8.6Expert Score

Wave Accounting software Review 2023

If you are looking for a way to run an effective business in the modern era, then you need to make sure you find the right accounting software program to help you. Today, time is your most valuable resource, and you need to make sure you use it wisely. By taking advantage of advanced accounting programs that can automate a lot of the tasks that you currently do by hand, you may be able to put time into the other areas of your business. One program that might be able to help you do this is called Wave; however, is this the right program for your business? Take a look at a few important points regarding Wave Accounting Software, and compare the features of this program to the needs of your business. 

Price

8

Customer Service

9.5

Accounting Standard Features

9.5

Reporting

9.2

Integrations

8.2

Platforms

8.7

Time in Business

8.7

PROS

• The program has been specifically designed to be free. You do not have to worry about your free options being limited. You have access to unlimited features, such as unlimited income and expense tracking, that can make it easier for you to manage your company.
• You also do not have to worry about any surprise fees. You do not have to use a credit card number to access any of the features. That way, you know that you are not going to pay for anything you do not require.
• You have access to unlimited expenses, invoices, and receipts through this program. 
• All payment and payroll services are affordable. This makes the program a popular option for small businesses. 
• You are even allowed to manage multiple businesses from the same account. This makes it easy for you to scale up and back your services with ease. 
• Ultimately, there are numerous benefits you can access if you decide to go with Wave accounting. Of course, free programs do have their limitations, which is why it is important for you to think about some of the drawbacks as well.

CONS

• Only a single person can use a Wave account at a time. Therefore, if you run a large business, you may find this program to be relatively limited. It can make it hard for you to be productive when only one person can be using the account at a time. 
• If you are looking for a full-service accounting, you will be disappointed when you find out their full-service accounting programs are only available in 14 states. You need to take a look at the list of dates available before you decide to sign up for this program, even though this list may expand in the future. 
• If you require customer service, the only way you can talk to them is through email. There is no live chat or phone support option available. 
• The number of Integrations available through Wave accounting is relatively limited. You may have a difficult time transferring data between programs. 
• This is not a program that has been designed for larger businesses. If you run a corporation, you need to choose a program that has been designed for larger companies. 

Wave as an Accounting Software: What You Need To Know

An Introduction: What Is Wave Accounting Software?

Wave is one of the most popular accounting software programs available. It offers a wide variety of features at a relatively low price tag. Even though it is true that there are a lot of free accounting software programs that come with a remarkable degree of limitations, this is a program that is popular among small-business owners, entrepreneurs, and freelancers. The program is known for streamlining the accounting process, making it accurate and straightforward.

If you are thinking about going with a free program, you need to be careful. A lot of them have been specifically designed to limit your ability to be productive. That way, they can convince you to purchase the premium version. On the other hand, Wave has been specifically designed to provide you with access to every single accounting feature free of charge. They are also unlimited, allowing you to use them to your heart’s content. Income and expense tracking are unlimited as well, allowing you to manage multiple businesses using a single account. When it comes to the price tag, it doesn’t get much better than free.

The Main Features of Wave Accounting

Before diving into the main features in-depth, some of the features you might want to use include:

• A customizable virtual dashboard
• Customized invoicing options
• Income and expense tracking
• Receipt scanning and capture
• Reminders and notifications for bills and invoices
• Detailed reports on accounting
• Search features for individual transactions
• The ability to reconcile your data across other products
• The option to manage multiple businesses from a single Wave account

What do you need to know about these features?

Wave Receipts

One feature that you may use a lot is Wave Receipts, which is one of the free programs offered. This is a program that has been specifically designed for receipt capture purposes. You can use this program to scan receipts for mobile expense tracking. That way, you don’t have to worry about manual paperwork anymore. There is a mobile application that allows you to take advantage of photo capture features, even when offline, syncing with your wave account. That way, you can keep all of your expense information up to date. You can also forward your receipts directly to your email inbox for easier tracking.

Wave Invoicing

Wave invoicing is another free service. You can use this to send customized invoices to your customers and clients. There are numerous customizable invoice features available, making it easy for you to manage business payments. You can generate professional invoices with a single click, making this process easier by creating recurring invoices. This is also available as a separate application for IOS and Android devices. That way, you can send invoices even when on the go. That way, you can make sure your customers and clients pay their bills on time.

Wave Money

This is another free service that is useful with business banking. You can thank this application to a wide variety of other platforms for bookkeeping purposes. Even though this feature is still relatively new, it is designed to help small businesses. You will have access to free banking, debit cards, and even a mobile application you can link to other Wave programs. This is quickly becoming a popular feature because you do not have to worry about paying any fees, you have access to a wide variety of ATMs, and you can take advantage of integrated payment processors.

Wave Advisors

If you are looking for business consultants and coaches, then you may be interested in this program. Wave Advisors costs $129 per month. You can receive help with taxes, bookkeeping, and general accounting. You can customize the level of assistance you need to meet your requirements. In general, there are three separate levels of service. These include:

• You can access accounting coaching that has been specifically designed to help you set up your own Wave account, allowing you to get the most out of the program.
• You can receive help with bookkeeping, helping you reconcile your information, complete transactions, and make sure your accounting is up-to-date.
• If you need help with your federal and state taxes, then you can even access the tax service through Wave. This can help you maximize your deductions, identify tax credits, make sure you pay your taxes on time, and generate accurate quarterly estimates.

