The software is PCI Level-1 certified for processing bank account and credit card information. Wave’s stored bank data relies on 256-bit encryption, and Wave states that its servers are both physically and virtually secured. To review Wave, we set up a free Wave Accounting account that we used to create invoices, record sample transactions and generate financial reports. We also read verified Wave Accounting and Wave app reviews on third-party sites like Gartner, Trustpilot, the App Store, Google Play and more.

QuickBooks Online

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. For example, QuickBooks Online doesn’t have a free plan, but offers four paid plans, each with additional features, making it a great choice for scalability. With the higher-tier QuickBooks plans, you have access to inventory management, billable expenses and project profitability tools, none of which are offered with Wave. 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.

Keep track of your business health

The dashboard gives you quick insights, like money owed to you and cash flow. It’s a plus whenever free products come with reporting capabilities, but Brightbook offers fewer reports than some competitors. Because it’s a single-entry system, for example, you won’t find a balance sheet. However, you can view basic reports on profit and loss, taxes, sales, bills and expenses. You can use Brightbook’s free accounting software to send quotes to clients, convert them to invoices, bill for time, add discounts or taxes and accept payments through PayPal. With Wave, you have access to expense tracking, bank reconciliation, and reporting to help you manage your finances.

Plans to makeyour plans happen.

1. Can manage multiple businesses for free under one account; lacks project tracking tools, industry-specific reports and transaction tracking tags.
2. 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.
3. Moreover, you can integrate QuickBooks with hundreds of third-party tools available in the app marketplace.
4. And you can integrate with a wide range of other Zoho suite products, like Zoho CRM, Expense and Inventory (additional subscription fees may apply).
5. “Wave invoicing makes your life a whole lot easier and takes that worry off you. I’ve tried Quickbooks—it’s a bit more complicated and technical, and takes more time to set up.”

Until then, the software is still a good solution for small business owners looking for simple, easy-to-use accounting software that won’t break current portion of long term debt cpltd the bank. Wave’s customer support resources and new Wave Advisor services make it easy for people with limited accounting experience to learn the software. It’s also great for Etsy shop owners and other eCommerce businesses using Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress. If you operate a larger business and need advanced features, give Xero a look before signing up for Wave. Xero has more advanced features, hundreds of integrations, and also supports unlimited users. However, Xero doesn’t have a free plan, with monthly subscriptions starting at $15.

Is free software right for your small business?

With Wave’s free plan, users can accept online ACH payments for a standard transaction fee of 1%. Credit card transaction fees for Visa, Mastercard and Discover start at 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction. American Express transactions start at 3.4% + $0.60 per credit card transaction. Higher-tier QuickBooks Online plans include bill tracking, project profitability data, inventory management, employee expense tracking and more. Additionally, free Wave Accounting users don’t have access to customer service.

Check out our comparisons among these top three accounting software options to find the right fit for your business. For a free software program, Wave boasts an impressive, robust feature set that rivals even some paid accounting software programs. Finally, if you need extra help with your bookkeeping, accounting, or taxes, Wave Advisors is a service you can add to your account. This option is great for business owners who are new to accounting or want to outsource bookkeeping and/or tax filing.

Since you’re self-employed you don’t have the resources of a large company to make sure you’re paid properly and your books are balanced. Wave accounting software is the solution you need to take charge of your business and keep your hard-earned money safe. As a self-employed professional, your flexibility is a huge advantage, so you need financial processes that are as flexible as you are. Wave’s accounting software is designed for self-employed people and freelancers like you, and can be easily customized for any size business and any type of goods or services you provide. When rating accounting and invoicing software, we use a 47-point rubric that looks at pricing, ease of use, features, customer service, and user reviews. We weigh each section differently to calculate the total star rating.