You can effectively analyze the financial health of your business, find ways to generate more profit, and move forward with your business plan. This free, easy-to-use accounting software is great for small businesses, especially for eCommerce, but lacks in project management, budgeting, good debt vs. bad debt and inventory tracking. Wave Accounting is an affordable bookkeeping and accounting software service that doesn’t sacrifice features for the sake of pricing.
Wave helps freelancers, consultants, and small businesses simplify their finances.
Although Wave has added a paid plan, it still lacks many of the features you’d find with the software’s competitors, including project management, advanced time tracking, advanced inventory, and solid mobile apps. 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. In the past, Wave generated revenue from its credit card processing, Wave Payroll, and bookkeeping services. While Wave’s free accounting software doesn’t limit you to a certain number of invoices, customers, double entry bookkeeping or transactions, certain features and automations are now only available by subscribing to Wave Pro.
- We spend hours researching and evaluating each accounting software system we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on key characteristics to generate our ratings.
- However, there are a few features the software is still lacking.
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- Next, you can add sales tax (if necessary), create customer profiles and customize your invoice templates.
Negative Wave Reviews & Complaints
Still, some accounting programs are more user-friendly than others, and Wave Accounting is among the easiest for first-time business owners to configure. Otherwise, unless you add an optional service like Wave Payroll or Wave Mobile Receipts, Wave Accounting levered vs unlevered cash flow in real estate is free to use. Users of Wave’s paid and free plans can both access receipt scanning, though only paid users can opt for free receipt scanning.
Wave’s free pricing structure gives the software its appeal, but users that have larger businesses and require more advanced accounting features may find QBO or Xero to be the better fit. The company also offers good customer support options, including an accounting guide, to help you learn to balance the books and use the software. To review Wave, we set up a free Wave Accounting account that we used to create invoices, record sample transactions and generate financial reports.
Like Wave, QuickBooks Online is easy-to-use, cloud-based accounting software. QuickBooks Online boasts a robust set of features, including advanced options like project management and inventory features you won’t find with Wave. QuickBooks Online also has hundreds of integrations, connecting your accounting solution with other small business software and apps.
If you have a question or issue, you can browse the help center or reach out to Mave, the automated chatbot. If you do want live support, you’ll need to invest in an Advisor or paid service. Zoho Books offers a robust free plan, along with a range of paid plans that feature workflow automation.
Project Management
It’s always available, and it’s backed up for extra peace of mind. We provide different levels of support, depending on the plan and/or the add-on features you choose. We built our payroll tool for small business owners, so it’s easy to use AND teaches you as you go. Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity.
It’s also great for Etsy shop owners and other eCommerce businesses using Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress. Users can connect an unlimited number of bank accounts to Wave Accounting software, ensuring every transaction is accounted for and financial snapshots are up to date. While only Wave Pro users can access automated bank transactions and expense categorization, free users can manually categorize expenses by tax category to ensure their data is ready to go by tax time. Wave allows you to search transactions, design accounting reports and reconcile data across other Wave products. Plus, you can calculate sales tax automatically, customize payment terms and enjoy access to easy-to-understand cash flow insights. It also features a well-laid-out, clutter-free dashboard with individual tabs for sales, purchases, accounting, banking, payroll and reports.