Wave is a great tool for the Do-It-Yourself Entrepreneur
May 07, 2015

Wave is a great tool for the Do-It-Yourself Entrepreneur

Jennifer Bauldic | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Accounting by Wave

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.
  • Adding Wave to our roster of supported products has introduced us to a new group of business owners that are motivated to manage and grow their businesses.
  • Wave has improved employee engagement as my staff feel more involved in helping our customers achieve their goals. Their work is more meaningful now and less data entry driven.
  • Xero,QuickBooks Premier,QuickBooks Online,QuickBooks Pro,Sage 50 Accounting,FreshBooks
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.

Wave Accounting Feature Ratings

Accounts payable
8
Accounts receivable
8
Cash management
7
Expense management
7
Multi-currency support
Not Rated
Multi-division support
Not Rated
Regulations compliance
Not Rated
Electronic tax filing
Not Rated
Self-service portal
Not Rated
Pricing
Not Rated
Credit card processing
8
Cost of goods sold
7
Pay calculation
8
Benefit plan administration
Not Rated
Direct deposit files
Not Rated
Salary revision and increment management
Not Rated
Reimbursement management
Not Rated
Dashboards
8
Standard reports
7
Custom reports
Not Rated
Not Rated
API for custom integration
Not Rated
Plug-ins
Not Rated
Not Rated
Role-based user permissions
Not Rated
Single sign-on capability
Not Rated