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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 7.9

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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Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Used by a small chamber of commerce to handle credit card payments, payroll, and bookkeeping. Has a nice appearance but when we try to reconcile with our bank statement it gets bad. Usually, there are three Wave transactions for every bank transaction. Sometimes there are duplicates. I read their documentation, watched many videos, and sent emails. The answer was the same: either delete or merge transactions. I didn't know which to delete or which to merge. I finally paid $199 for an advisor to show me what to do. I had an associate at the Zoom meeting. The advisor talked way too fast, and after asking several times to slow down, he did not. He then started to say delete that or merge those two. I didn't understand why, and after over 30 minutes, he seemed perplexed by what he was seeing. I asked my associate if she was getting anything out of this and, like me, it was a "No." I asked to stop the session and then asked for a refund. They refused.
  • 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.
  • Reconciliation is horrible. A user does not need to see multiple Wave transactions. I should see one Wave and one Bank transaction and if I think they are the same check a box and be done with it.
  • No phone number to call and no chat line so all help is via email. Frequently the Wave person says to read the documentation and provides a link. I already did that and need help, not a mechanical response. On occasion, I did get a helpful and specific response but that was rare.
  • Would like to have the ability to see each payroll by person pay stub and not just a summary by quarter.
Spent almost 100 hours trying to get Waveapp to provide accurate reports. I am a graduated MBA (many decades ago) and watched videos and read literature with no success in finding the root cause of the issues we experienced. Finally paid $199 for their advisor. A little past halfway through their 60-minute Zoom meeting, I stopped it. The advisor didn't know why we had the issues we had and said delete that and merge this, etc. Apparently, you need to understand how their software works in the background and spend many hours trying to reconcile your bank statements. Switched to another product and imported my bank statements. Within 30 minutes the reconciliation was complete.
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting (21)
21.428571428571427%
2.1
Accounts payable
70%
7.0
Accounts receivable
70%
7.0
Cash management
70%
7.0
Bank reconciliation
10%
1.0
Expense management
70%
7.0
Time tracking
70%
7.0
Fixed asset management
N/A
N/A
Multi-currency support
N/A
N/A
Multi-division support
N/A
N/A
Regulations compliance
N/A
N/A
Electronic tax filing
60%
6.0
Self-service portal
10%
1.0
Global Financial Support
N/A
N/A
Primary and Secondary Ledgers
N/A
N/A
Intercompany Accounting
N/A
N/A
Localizations
N/A
N/A
Journals and Reconciliations
10%
1.0
Enterprise Accounting
N/A
N/A
Configurable Accounting
N/A
N/A
Centralized Rules Framework
N/A
N/A
Standardized Processes
10%
1.0
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)
28%
2.8
Pay calculation
70%
7.0
Benefit plan administration
N/A
N/A
Direct deposit files
70%
7.0
Salary revision and increment management
N/A
N/A
Reimbursement management
N/A
N/A
Reporting & Analytics (3)
26.666666666666664%
2.7
Dashboards
50%
5.0
Standard reports
30%
3.0
Custom reports
N/A
N/A
Customization (2)
N/A
N/A
API for custom integration
N/A
N/A
Plug-ins
N/A
N/A
Security (2)
N/A
N/A
Role-based user permissions
N/A
N/A
Single sign-on capability
N/A
N/A
  • Many hours spent trying to reconcile. After the advisor had issues, we found another product to use.
  • I like the ability to create products and have a custom URL for credit card payments.
  • Didn't understand their internal way of dealing with transactions and that is critical to reconcile bank statements.
Wonderful, great support, and many videos on how to do it. Fast response to emails. Does "Fund Accounting" that is required for many non-profits.
Reconciliation is very difficult. Must know the ins and outs of the internal working of their software. Gets worse if you add payroll or credit cards.
Sometimes it was good. I got an answer with a day or so. Then it took over 10 days to respond, and when I replied, it took four more days to get the same old stuff: "read our documentation." I have and it didn't help, that is why I emailed you! The advisor service was a total waste of $199. If you want help, hire an independent Wave person.
Yes
Aplos and you can call them and a person in California answers the phone and is eager to help. Refreshing and greatly appreciated.
  • Set up product for use with credit cards.
  • Reconciliation
Yes
I liked the ability to upload receipts.
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.
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting (9)
83.33333333333334%
8.3
Accounts payable
90%
9.0
Accounts receivable
90%
9.0
Cash management
90%
9.0
Bank reconciliation
60%
6.0
Expense management
80%
8.0
Fixed asset management
70%
7.0
Multi-currency support
90%
9.0
Regulations compliance
90%
9.0
Self-service portal
90%
9.0
Inventory Management
N/A
N/A
Order Management (4)
37.5%
3.8
Pricing
N/A
N/A
Order entry
N/A
N/A
Credit card processing
80%
8.0
Cost of goods sold
70%
7.0
Payroll Management (4)
47.5%
4.8
Pay calculation
100%
10.0
Benefit plan administration
N/A
N/A
Direct deposit files
90%
9.0
Salary revision and increment management
N/A
N/A
Reporting & Analytics (3)
73.33333333333333%
7.3
Dashboards
90%
9.0
Standard reports
90%
9.0
Custom reports
40%
4.0
Customization (2)
25%
2.5
API for custom integration
N/A
N/A
Plug-ins
50%
5.0
Security (2)
50%
5.0
Role-based user permissions
100%
10.0
Single sign-on capability
N/A
N/A
  • Wave has allowed me have a clear picture of my revenue and allowed me to make better business expense decisions.
  • Wave has saved me a lot of money because it is a free service. It saves me a lot of time because it automatically imports my bank transactions.
  • FreshBooks,QuickBooks Online,LessAccounting
Wave's biggest selling point is by far it's price, because their base product for free. Most people sign-up because of that advantage. But here are my opinions of Wave Vs these three other programs I've worked in.

