Unlike Xero, which lets you customize your invoice templates freely through Excel sheets, Wave only has three invoice templates you can use. Fortunately, you can still add your logo and pick an accent color to personalize your invoice. We did the research, and it seems there are no Wave accounting coupon codes or discount vouchers at this time. When customers have received an invoice, they’ll be able to view it as a web page and will also receive invoice as a PDF to save for their records. Through Wave software, it does invoice easily and at a glance, you can find every information about your invoice which leads to better managing of cash flow.
On top of the navigation bar, you’ll find a button with your company name on it, which is how you can transition to a different business account or to your personal account. The only applications Wave can integrate with are PayPal, Etsy, Shoeboxed, Zapier and Google Sheets. That said, Zapier can help you connect multiple platforms to Wave. In short, it’s a great all-in-one accounting app that won’t break the bank. Also, Wave’s subscription plan structure gets pricey faster than, say, FreshBooks, which provides a four-tiered subscription schedule. For example, Bookkeeping support costs $149 per month, which can be a lot for small businesses.
Bills look much like invoices, and are kept in a list view with information like the purchase and due dates, the vendor, and payment status. While Wave is free to use, it doesn’t offer multiple plans to increase its functionality. It lacks some of the useful features you may find in other accounting software, such 7 small business conferences to attend in 2016 as project management, time tracking and inventory management. If you’re a small business owner in search of free, cloud-based accounting software, Wave Accounting is worth considering. This is particularly true if you don’t have much accounting experience and would like an easy-to-use, fully functional tool.
How does Wave Accounting work?
Some of the links that appear on the website are from software companies from which CRM.org receives compensation. This site does not include all companies or all available Vendors. 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. While the company does offer email and live chat support, there is no phone support available. Wave invoicing offers customizable invoices and allows you to add your branding to invoices. If that’s not something you are interested in, you can always use the premade invoice templates and look professional.
Wave Payroll is cheaper than many other paid payroll add-ons for competitors like QuickBooks, but still has its limitations. Today’s leading accounting platforms offer standard security features, such as data encryption, secure credential tokenization and more. While human error will always play some role in security breaches, you can be confident in your accounting platform when it comes to keeping your information safe. Sage Accounting offers some of the least expensive accounting plans available and stands out for its in-depth inventory tracking. QuickBooks Online’s detailed reporting and transaction tracking is ideal for growing businesses.
The banking feature lets you manage all of your connected accounts, add a new account, or verify your identity to increase payment time, which is done using Wave Payments. Wave has also added an insurance option, which allows you to obtain a quote for business insurance through Next Insurance. While this is a nice idea, it seems like the insurance option would be more at home under Integrations or Resources. Wave offers a ton of features, all designed with small business owners in mind. These features include the addition of Wave Plus, a service provided by Wave that will do your monthly small business bookkeeping, provide tax services, or assign a personal coach to you.
You can also customize your dashboard from a range of options, including transactions, estimates, invoices, recurring invoices, bills, customers, vendors, products, or services. Wave is a newer option for accountants, bookkeepers and small businesses and was founded in 2010. It’s a unique option because it’s accounting software is 100% Free. That might sound too good to be true, but wave allows users to manage expenses, have unlimited users, and integrate as many bank accounts as they want. They also don’t cap the number of invoices sent per month, which is a nice feature compared to other alternatives. Wave is one of the best accounting software options out there, especially for freelancers and small businesses.
User Friendliness
While still in beta, this product is designed to cater to small businesses by offering free banking, debit cards, and a linked mobile application. This platform boasts a total lack of fees, free ATM networks, and integrated payment processors. Wave Receipts allows for receipt scanning for mobile expense tracking so you can ditch the manual paperwork. The mobile app allows photo capture (even offline) and then syncs with your Wave account for instantly up-to-date expenses. You can even forward receipts in your email to deposit directly in your Wave account. Wave Receipts is included with Wave Accounting, but requires a separate app download.
- The Advisors feature also includes accounting and payroll coaching for a one-time payment of $329.
- If you’re tracking sales tax, you’ll have to enter each appropriate rate in the Sales Tax screen in order to apply it to an invoice.
- Wave’s invoicing is free and unlimited, with three customizable templates and a user-friendly interface, putting it on par with some of the best invoicing software solutions for small businesses.
