Wave Reviews

4.4
Overall rating
Reviews

4.4
Overall rating
Reviews
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User Reviews Overview

About Wave

Online accounting software that provides features including invoicing, billing, payment tracking, payroll management, finance management, credit card processing, and receipt scanning. Wave Accounting is designed to help businesses...

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Feature ratings

Value for Money
4.6
Functionality
4.2
Ease of Use
4.5
Customer Support
4.0

Browse Wave Reviews

1,663 of 1,663 reviews
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Erik
Erik
  • Industry: Logistics & Supply Chain
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used Daily for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
5

4
Reviewed on 11/01/2025

Wave Review.

The system is great cost effective not the easiest to use but great system overall.

Pros

The features in the platform are great. Simple to use not user friendly but easy to use.

Cons

Their platform doesn't integrate with other systems in the transportation industry.

Alternatives Considered

FreshBooks, TruckingOffice and QuickBooks Online

Reasons for Switching to Wave

There system do not integrate with transportations systems.
Verified Reviewer
  • Industry: Health, Wellness & Fitness
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 02/01/2025

Wave really is the way to go!

Once of the easiest programs, I honestly can't find anything to 'complain' about. Supper effective, easy, and the right features for a small business.

Pros

-Very affordable for a single owner small business
-EASY to use
-Makes accounting anxiety free
-You can hire professional bookkeeper if needed
-Can add your accountant to the account with ease
-Can invoice and track customer payments

Cons

-Would love more categories for expenses

Alternatives Considered

QuickBooks Online and Xero

Reasons for Choosing Wave

Xero was increasing their fees and Quickbooks was too costly

Switched From

QuickBooks Online and Xero

Reasons for Switching to Wave

I chose Wave for the ease of use, overall cost, and it's webbased.
Brie
  • Industry: Construction
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Daily for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Functionality
3
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
3

3
Reviewed on 14/12/2024

Good for Small Business That Doesn’t Need Job Costing

This is a great app for small businesses or startups that don’t need job costing and don’t have complex accounting situations.

Pros

Its free version is pretty robust. You can add your branding to forms. You can accept payments.

Cons

Not a good app for job costing Or if you have multiple projects under one customer. Not robust enough for complex accounting situations

Alternatives Considered

FreshBooks and Zoho Expense

Reasons for Switching to Wave

Because it offered the most robust system for free

Top Wave Alternatives

Brigitte
  • Industry: Consumer Goods
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 10/12/2024

Raving About Wave

I have been using Wave for our small business bookkeeping for the past five or six years and love the ability to connect my bank accounts and credit cards and run weekly, monthly, and yearly reports.

Pros

For our small business, it is nice to have an affordable accounting option.

Cons

I wish they had not done away with the free scan receipts feature. I still pay for it, though.

Alternatives Considered

QuickBooks Desktop

Reasons for Choosing Wave

QuickBooks was much more expensive and had may more features than I needed for a small business.

Switched From

QuickBooks Online

Reasons for Switching to Wave

Wave was less expensive and easier to learn and teach to our employees.
Zeah
  • Industry: Accounting
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Monthly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
3
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
4

4
Reviewed on 16/12/2024

Wave-Great Free Resource

Overall, it is a good experience and gives small businesses who are just getting started, a way to organize their books and access reporting without a higher monthly software price point.

Pros

Wave is a great software that is free to most users as a way to pull their accounting records together. Clients that I have that use it, think it works great for it being free.

Cons

I do think overall it is a little less intuitive for someone who doesn't have an accounting background. The transaction screen and recording process with it listing everything in the main screen, is sometimes hard to track, especially if all the accounts are selected. Great for basic bookkeeping, but more complicated businesses with more transactions & accounts, I would recommend a more sophisticated software.

Alternatives Considered

QuickBooks Online

Reasons for Switching to Wave

Cost of monthly subscription relative to the product features offered
Ana
  • Industry: Marketing & Advertising
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Monthly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
4
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
0

4
Reviewed on 22/01/2025

Great for small business bookkeeping

Wave is more useful for my bookkeeping than actually collecting payments - I would probably use the payroll option via wave is I ever need it again, just to keep things streamlined

Pros

I like how simple Wave is for reconciling all my business expenses and auto-categorizing, based on previous years. Invoicing is also fairly straightfoward.

