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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)
    9.5
    95%
  • Accounts receivable (67)
    9.5
    95%
  • Standard reports (67)
    9.5
    95%
  • Dashboards (68)
    9.4
    94%

Reviewer Pros & Cons

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Pricing

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N/A
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

(1-2 of 2)
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Matthew Gehrman | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We utilize Wave across the company to manage expenses, invoicing, credit card processing, and 1099 employee payroll tracking. Having one application to handle all these transaction makes the accounting side of the business far less of a headache and with the recent updates it's even easier to navigate.
  • Crisp, clean invoices, and I particularly like the ability to customize the invoice to fit our needs.
  • Custom reporting tools so we can slice & dice our data as needed.
  • Overall interface is incredibly easy to navigate through and you don't have to be a professional accountant or book keeper to make sense of everything.
  • Offering a recurring payment option, credit card processing, and ACH payment options with customer online payment options as well has made our life much easier with the repeat accounts we manage.
  • Adding customers profiles is simple and can be done right in the new invoice tool
  • Setting up vendors is quick and easy to associate to various payable/receivable accounts is simple.
  • Not too much to complain about with Wave although I do wish they kept an audit trail of all invoice reminders sent, changes in the invoice, and have the ability to pull reports with this data. This functionality would be great to review clients as a whole to determine profitability and time spent with these clients.
  • 9% processing fees for all cards which is a bit higher than some of the competitors like Blue Pay. The pro to this though is there's no monthly commitment or monthly service fees.
Wave is an excellent option for small start-up businesses since it's a free application, comparable to others like Xero & Quikbooks, and integrates with most major banks. Where I would see considering to move platforms is when you have more than 10 employees and multiple accounts to balance which at that point may be a good time to consult a book keeper and consider switching software if needed. Side note Wave offers a list of local bookkeeping professionals that work with Wave software in your area so you wouldn't have to change systems.
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting (20)
52.5%
5.3
Accounts payable
80%
8.0
Accounts receivable
100%
10.0
Cash management
100%
10.0
Bank reconciliation
100%
10.0
Expense management
100%
10.0
Time tracking
90%
9.0
Multi-currency support
N/A
N/A
Multi-division support
100%
10.0
Regulations compliance
100%
10.0
Electronic tax filing
N/A
N/A
Self-service portal
N/A
N/A
Global Financial Support
N/A
N/A
Primary and Secondary Ledgers
90%
9.0
Intercompany Accounting
N/A
N/A
Localizations
N/A
N/A
Journals and Reconciliations
100%
10.0
Enterprise Accounting
N/A
N/A
Configurable Accounting
90%
9.0
Centralized Rules Framework
N/A
N/A
Standardized Processes
N/A
N/A
Inventory Management (4)
N/A
N/A
Inventory tracking
N/A
N/A
Automatic reordering
N/A
N/A
Location management
N/A
N/A
Manufacturing module
N/A
N/A
Order Management (7)
N/A
N/A
Pricing
N/A
N/A
Order entry
N/A
N/A
Credit card processing
N/A
N/A
Cost of goods sold
N/A
N/A
Order Orchestration
N/A
N/A
End-to-end order visibility
N/A
N/A
Order exception Resolution
N/A
N/A
Payroll Management (5)
52%
5.2
Pay calculation
90%
9.0
Benefit plan administration
N/A
N/A
Direct deposit files
80%
8.0
Salary revision and increment management
90%
9.0
Reimbursement management
N/A
N/A
Reporting & Analytics (3)
100%
10.0
Dashboards
100%
10.0
Standard reports
100%
10.0
Custom reports
100%
10.0
Customization (2)
N/A
N/A
API for custom integration
N/A
N/A
Plug-ins
N/A
N/A
Security (2)
50%
5.0
Role-based user permissions
N/A
N/A
Single sign-on capability
100%
10.0
  • Being as it's free software to use I'd say implementing wave has been a positive return for the business.
  • Providing us the ability to process credit cards over the phone has increased our turn time to receive payments thus saving time overall which equates to $1,000's a year
Across the board Wave takes the cake on price at $0/mo aside from payroll fees and credit card processing. That aside I'd say most accounting systems are fairly similar, however what I like about Wave is just how simple the interface is and the outstanding customer support from both the community and the company.
Yes
Zoho Books was what we used initially until we came across Wave, after that we never looked back. Both applications are fairly easy to use however I really like the layout and ease of Wave.
  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
Ease of use, expansion abilities, and all in one payroll, bookkeeping, and invoicing.
I wouldn't change a thing, after researching several systems and then conducting a trial on each system there's not much to change.
No
They stand behind their product and understand the struggles of a small business owner, after all they were one in the beginning.
If they had live chat service then I'd rate this a 10.
No
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.
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting (12)
86.66666666666666%
8.7
Accounts payable
100%
10.0
Accounts receivable
100%
10.0
Cash management
80%
8.0
Bank reconciliation
100%
10.0
Expense management
80%
8.0
Time tracking
80%
8.0
Fixed asset management
50%
5.0
Multi-currency support
100%
10.0
Multi-division support
100%
10.0
Regulations compliance
80%
8.0
Electronic tax filing
70%
7.0
Self-service portal
100%
10.0
Inventory Management
N/A
N/A
Order Management (2)
90%
9.0
Credit card processing
100%
10.0
Cost of goods sold
80%
8.0
Payroll Management (4)
97.5%
9.8
Pay calculation
90%
9.0
Direct deposit files
100%
10.0
Salary revision and increment management
100%
10.0
Reimbursement management
100%
10.0
Reporting & Analytics (2)
100%
10.0
Dashboards
100%
10.0
Standard reports
100%
10.0
Customization (2)
60%
6.0
API for custom integration
60%
6.0
Plug-ins
60%
6.0
Security (2)
85%
8.5
Role-based user permissions
70%
7.0
Single sign-on capability
100%
10.0
  • The positive ROI we have had to the support the billing concept that we recur bill and using Wave allows us to not only do that, but manually apply client payments to the recurring invoices. This is crucial for us as collectibility of fees can be a major hangup.
For any small business, Wave accounting is by far the most friendliest solution for those who know little accounting. Easy to use, easy to manage, and easy to share.
5
Users and out-sourced accountants.
5
General accounting background to understand the mechanics of Wave accounting. No real accounting expense in order to use the platform, but to fully use all features appropriately some accounting experience would be nice.
Yes
Wave Accounting replaced Quickbooks. We wanted a more progressive accounting software that was easy to use and understand.
  • Product Usability
  • Product Reputation
  • Prior Experience with the Product
  • Analyst Reports
Product usability, primarily the simple user interface and dashboard was a major factor in our decision.
If I had to do it again, I should have considered wave's invoicing feature which is stronger than the easy interface. It would have allowed us to make a faster decision to go with wave.
  • Implemented in-house
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