Wave

Overview

Wave is invoicing and accounting software built for small business owners and solopreneurs rather than accountants. The free Starter plan carries unlimited professional invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping, recurring billing and a mobile app, and lets customers pay by credit card, bank transfer or Apple Pay. The paid Pro plan connects bank accounts and automatically imports, merges and categorizes transactions, adds custom invoice branding and automated late-payment reminders, and reduces payment-processing fees. Receipt scanning with OCR and Wave Payroll are available as paid add-ons, and Wave Advisors offers expert bookkeeping and support. A Tags feature tracks profitability by project or client. Wave is sold as a free Starter plan and a paid Pro plan, with the add-ons priced separately.

Best for freelancers and very small businesses that want free invoicing and bookkeeping, with paid add-ons for bank automation, receipts and payroll.

Wave makes sense when bookkeeping is a chore rather than a discipline: a freelancer can invoice, get paid and stay ready for tax time without paying anything, which very little else in this category offers. Where it stops being free is the more useful question, because the unpaid plan expects transactions to be entered by hand, so the subscription is less an upgrade than the point at which the software starts saving time. Anyone who needs receipts and payroll as well should add the three figures together before comparing it with an all-in suite, since the headline price covers none of that. Payroll and payments are built around US and Canadian rules, which settles the question for anyone filing elsewhere.

Key Facts

Features

Invoicing and quotes

Yes, unlimited professional invoices, estimates and bills on every plan, with recurring billing, online payments and automated late-payment reminders on Pro

Bookkeeping and bank feeds

Yes; the Pro plan connects bank accounts and auto-imports, merges and categorizes transactions, while the free Starter plan records them manually

Expenses and receipts

Receipt scanning with OCR is a paid add-on (from $8 / month); expenses are otherwise tracked through categorized transactions and the Tags feature

Tax and compliance

Through the paid Wave Payroll add-on: automatic payroll tax payments and filings with state agencies and the IRS, excluding 1099 filings, plus W-2, W-3 and 1099-NEC forms in the US and T4 and T4A slips and summaries in Canada

Payroll

Available as a paid add-on, Wave Payroll, from $25 / month

Reports and exports

Yes, financial reports and dashboard insights, with a Tags feature for tracking profitability by project or client

Integrations and API

Yes, a documented GraphQL API on Wave's developer portal, with OAuth applications, a single public endpoint, webhooks and an API playground

Integrations

• Plaid

Deployment and Support

Deployment

• Cloud (SaaS)
• Browser-based

Support

• Email helpdesk
• Chat

Onboarding

• Documentation and knowledge base

Company size

• Freelancers
• Small and mid-sized

Suitability

The table combines the industries the vendor addresses with the company sizes the tool is aimed at. An empty cell means the combination is not stated, not that it is ruled out.

Pros and Cons

Pricing

• Starter

  Free

  Unlimited invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping, plus the mobile app. Online payments cost 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction.

• Pro

  $19 / month

  Adds bank connections with automatic import and categorization, custom invoice branding, automated late-payment reminders and reduced payment-processing fees. Also $190 / year.

Best For

• Agencies
• Consulting

Alternatives and Comparisons

FAQ

Is Wave free?

Wave's Starter plan is free and includes unlimited invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping plus the mobile app. The paid Pro plan (from $19 / month) adds bank connections, automatic categorization, invoice branding and reduced payment-processing fees.

Does Wave include payroll?

Payroll is a paid add-on, Wave Payroll, starting at $25 / month, rather than part of the Starter or Pro plans.

How does Wave handle receipts?

Receipt scanning with OCR is a paid add-on starting at $8 / month. Expenses are otherwise tracked through categorized bank transactions and the Tags feature.

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