Cons

Invoicing is great for one off invoices, but doesn't integrate with other apps and more automated checkout systems. It can become cumbersome to manage service inventory, having to create new 'products' for each custom service to then sift through.

Alternatives Considered

QuickBooks Online and Zoho Expense

Reasons for Switching to Wave

Wave is free and VERY easy to setup and deploy. I don't have to be an accountant to be able to reconcile my own expenses as a small business owner.
Drew
  • Industry: Construction
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
3

4
Reviewed on 03/01/2025

Great CHEAP solution for a tiny-small business

It's been a great experience so far. We had a simple setup, it's easy to use. We've had no issues.

Pros

The ease of use for creating invoices and estimates. The ability to send invoices, reminders, statements right from the app. Their customer database is very simple. Vast assortment of software needed to run your business.

Cons

Haven't really experienced any cons thus far. Have been using Wave for approximately 3 and a half years.

Hannah
  • Industry: Marketing & Advertising
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
4
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
4

4
Reviewed on 30/12/2024

Easy to use, great for the price

I really enjoy wave, I've been using it for over 5 years and it super simple and easy for the client to pay invoices.

Pros

It is super easy to use and very affordable for the start-up business owner or side hustler.

Cons

It has limited features in some areas, like payroll, but if you're a solo team, that doesn't matter.

Alternatives Considered

HoneyBook, Stripe and QuickBooks Online

Reasons for Choosing Wave

Because quickbooks was too expensive for my needs

Switched From

QuickBooks Online

Reasons for Switching to Wave

Because it had what I needed for invoicing for the right price
Joseph
  • Industry: Professional Training & Coaching
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Monthly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 16/12/2024

Easy to Use, especially for those starting a business

Very easy to use with the basic level being completely free. You would have to be foolish to try anything else, especially when starting a business and having to be concerned about expenditures.

Pros

I have used it for over two years now with great success for my corporation's accounts. I recently asked my accountant if he needed me to get another program to help him with my company's Tax Returns and he flatly said, "No, what you are using now does everything I would want a program to do and is also super simple to use."

Cons

It has all the features I need. I will explore if I can sync it with my corporate credit card to automatically upload entries.

Alec
  • Industry: Health, Wellness & Fitness
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 6-12 months
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
3
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
3

4
Reviewed on 23/12/2024

A good alternative to QBO

Overall, if I were more knowledgeable at setting up the account properly from the beginning, I'm sure the experience would have been just fine. I ended up switching to QuickBooks online once I had an actual bookkeeper who could do all the setup for me. As for an alternative to QB, this seemed almost identical to the base properties of the program, but it's been a few years so I can't compare what features they offer now.

Pros

free version offered a lot of great features comparable to QB Online

Cons

Not being an accountant-minded person, I needed to catch up on account reconciliation. It was not easy to figure out and took a lot of time, even with the help pros. Spent hundreds of $$ for multiple calls with a help pro who did the work and had me watch but never actually taught me how to do it myself. And then never answered my questions via email as he explained he would.

Karen
  • Industry: Mental Health Care
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 14/10/2024

An Accounting Dream!

Fantastic! I'm able to pull my profit and loss statement quickly and clearly. There are many options for running reports and seeing where your money is going.

Pros

Wave is fantastic! It's easy to use and provides many options for running reports and managing your money. I also love the ability to connect my business card and my business bank account.

Cons

Any problems I have with Wave are not because of the software. Wave has made it as easy as possible.

Josh
  • Industry: Sporting Goods
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

4
Reviewed on 02/08/2024

Not paying for more than I need!

Overall I’m extremely satisfied. I don’t feel like I’m forced to pay for things that I really don’t need. The basics are free and the add-ons are reasonably priced

Pros

It’s simple and straightforward. It’s got a clean sleek look and it’s very affordable.

Cons

I wish I could view my transactions within the app instead of just online.