Wave vs Freshbooks
-Freshbooks wins for invoicing because it gives you multiple options for payment processing integration and it gives you an audit trail on invoices to show when a client has viewed as well as paid. It also has a project time tracking option that you can then invoice time entries.
-Wave wins the accounting side because it actually tracks assets and liabilities, not just income and expenses.
-As far as user friendly and accounting knowledge necessary to use, Freshbooks is slightly easier for those with no accounting knowledge.
-Wave allows bookkeepers to use their own account access through the collaborator feature, Freshbooks has "accountant" access but you can only view reports and export journal entries. If someone wants help editing transactions they have to share their login info.

Wave vs Quickbooks Online
-Quickbooks Online wins for customization and range of features especially custom reports, sub-accounts in the chart of accounts, and traditional bank reconciliation.
-Wave is better in ease of use
-Wave Payroll offers a Tax service that automates payroll tax filing, Quickbooks Payroll does not do that you still have to hit send

Wave vs Less Accounting
- Overall I found LessAccounting and Wave very comparable products, but LessAccounting is a paid product and Wave's base product is free w/ advertising on the sidebar.
-In the range of features, Wave has more integrated options such as Payroll and Payment Processing.
-LessAccounting has a strong emphasis on education and tries to educate the user on basic bookkeeping processes within the software
-LessAccounting has a slightly better bank reconciliation feature, but only slightly better because you enter the starting and ending statement balances. Neither product are strong on true bank statement reconciliation.

1
Owner and sole-proprietor. I have no other employees at this time so I take care of my own bookkeeping and invoicing.
  • Implemented in-house
  • Invoicing
  • Transaction Entry
  • Receipt upload
  • Journal Entries
  • Credit Memos
Yes
There are three separate Mobile apps for Wave Accounting: Invoicing, Receipts, and Payments (integrates with Stripe).
The invoicing app is really great and easy to create and send invoices to existing clients from the app. It also allows to set up notifications for items such as overdue invoices and payments.
The receipt app has issues with crashing on occasion, but usually is quickly resolved with logging out and and back in. You can quickly snap a photo of a receipt to send to the web app. You still need to login to the web app to review and accept the receipt details.
The payments app is great because it does not require a card reader and uses the phone's camera or allows manual card number entry.
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.
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.
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