Explore more details on the competition in our full roundup of the best accounting software for small businesses. NerdWallet independently reviews accounting software products before determining our top picks. We collect the data for our software ratings from products’ public-facing websites and from company representatives. Information is gathered on a regular basis and reviewed by our editorial team for consistency and accuracy. When you reconcile your books, you’ll navigate to the “Reconciliation” tab within the Accounting menu.
Manage your money like a boss
If you’re a freelancer or other solo service provider, Wave is a better option. These ratings are meant to provide clarity in the decision-making process, but what’s best for your business will depend on its size, growth trajectory and which features you need most. We encourage you to research and compare multiple accounting software products before choosing one. Can manage multiple businesses for free under one account; lacks project tracking tools, industry-specific reports and transaction tracking tags. Set up late payment reminders to automatically email your customers when payment is due (with Wave’s online payments feature or the Pro Plan). Set up recurring invoices and automatic credit card payments for your repeat customers and stop chasing payments.
Support & Tools
Companies that want to combine project management tasks in their accounting software or are looking for software with a great mobile app that they can use on the go will probably want to look for other options. If you’re a startup, micro-business or sole proprietor who doesn’t want to invest in accounting software but needs to keep track of your finances, Wave Accounting is a great option. As long as you’re content with basic features and don’t see yourself expanding in the foreseeable future, you’ll find this completely free, easy-to-use software particularly appealing.
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. Wave Accounting’s Starter plan is free and its Pro plan, which includes more features, is $16 per month. Regardless of which you choose, you will have to pay processing fees to accept invoice payments online. Wave also offers paid products for payroll, coaching and mobile receipt scanning.
The Wave app lets you easily generate and send invoices to your clients wherever and whenever you need to. The rate that you charge for your freelancing services can vary, so it’s important to get a grasp of market trends before sending your clients an invoice or quoting a price. Freelance rates can differ depending on experience level and industry. For example, the rate a freelance web developer charges may be different than that of a freelance graphic designer, because each freelancer specializes in a different area. Yes, switching from other accounting apps or products to Wave is easy!
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. FreshBooks is an affordable option for freelancers and small service-based businesses that operate mostly on the go. Compared with free software like Wave, QuickBooks plans are expensive. The most basic plan, Simple Start, costs $35 per month, and the top-tier Advanced plan costs $235 per month, which is a sizable investment if you’re running a business on a tight budget.
Once invoices have been sent, you can easily track the status of each invoice to see if they are viewed, unpaid or Overdue. All payment information automatically syncs with the free Wave Accounting software included in your service, making accounting easy. Whether you are struggling with sending out invoices on time, keeping track of payments or organizing tax information, Wave helps business owners get a handle on their accounting department at no monthly cost. While several accounting software services provide a free version of their software, the free version usually limits the number of users, number of invoices per month and integrations.
Unlimited bank and credit card connections
There’s no live support unless you pay for it so you’ll have to dig for the answers to your questions in the help center or cross your fingers that the automated chatbot will help you out. Any connections between you, your bank accounts, and Wave are protected by 256-bit SSL encryption. With everything in one place, there’s no need to endlessly research solutions or stare waveapps at spreadsheets until your eyes glaze over. Plus, our features are designed to work together, meaning less to worry about. Make bookkeeping and tax time easy with solutions that are affordable, small biz friendly, and—dare we say—fun to use. Support for non-paying users is limited to the chatbot and self-service Help Center.
For businesses that carry inventory, QuickBooks Online offers strong inventory tracking that alerts users when the inventory gets low. While Wave offers a basic inventory feature, it does not track stock within the software. That’s not the case with Wave—it provides one plan with an unlimited number of users, invoices, credit card connections and reports for free. While users never pay a monthly fee, they will have to pay a credit card processing fee of 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction if they use Wave to process credit card payments. This fee can vary depending on the type of card the customer uses.
FreshBooks
If you need to manually edit, add or remove any transactions, you can do so on the Reconciliation or Transactions pages. Next, you can add sales tax (if necessary), create customer profiles and customize your invoice templates. Allows an unlimited number of users in the Pro plan, but is not complex enough for businesses with more than a handful of employees; ideal for very small service-based businesses, freelancers or contractors. For micro businesses and self-employed entrepreneurs who just need the essentials, this free accounting software is a great option. Sign up for Wave and send your first invoice right away—it only takes a few minutes!
- We provide different levels of support, depending on the plan and/or the add-on features you choose.
- All payment information automatically syncs with the free Wave Accounting software included in your service, making accounting easy.
- The developer, Wave Financial Inc, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below.
- Wave Accounting is ideal for micro businesses with fewer than 10 employees, contractors, freelancers and other service-based businesses on a budget.
For information on credit card rates, visit Pricing for details. This app is super helpful, the main issue I have while using it is the lag. When inputting information the character count for it is super slow/delayed to where it forces me to stay on a certain page until it registers that information has been inputted. After inputting information and trying to click done at the bottom it will not register unless I swipe the keyboard away.
Accounting software that worksas hard as you do
See our step-by-step guide on how to import bookkeeping data into Wave here. Transactions will appear in your bookkeeping automatically, and you’ll say goodbye to manual receipt entry. With the Pro Plan, automatically import, merge, and categorize your bank transactions.
- The site’s onboarding process is a breeze; first provide a few basic details about your business, such as name, address and industry.
- Users can create reports to show month-to-month or year-to-year comparisons to easily identify cash flow trends.
- 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.
Bank data connections are read-only and use 256-bit encryption. Servers are housed under physical and electronic protection. Wave is PCI Level-1 certified for handling credit card and bank account information. We provide different levels of support, depending on the plan and/or the add-on features you choose. Like most types of software, the best invoicing software programs offer many levels of security. Yes, Wave’s accounting software automatically generates two entries for every financial transaction.
Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website. Here is a list of our partners and here’s how we make money. Create invoices whenever and wherever you want with Wave’s free app for iOS and Android. «When I signed up with Wave it was a no brainer. It’s been one of the best decisions I’ve made when it comes to making sure my accounting is on point.» To get the best possible experience please use the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge to view this website. The developer, Wave Financial Inc, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below.
Switch between automatic and manual billing whenever you want. The fact that Wave lets users create and send unlimited invoices and receive payment straight from the invoices for free makes it perfect for freelancers. While Wave has a lot to offer when it comes to invoicing, know that it’s still slightly less automated than some competitors. This isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker, but it might require a bit more bookkeeping work.
While other software solutions have a premium plan that provides advanced features for growing businesses, Wave does not provide more advanced accounting plan options outside of its one free plan. One of Wave’s most popular invoicing features is the ability to create user-friendly customizable templates. Not only can you customize the invoices to fit your brand, but you can also set up recurring invoices and automate credit card payments for repeat customers.