Alternatives Considered

Sage Accounting, Square Payroll and Microsoft Excel

Reasons for Choosing Wave

Cost is the main reason I was looking for an alternative, but other than a much more affordable price, the simplicity and sleekness of wave played a huge part in earning my business.

Reasons for Switching to Wave

The simplicity and sleekness of wave played a huge part in earning my business over the others.
Soma
  • Industry: Arts & Crafts
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
0
Functionality
3
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
0

4
Reviewed on 08/06/2024

Compact invoicing software

Was positive till a section of the app was discontinued for non-US subscribers.

Pros

I love ease of use and functions that match my business needs.
Allows branding and customisation of invoices. Love that I can clone invoices saving time for repeat services to same clients ( art coaching in my case)

Cons

Disappointed that they removed wave receipts for non-US clients. This particular feature was critical to document hard copies of receipts on the go, into the online wave system. Now their is nothing else to integrate the hard copies of receipts into the wave system

Theodore
  • Industry: Entertainment
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
3
Functionality
3
Ease of Use
3
Customer Support
1

3
Reviewed on 25/04/2024

Wave Accounting Services and Customer Service are ABYSMAL!!!

Its great UNTIL you need to speak to someone... Then they are among the worst companies I have ever dealt with.

Pros

Invoice creation and sending. Charts are nice.

Cons

They withdrew money from my account to pay payroll taxes, then didn'tpay the tax. You can't speak to anyone there and thy take forever to get back to you. TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!

Elvis
  • Industry: Information Technology & Services
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
0
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
0

5
Reviewed on 01/09/2023

Best Account App for Small Businesses

Wave Accounting has saved me lots of time, given me a great brand impression before my clients and saved me money.

Pros

The most impactful features of Wave Accounting for my business are invoicing and receipting. Generally, it was easy to setup and would recommend it for anyone looking for a bookkeeping app specially designed for small business at little or no cost.

Cons

One thing that can be improved is sending of receipts. If it can be possible to send receipts via WhatsApp for clients that prefer communication on that platform, that will be very helpful.

Alternatives Considered

Zoho Invoice

Reasons for Switching to Wave

I liked the look of the platform and ease of use.
Jolly
  • Industry: Information Technology & Services
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
4

4
Reviewed on 02/12/2024

Improved visibility, control and efficiency.

Working smarter for quick and easy results with predictive analytics and insights.

Pros

Wave has the visibility and control needed across accounts payable, global payments, procurement and employee expenses to run business more efficiently and drive growth. It's users friendliness has been enhanced by the power of AI.

Cons

Personal designing of the dashboard is not desirable. It is also disappointing that some banks are not fully implementable on the software.

Michael
Michael
  • Industry: Retail
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
4

5
Reviewed on 29/03/2024

Wave Review

Excellent. It makes a massive difference to our business and keeps track of our progress.

Pros

It's the best accounting system I have ever used before. Very effective and user friendly and I would recommend it to any business.

Cons

It's taken long to have a great app for it and also they've restricted new accounts to North America which is a drag.

Bill
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 26/11/2024

Amazing Cloud Accounting Product for SMBs

very positive overall and have been using it for years.

Pros

Love the fact that you can do payroll, invoicing, payment by credit card and taxes all in 1 solution for small business

Cons

Probably the payroll fee each month that I have to pay. Some providers are free and for small business every single $ counts.

LISA
  • Industry: Real Estate
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 24/07/2024

I love WAVE!

I love Wave. It makes my life so much easier. Its so affordable and easy to use. Everyone should sue it

Pros

I love everything about Wave. I have been using it for several years for small business accounting. Its connected right to my business account so I never have to worry about forgetting anything

Cons

There is not a single thing I can say wrong about Wave. I have used it for several small businesses of different types and it works for them all!