- Through Wave software, it does invoice easily and at a glance, you can find every information about your invoice which leads to better managing of cash flow.
- Wave Accounting, however, offers every single accounting feature for free.
The Advisors feature also includes accounting and payroll coaching for a one-time payment of $329. In addition, Wave allows you to add an unlimited number of partners, collaborators, or accountants. This accounting software also offers integrations with popular accounting software, such as QuickBooks and Xero. When it comes to Wave payroll, the monthly fee starts at $20 plus $6 for each employee or contractor for states where payroll taxes must be paid and filed manually. Wave is an excellent choice for freelancers and small business owners who prioritize cutting costs and simplified finances.
Wave vs QuickBooks: Key Differences & What’s Best
Other capabilities include recurring invoicing and the option to let repeat clients opt into automatic credit card billing. We hope this case study and Wave Accounting review provides you with insightful information and analysis to help you decide whether the platform is the best fit for your business needs. Despite several limitations, it still has plenty to offer small businesses. It contains essential functionality that will help you pay bills, invoice customers, and track your expenses. It doesn’t have the best customer service, but most of its features are easy to use, so you shouldn’t have any trouble setting it up and using it. Many users praised the fact that it accommodates unlimited users and offers free accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning features.
- Wave is an excellent choice for freelancers and small business owners who prioritize cutting costs and simplified finances.
- After providing a few basic details about your business — name, type, currency you use, address — you’ll have instant access to your free account.
- Financial statements, a sales tax report, customer report, and an aged receivables report are also available, as is an aged payables report and account balances report.
- The features are also easy to use, making it simpler than most other accounting platforms.
- Wave invoices are integrated with our free accounting software, so payments are recorded and categorized for you – which means less bookkeeping and tax season prep.
- If fixed assets are a big part of your business, consider Xero because it’s an affordable option with a comprehensive fixed asset manager.
With Wave, you can connect your bank account and credit cards, track expenses, and run reports. The platform is broken down into five suites of financial tools. You can create customizable invoices and monitor their payments. With Wave, you can manage employee payroll with features like tax form generation, time sheets, and more. While this section comes at an additional cost, it’s probably worth the investment to have all company functions recorded within one software tool.
While free software can have limitations, Wave has become popular for freelancers, solopreneurs, and even small businesses because it makes accounting accurate and simple. Wave is a fantastic freemium accounting software tool that’s ideal for freelancers and small businesses. Customers we interviewed were extremely pleased with the tool, especially given the value it offers for free. However, we did note that the customer support team is hard to get in touch with, and Wave’s chatbot can be frustrating to deal with. Once you’ve approved and sent the invoice, you can schedule automatic payment reminders for the customer for 3 days, 7 days, and 14 days after the due date.
Wave: Small Business Software
In addition, other accounting software may be more suitable for larger businesses and those looking to grow. So yes, it’s excellent accounting software for small businesses, freelancers, contractors, and sole proprietorships. And further to that point, it’s hard to beat free accounting software with plenty of features, and Wave offers an excellent range of them for freelancers, contractors, and small businesses. Wave’s payroll feature allows you to run payroll and pay your employees and contractors with more ease than ever before. You can use the software to deposit payments into employees’ bank accounts with one click.
Reporting
Wave retrieves your bank statements through your online bank account so your transactions are automatically updated. It helps you manage your financial data with automation services like creating recurring invoices, payment deposits, and taxes, allowing you to focus on marketing and product development. The Wave accounting dashboard is where you can manage all your financial data from multiple sources. It incorporates visuals for tracking cash flow, profit and loss, payable and owing, net income, and expenses. What many point out is that it is easy to automate bookkeeping and billing with Wave, as the software automatically syncs accounting and invoicing. In addition, users are very pleased with the fact that invoicing features are unlimited and customizable.
So, if you’re wondering is Wave accounting worth it, in general, the answer is definitely yes. It may not be the best accounting software ever, but it’s an excellent starting point for all those who are just getting started with accounting and bookkeeping for their business. Wave is packed with great (free) features, including creating invoices and tracking transactions. With Wave, accounting and invoicing processes are simplified, enabling users to get rid of distractions that come with monitoring expenses, chasing payments, and managing employees and taxes. The system also helps users to create and send out professional-looking invoicing, estimates, and receipts in a matter of moments.