Wave Accounting Reviews of 2026 by Accounting Experts & Users

I’ve rolled with transaction categorizing mistakes, confusing UX changes, and Plaid integration because at least the payroll de… I have been writing to them for months trying to get answers to MY account issues but they keep me going in circles with the chat bot giving me answers to how to manage other peoples’ acc… The customer service used to be decent until H&R Block purchased them in 2019. I’ve been using Wave Accounting for my business for about 10 years. There is no phone support. In the past when I had ACH payments, two days, tops.

At the same time, employees on Slack, Telegram, or WhatsApp can be notified that an invoice has been created and sent to a particular customer. You can set up an automated workflow (Zap) in Zapier and then use it to connect Wave Accounting with your favorite business app. Since BlueCamroo has a time tracker, you can also generate a Wave invoice based on the billable hours. Wave Connect is a Google Sheet add-on that lets you download your COA, customers, invoices, and products to a spreadsheet. Also, it offers a handy FAQ section that contains solutions to common problems. After this, you will have access to the web version of the software.

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Wave decided not to do business with me…

The companies that provide these offers normally pay a fee to Wave in order for their offers to be shown/listed within the Wave platform. Wave refers to these offers as “Business Savings.” Inside the Wave platform, you will notice offers from companies like Symantec, RBC, Amex, Staples, and others.

Get the best small business credit card in Canada ($500 bonus) Access discounts on software, office supplies, and more to save $1,000s Incorporate or register a new business within 10 minutes. However, it charges third-party payments per transaction. However, the software is no longer available for use in the UK. However, they’re completely different platforms with varying features, owners, and prices.

Businesses

This information may be different than what you see when you visit a financial institution, service provider or specific product’s site. 75+ categories of best business software selections. Both plans come with the ability to run payroll or hire a bookkeeper. I see the Pro plan as worth the cost for anyone managing regular clients or payments.

How Does Wave Compare To Other Accounting Software?

• When it comes to selecting a business or personal accounting and finance tool, today’s consumers are sometimes overwhelmed with the sheer number of available options.
• Then, you can generate reports to gather valuable insights for better decision-making and to monitor your business finances.
• And speaking of growing businesses, Wave Accounting has just one accounting plan.
• The consumer is shown great offers that can save them money, in addition to getting free online software.
• Wave integrates with Shopify, though you must connect the platforms through your Shopify account and pay extra for this integration.
• Wave uses double-entry accounting to monitor transactions based on income and expenses.

In Wave Accounting, you can easily create professional-looking invoices. This leads to greater efficiency and accuracy when dealing with sales tax. Then, you can generate reports to gather valuable insights for better decision-making and to monitor your business finances. Wave Accounting allows you to manually enter your income and expenses or import your bank and credit card transaction for tracking.

The best part is that you can stay cash flow positive as this accounting software ensures you get your money in as fast as 1 business day (Canada) or two business days (US). This free accounting software allows you to connect your bank account and track your transactions. This accounting software also offers integrations with popular accounting software, such as QuickBooks and Xero. Wave accounting integrates with bank accounts, and can accept credit card payments as well as online bank transfers to your business. Indeed, it’s earned a place on our accounting software for small business best of list.

While Wave’s free accounting software doesn’t limit you to a certain number of invoices, customers, or transactions, certain features and automations are now only available by subscribing to Wave Pro. Now, the company has added a paid accounting software plan. Wave is cloud-based software that boasts a solid set of accounting features suitable for most small businesses.

Accounting software to keep you organized

So yes, it’s excellent accounting software for small businesses, freelancers, contractors, and sole proprietorships. The main difference between Wave accounting free and paid is that the latter provides access to additional features, such as Wave payroll, payments, and invoicing. wave accounting reviews Yes, Wave’s accounting software offers a completely free plan, called Wave Starter. In fact, with free accounting software options available, businesses don’t need to spend a dime to get started with Wave — the best value accounting software we’ve reviewed. Honestly, these features outpace those included with some paid accounting software.