Celine
  • Industry: Marketing & Advertising
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Monthly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
0
Functionality
3
Ease of Use
2
Customer Support
1

1
Reviewed on 26/11/2023

Worst nightmare during the worst time

About 6 months into the business, we heard of wave. We are based on the west coast, and saw that they were on the east coast in Canada, but we had clients in different time zones, so that was no issue. Starting out, we wanted to make a good impression, so we had 5 clients run through wave, our biggest one being my cousin's boyfriend, although that was never disclosed because it didn't have to be. Further along, readers will understand why I mentioned it. We had transactions that averages between $500-$2000, but he was the main client that we used with wave. Overall, he paid us $12,000 for all of his small businesses as he is an entrepreneur. They saw that he had made many payments within a span of 3 months, and froze our account altogether, saying that they could not release the funds until 6 months had passed, and even gave us the specific day the funds were to be released. We didn't know what to do, so we waited the entire 6 months. When we reached out to them, they told us to collect payment in another way, but they had already collected payment for us, and we can't double charge anyone. It makes no sense. [sensitive content hidden] (her boyfriend) was furious, and tried to call the company several times himself, but THERE IS NO ACTUAL PHONE LINE for them! So all that could be done were emails that were ignored. He had business up in Canada and somehow got ahold of someone, asking to refund his money so he could pay us directly, but again received no response. 6 months passed and we never received our money. My cousin would log on daily and we had our business account linked to it, so all was in order, but all it was was a copy of everything wells Fargo had. We tried for 2 years to get our money back, even after the company was dissolved, with no luck. They decided to close our account (we weren't using it for anything anyway) and gave us the reason that our company didn't have enough of a presence for them. After 3 years and the actual person that paid trying to contact them and no chargeback of any sort occuring, it's quite obvious that there is no fraudulent or suspicious activity whatsoever. My cousin spoke to a different person every day via live chat who never knew what was going on and would forget about our case. One day she finally got to the right person, who saw the mistake on their end, and we finally received our money over 3 years later.

Pros

The only positive thing that I can say about them, is that after THREE years and having to lose the company that my cousins and I started together, we did finally get our money, or rather most of it.

Cons

I will just tell you our story with it. My 2 cousins and I decided to go into business together before COVID happened. We all have degrees in different categories and wanted to join forces. One had a degree in computer engineering, one in graphic design, and I had a business degree although at the time I had a huge following on social media and was working as an influencer. We wanted to help small businesses get their names out, and started a business advertising for them. I used my presence on social media to advertise by word of mouth, while my cousins would design web sites, and create custom logos and business cards for our clients. We began with just friends to test, so we didn't have a set price for anyone. It was also a side gig so we let people set their prices. Thankfully wave was not the only company that we used. I will describe our experience in the next question.

Melanie
  • Industry: Fund-Raising
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 02/12/2024

So happy with the free version!

So happy with a free software that actually takes care of my needs.

Pros

I use the free version and am completely happy with it! I am not an accountant, so my learning curve was big, but that was more for the accounting side and not the software side.

Cons

It freezes up sometimes when I try to open too many windows.

Kevin
  • Industry: Marketing & Advertising
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Functionality
3
Ease of Use
3
Customer Support
3

3
Reviewed on 08/05/2024

Our business runs on Wave

Pros

Free to use most features.
Professional looking branded invoices.

Cons

Lack of support on the free tier.
confusing to set up for non accountants.

Elvis
  • Industry: Accounting
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used Daily for 6-12 months
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
4
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
4

4
Reviewed on 30/11/2024

An efficient and must have software

Overall, wave is not as feature rich as some premium software but it does the job well for basic accounting needs.

Pros

Wave has a user friendly interface and intuitive design. The software is also easy to navigate, making accounting tasks like invoicing, tracking expenses, and managing payments relatively simple.

Cons

Wave has limited customer support options. While the platform offers extensive help documentation, I found that getting direct support through chat or phone was not always fast or readily available.

Agasti
  • Industry: Real Estate
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
0
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
0

5
Reviewed on 03/07/2024

Efficient real estate accounting solutions

Pros

We no longer care about getting reports on the financial performance of our company since the deployment of this solution. It's easy to use and report generation feature are responsive.

Cons

Its a tool that meets the requirements, we have never regretted.

Allison
  • Industry: Marketing & Advertising
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
5

4
Reviewed on 23/10/2024

Great for personal and small business!

Pros

I like that there's a pretty robust free version and I can use it for both personal and business use. I can also link multiple business Wave accounts under a single login.

Cons

I sometimes have trouble reconciling credit card payments within the app.

1,663 reviews