Even though this service can be expensive, it may help you save time and money when it comes to running your business.

Wave Payroll

If you are looking for a way to keep track of your employee payroll information, then you may want to take a look at Wave Payroll. This costs between $20 and $35 (in full-service tax states) per month plus an additional $6 per employee. Payroll is a significant issue for a lot of small businesses, but this program has been specifically designed to help you save time. It is cheaper than a number of other paid payroll add-ons, but it still has its limitations. The main features you will enjoy through this program include:

• You can pay your employees and contractors
• You can generate W2 and 1099 tax forms
• You can develop individual profiles for each employee
• You can handle direct deposit

Of note, the full-service tax states include Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. This is designed to be a basic payroll program. It does not have a lot of the advanced features of other programs, but if you are looking for something simple, then this could be the perfect program for your company.

Payments by Wave

Finally, you may be interested in Payments by Wave. This is also not a free feature, but you do pay by transaction. If you would like to include “pay now” buttons in the invoices you sent to your customers, then you may want to take advantage of this feature. You can use this feature to accept ACH and credit card payments, improving your cash flow. This makes it even easier for customers to pay you, making sure they do not overlook your invoices. Instead of paying a monthly fee, you will pay per transaction.

The fee schedule is as follows:

• Bank transactions incur a 1 percent commission fee with a minimum payment of $1.
• Visa, Discover, and Mastercard payments incur a $0.30 fee per transaction plus a 2.9 percent commission.
• American Express payments incur a $0.30 fee per transaction plus a 3.4 percent commission.

You can also integrate this feature with PayPal, Stripe, and numerous other banking and payment applications. This makes it easier for you to streamline your cash flow.

An In-Depth Look: Wave Accounting Pros and Cons

Even though there are numerous features available through Wave accounting, it is important to think about the individual benefits and drawbacks. That way, you can decide if this is truly the right program for your company.

Ultimately, it is critical for you to weigh the benefits and drawbacks carefully. Even though this program is right for some businesses, it is not right for all of them. Think about the needs of your company. Then, compare this to the features and the drawbacks of Wave. That way, you can figure out if this is the right program for you.

Wave Accounting Pricing Plans: What Are the Options?

Even though a lot of the features are free, some of them are premium. Therefore, you need to think carefully about what features you want to pay for it. The Wave Accounting pricing plans are as follows:

• Wave Accounting: This is a free option that provides you with access to unlimited income and expense tracking, financial statements, and multiple integrations that can help you streamline your business.
• Wave Receipts: This is also a free option that provides you with access to a mobile application that will help you capture and scan receipts, allowing you to keep track of your expenses.
• Wave Invoices: This is also a free program that comes with its own mobile application. You can use this to customize invoices for customers and clients, making sure you get paid on time.
• Wave Money: This is another free program that provides you with access to a business bank account, debit cards, and built-in bookkeeping options.
• Payments by Wave: This is a premium service that you get charged to use based on each transaction. This gives your customers the ability to pay directly from an invoice they received. It will also sync to other Wave applications:
• Wave Payroll: This is a premium service that costs between $20 per month and $35 per month. It allows you to manage your employees effectively, providing you with access to direct deposit.
• You need to think carefully about which of these features are necessary for your business. That way, you can maximize your free features without paying for something you do not require.
• Wave Advisors: This is a service that costs $129 per month. It gives you access to professionals who can help you with bookkeeping, accounting, and taxes.

Because there are so many features available, you need to think about what you truly require. That way, you can get an accurate picture of what you need to pay for and what you can use for free. If you have other software programs, you need to make sure they are going to integrate well with Wave.

Mobile and Cloud Capabilities

There are mobile applications available for Wave Accounting, but there are different mobile applications for different features, which can be annoying. For example, Wave Money is a different application from Wave Receipts or Wave Invoices, so it can be difficult to keep track of where the information is located. Even though the mobile applications work, they can be a bit clunky. You may also find it difficult to take advantage of all features on the mobile applications.

Wave Accounting Software is a cloud-based software program. This makes it easier for you to transfer information from place to place, particularly if you have remote employees or if you do a lot of work on the go. Instead of having to email multiple versions of the same files back and forth, you can simply download the most recent version from the cloud. You can also access your customizable dashboard from the cloud, allowing you to take a quick look at the information you need to make important decisions about your businesses. Even though the mobile and cloud functionalities are not as strong as some other programs, they do work well for a free software program.

A Summary: Wave Accounting Is a Strong Account Software Program

Ultimately, Wave Accounting is a great program you can use to help you with the accounting of your business. One of the major selling points of this program is that it is free, and its free features are unlimited. It is not designed to force you to buy premium products when the free runs run out. All of their free programs are unlimited, and you can use them to your heart’s content.

On the other hand, the program does have its limitations. You can only have one user at a time, and you do have to pay extra for separate features. Even though it is nice that the program can process customer payments for you, the commissions can get expensive after a while. This is a great accounting program if you are looking for something simple and straightforward for yourself, but this is not something that is designed for larger companies. If you have a small business, or if you work alone, then this could be a strong program for you.