We can confidently say Wave is among the easiest platforms to set up based on our experience trying a number of accounting software and payroll solutions. For accounting fundamentals at no cost, plus reasonably priced payroll services, we recommend Wave, especially for small service providers. Business owners can get more bang for their buck with an accounting software and payroll system in one program.

Why Wave Financial Is Best for Payroll & Accounting Software

Wave’s customer support resources and new Wave Advisor services make it easy for people with limited accounting experience to learn the software. Until then, the software is still a good solution for small business owners looking for simple, easy-to-use accounting software that won’t break the bank. If your business needs these features or automations, check out these top Wave alternatives to fully explore your accounting software options.

In fact, we felt that this convenience increases the likelihood of you receiving payments on time. This is a useful feature for businesses that require payment upfront. To get access to thousands of integrations through Zapier while using Wave’s fully free accounting platform surprised and excited us.

Wave offers unlimited income and expense tracking capabilities, which is almost unheard of for free accountancy software. It is worth noting that Wave offers a wide range of bookkeeping functions that include journal entries, bank reconciliation statements, customizable charts of accounts, and balance sheets. With this in mind, we break down Wave’s accountancy features, from bookkeeping to financial reporting. In addition to these permanently free tools, Wave offers an additional paid plan. It requires no contract, features no hidden fees, and businesses don’t even need to use a credit card to get started.

For customers who only use our free Wave Accounting or Invoicing products, support is self-service with assistance available in the Help Center and through the chatbot, Mave. There is no phone support available, which might be an issue for some users. Wave offers customer support only in the form of email and live chat. However, there are also a few negative Wave accounting reviews. In addition, users are very pleased with the fact that invoicing features are unlimited and customizable. Most users are very satisfied with the features they get entirely for free.

One major difference between these two software programs is that Wave is free, while you have to pay a fee to use QuickBooks (after the trial period). This is because Wave Accounting software and most (see exceptions below) of its integrated tools are always free, period. You can also generate as many invoices, expenses, and reports as you need. The Wave Accounting software is always 100% free. Two years later, it surpassed 1.5 million users on its platform (a very impressive feat!).

• It also offers multi-business management for no  additional fee.
• This is a huge upgrade from manual bookkeeping or even accounting software that uses your device’s local storage.
• Still, Wave’s free plan offers a good set of features and could be suitable for sole proprietors or smaller businesses with basic accounting needs.
• It helps automate account reconciliation—which benefits from enhancements and simplifications compared with last year—so you can square away your balance in Wave with your bank and credit card statements.
• Stay updated on the latest products and services anytime anywhere.
• I recently got another letter saying that last quarter tax payments of December ’24 were also late, but this time the IRS had pity on me and they didn’t charge me the fine just sent a warning.
• The trick is that like YouTube, and many other “free” services on the internet, the company’s main financers – such as American Express, Dell, Microsoft, HP, RBC and Symantec – pay money to feature their ads in your account, whether you like it or not.

Wave is a free accounting software that will be a step up from Excel / Google sheets for small businesses. Yes, it’s still our top choice for free accounting software with budget-friendly payroll processing costs, but many features that were once free now require payment to use. Only users on the paid Pro plan can schedule and automatically send invoices to customers via recurring billing, such as for regularly scheduled services or subscriptions. Plus, we faced no limits on the number of invoices we could create per month, which isn’t always the case with accounting software — especially on free plans.

Wave offers free accounting software for small businesses, including invoicing, bookkeeping, and reporting tools. Today, Wave continues to target solo entrepreneurs and freelancers, providing free accounting and payments software supported by premium upgrades and services. Wave originally offered all its accounting features for free, only charging for payroll users, but now there’s a free plan alongside a paid plan. The main thing small business owners look for in accounting software is features that save them time. For solopreneurs and small businesses, Wave is the accounting software that’s best for payroll, without putting too much stress on your wallet.