Wave Accounting Review: Pros, Cons, Alternatives

Only the people who need to see customers’ accounting data to do their jobs have access. Technology is digitally protected within a controlled facility that is monitored every day around the clock. For a free software program, Wave boasts an impressive, robust feature set that rivals even some paid accounting software programs. PCMag.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering lab-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services. Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology. It’s a fairly slim set of reports for a double-entry accounting website, but it provides adequate coverage considering the site’s feature set. Wave also allows cash basis reporting for relevant reports.

• Dashboard monitoring for cash balances and invoice statuses.
• It has an app to facilitate easy upload of receipts for my expenses.
• Only the people who need to see customers’ accounting data to do their jobs have access.
• You can create and send these to remind customers of past due payments or simply to provide them with a record of their account activity for their records.
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• Sharing of password or login information is strictly prohibited.

It’s also a plus given that not all accounting software tools offer this functionality. 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 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.

Bookkeeping

Stripe Billing works on top of Stripe Payments, allowing businesses to accept debit cards, credit cards and mobile wallet payments worldwide. Other features include multiple payment methods such as 3D secure authentication, ACH and instant payouts, all for an additional cost. The software also supports currency conversion and international bank cards. The software features double-entry accounting to make it easier for users to monitor transactions, track income and expenses, attach receipts to transactions and generate accurate accounting reports. 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.

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Adding Invoice Items in Wave

While it has an automatic reconciliation feature, it doesn’t allow for any reconciling items, such as checks written but not yet processed by your bank. Read our guide to the best small business accounting software. As mentioned https://www.wave-accounting.net/ earlier, Wave accounting features are free, but you’ll pay a fee if you use Wave Payments or Wave Payroll. Wave Payments lets your customers make a payment directly from their invoice, and accepts all major credit cards.

However, many features offer limited customization and flexibility. If you’re serious about your business, you may be best off paying for a premium accounting software instead of going with this free option. From the dashboard, you have a menu of additional views to manage your sales, purchases, accounting, banking and payroll, as well as to view reports. You can also access account and business settings and manage integrations with PayPal, Shoeboxed and Etsy, along with activating Wave Payments.

Charges, Payments, and Subscription Charges and Cancellation

Its features are easy to use, and it displays everything logically. Setting everything up is simple and takes less than 15 minutes, if you have all the information you need. Wave has a clean interface, and the amount of information displayed is just right, Wave Accounting 2021 especially for people who are not familiar with accounting. You can quickly access everything from the navigation bar on the left side of your window. The one thing the navigation bar lacks is a quick-add button, which you can only find on the dashboard.

Other features and services, such as payroll and bookkeeping services, come at varying costs of $20 per month to $1500 per year, which are broken down in the table below. Wave Accounting is a free, intuitive cloud-based software application used to easily track business income and expenses. Designed for small business owners, Wave is a platform that lets users quickly get started organizing and tracking bank and credit card transactions. Business owners can access this secure software at any time from just about anywhere. However, there are a few features the software is still lacking. There’s no project management and limited time tracking, which rules the software out for a lot of businesses.

Alternatives for Wave Accounting

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What’s unique about Wave is that it has a cool starting point, called Launchpad. Based on the option you select, this is where you start to customize your setup process. Just like Sunrise’s dashboard, the Wave dashboard displays an overview of your business performance, plus a direct link to connect your bank or credit card account. This is definitely not the right software for you if you’re a large business with advanced needs regarding inventory management.