural areas which don't have high-speed internet, so I don't recommend any cloud-based software for those clients who are still on dialup or whose internet would more appropriately be named "intermittentnet".
Paul Colman FCA | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We and our clients use Wave to record all accounting transactions and produce useful reports such as the income statement and sales tax report. It makes bookkeeping so much easier and quicker to get right, especially when bank transactions are fed directly into Wave, or uploaded from an online banking file. Bulk categorisation and the bank reconciliation also speeds up the process. The end result is cheaper accountant fees for my clients and better business decisions.
  • Bank feeds
  • Bank reconciliation
  • Bulk categorisation
  • UK payroll
  • Sales tax for special UK schemes such as the Flat Rate Scheme and Cash Accounting
  • Recurring and copying bills
The more transactions, or the more complex the business, the less suitable Wave becomes. It's ideal for contractors.
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