You can process all the payments with a single click, which saves time and reduces manual errors. This robust feature can automatically pay and file taxes in select states, including California, New York, Arizona, Texas, and Washington. With Wave Accounting, you can easily accept payments online via bank deposit, credit card (Visa, Mastercard, and American Express), and Apple Pay. In Wave Accounting, you can easily create professional-looking invoices. You can send as many invoices as you like, and if you’re using the Pro Plan, you can schedule them to simplify recurring payments from repeat customers. Wave allows you to access it on any device with a modern browser and an internet connection.

• Furthermore, you have round-the-clock access to Mave, Wave Accounting’s AI-powered chatbot (available on both desktop and mobile).
• You can file yourself with assistance or have your taxes filed for you.
• Wave’s invoicing is free and unlimited, with customizable templates and a user-friendly interface, putting it on par with some of the best invoicing software solutions for small businesses.
• In fact, the only app Wave Accounting does sync with is Wave Payroll.

How we evaluated Wave Accounting

Finally, Wave’s billing, payment acceptance, and invoicing features all work together to ensure you get paid on time. In other words, Wave has many of the invoicing perks you get with invoice-heavy software like FreshBooks, but at no cost. Wave Accounting also uses double-entry accounting, which is much more accurate than basic single-entry accounting.

Should your business use Wave Accounting?

It’s not ideal, but Wave does clearly indicate imported transactions that have to be dealt with. Wave offers accrual-basis accounting only, not cash-basis accounting. Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox. Support for non-paying users is limited to the chatbot and self-service Help Center. Only integrates with in-house apps, like Wave Payments and Wave Payroll; does not integrate with card readers for in-person payments.

FreshBooks vs. Wave at a glance

Even worse, the only way I found to enter beginning account balances was with a large journal entry. None of these really matter if you’re setting up a brand new company—but it can take considerable time for established companies. Wave allows you to add sales taxes to invoices, estimates, and income transactions.

The lowest-paid plan starts at $30, with the highest-paid plan costing $200. The bookkeeping support provides you with a professional (based in North America) who handles your accounting needs. Accounting coaching, on the other hand, ensures you have the knowledge you need to use Wave Accounting to manage your books with confidence.

You also can’t create recurring expenses and create and send purchase orders. With plans starting at $15 a month, FreshBooks is well-suited for freelancers, solopreneurs, and small-business owners alike. It worked fairly well in testing, though the app detects receipts and snaps photos so quickly sometimes that you don’t get wave bookkeeping reviews much of a chance to ensure proper framing. Wave picked up the amount, date, description, and type but missed the categorization. You can also create an email-forwarding address so that you can email copies of receipts to your Wave account. When you open a transaction, you get more information and can edit its details.

You shouldn’t expect much more given the scope of the site, but it does offer the standard financial reports that accountants like to run and analyze, like Balance Sheet and Cash Flow. Reports aren’t very customizable, but you can export them as CSV and PDF files. Xero Early is a dollar cheaper (starting at $15 per month), but it places a limit on invoices. You can get full-featured accounting with no limits through Patriot Software Accounting ($20 to $30 per month). QuickBooks Online is the most expensive service I reviewed; it starts at $99 per month but goes well beyond the capabilities of Wave. Wave’s software is simpler—designed for easy use for freelancers and small businesses—while QuickBooks’ platform is designed to cover complex business needs and grow as your business grows.

Xero has an app store with dozens of apps built to extend the software’s functionality and streamline business processes. You have apps for time tracking, inventory management, practice management, clinic management, e-commerce, debtor tracking, specialized reporting, and more. Wave Accounting allows you to manually enter your income and expenses or import your bank and credit card transaction for tracking.

Wave even lets businesses store client information in comprehensive customer profiles, letting users access a range of important information from one user-friendly dashboard. Wave Accounting is recognized for its simplicity and affordability for those who are on a limited budget or those who need basic features. FreshBooks offers basic accounting features as well as some unique ones, such as time tracking, to handle client management. These extra features make FreshBooks a good fit for service-based businesses. Wave Accounting is the best free accounting software solution for freelancers, solopreneurs, and small-business owners alike. While it doesn’t have as many features as paid competitors like QuickBooks Online, Wave’s unlimited expense tracking, free invoicing, and basic reporting make it an ideal solution for many freelancers.