Avoid Waveapps if you are a non-profit
Updated December 03, 2020

Avoid Waveapps if you are a non-profit

Harry Abell | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Wave Accounting

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.
  • 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.

Do you think Wave Accounting delivers good value for the price?

No

Are you happy with Wave Accounting's feature set?

No

Did Wave Accounting live up to sales and marketing promises?

No

Did implementation of Wave Accounting go as expected?

No

Would you buy Wave Accounting again?

No

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.
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.

Wave Accounting Feature Ratings

Accounts payable
7
Accounts receivable
7
Cash management
7
Bank reconciliation
1
Expense management
7
Time tracking
7
Fixed asset management
Not Rated
Multi-currency support
Not Rated
Multi-division support
Not Rated
Regulations compliance
Not Rated
Electronic tax filing
6
Self-service portal
1
Global Financial Support
Not Rated
Primary and Secondary Ledgers
Not Rated
Intercompany Accounting
Not Rated
Localizations
Not Rated
Journals and Reconciliations
1
Enterprise Accounting
Not Rated
Configurable Accounting
Not Rated
Centralized Rules Framework
Not Rated
Standardized Processes
1
Inventory tracking
Not Rated
Automatic reordering
Not Rated
Location management
Not Rated
Manufacturing module
Not Rated
Pricing
Not Rated
Order entry
Not Rated
Credit card processing
Not Rated
Cost of goods sold
Not Rated
Order Orchestration
Not Rated
End-to-end order visibility
Not Rated
Order exception Resolution
Not Rated
Pay calculation
7
Benefit plan administration
Not Rated
Direct deposit files
7
Salary revision and increment management
Not Rated
Reimbursement management
Not Rated
Dashboards
5
Standard reports
3
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

Evaluating Wave Accounting and Competitors

Yes - Aplos and you can call them and a person in California answers the phone and is eager to help. Refreshing and greatly appreciated.

Using Wave Accounting

ProsCons
None
Do not like to use
Unnecessarily complex
Difficult to use
Requires technical support
Inconsistent
Slow to learn
Cumbersome
Feel nervous using
Lots to learn
  • Set up product for use with credit cards.
  • Reconciliation
Yes - I liked the ability to upload receipts.