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Wave has operation and maintenance expenses definition helped over 2 million North American small business owners take control of their finances. Wave has helped over 2 million small business owners in the US and Canada take control of their finances. Monitor your cash flow, stay organized, and stop sweating tax season. The vendors that appear on this list were chosen by subject matter experts on the basis of product quality, wide usage and availability, and positive reputation.

The import from contacts button does not work at all and the layout to get to customers invoice is great after learning where it is. Not being able to see or input the expenses unless I pay for the quick receipt plan in app is kind of a bummer. I’m glad the option is still available online and the system works great and the amount of different charts available is super helpful. NerdWallet’s accounting software ratings favor products that are easy to use, reasonably priced, have a robust feature set and can grow with your business. The best accounting software received top marks when evaluated across 10 categories and more than 30 subcategories. Learn more about how we rate small-business accounting software.

Payments

Wave’s free plan offers a decent number of features, like unlimited invoices, that are not always included with other free accounting software options, let alone paid accounting software plans. It also complies with accounting standards and uses double-entry accounting, which can help ensure accuracy. While Wave is free to use, it doesn’t offer multiple plans to increase its functionality.

How is Wave different than QuickBooks?

Unfortunately, Wave does not offer a project management feature. At the time of our last review, we noted that Wave “has always been and always will be free,” and that the company planned to maintain this pricing structure following its acquisition by H&R Block. While the free plan still exists, a paid plan is now available. Xero lets you add unlimited users in all plan tiers and, similar to QuickBooks Online, can grow alongside your business. Includes tools that help automate the reconciliation process and auto-categorizes transactions for you in the Pro plan, but you can’t set up your own bank rules; no global search function.

Accounting Software Review Methodology

Wave holds its own against two of its biggest competitors, QuickBooks Online and Xero. 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. However, some features are noticeably missing, such as project management and budgeting, that are found with competing software options such as QuickBooks Online. The lack of these features brought our score in this category to 3 out of 5 stars.

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. Once logged in, your main dashboard will show your cash flow, profit and loss, invoices, bills and other financial insights. Strong invoicing feature competes with that of paid products; app lets users send invoices on the go; offers significantly fewer reports than competitors; no inventory tracking.

It’s also missing an audit trail and third-party integrations. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.

1. It’s also great for Etsy shop owners and other eCommerce businesses using Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress.
2. Wave also offers a free app to help you manage your invoices on the go.
3. The only downside is that there’s no back button, but navigating the software is still pretty simple.
4. If you’re a small business owner in search of free, cloud-based accounting software, Wave Accounting is worth considering.
5. Only integrates with in-house apps, like Wave Payments and Wave Payroll; does not integrate with card readers for in-person payments.

Customers can pay via credit card, bank payment or Apple Pay. However, like most products with free plans, Wave has its limitations, especially compared to more scalable small-business accounting software. Although Wave’s paid plan offers additional features, it’s still missing some more advanced capabilities, like built-in inventory tracking and audit trails, that growing businesses might need. Accounting software helps business owners understand how money flows in and out of their businesses.