After providing a few basic details about your business — name, type, currency you use, address — you’ll have instant access to your account. Any connections between you, your bank accounts, and Wave are protected by 256-bit SSL encryption. Have an eye on the big picture so you can make better business decisions. Our robust small business accounting reports are easy to use and show month-to-month or year-to-year comparisons so you can easily identify cash flow trends. Powerful, easy-to-use accounting software that has everything you need to confidently run your business. You work hard to make your business a success—that’s why Wave uses both physical and digital protection to keep your money safe.
Best Accounting Software for Small Businesses of 2024
- It can allow you to manage all your accounting processes without paying a dime.
- If you run a business that could benefit from extra features like basic inventory management, project tracking and time tracking, FreshBooks delivers better than Wave.
- Information is gathered on a regular basis and reviewed by our editorial team for consistency and accuracy.
- Some features are also only available on the paid Wave Pro plan.
Still, Wave’s free plan offers a good set of features and could be suitable for sole proprietors or smaller businesses with basic accounting needs. The best accounting software programs all provide similar features, so when considering which one is best for your business, you need to consider which features are the most important to your situation. This will help you decide which accounting software meets your needs best. Other features you may want to consider include whether the software has a mobile app, how good its customer service is and how well it does with accounts receivable (A/R) and financial reporting. Among QuickBooks product offerings are add-ons for payroll, a bank account, advanced accounting, employee time tracking and e-commerce inventory management. QuickBooks expense tracking lets you automatically capture information from receipts and track miles, features that make QuickBooks more flexible for a variety of businesses.
These automatic data processing ratings are meant to provide clarity in the decision-making process, but what’s best for your business will depend on its size, growth trajectory and which features you need most. We encourage you to research and compare multiple accounting software products before choosing one. In addition to its accounting software, Wave offers paid services, including Wave Payments, Wave Payroll and Wave Advisors for bookkeeping support and accounting coaching. Create beautiful invoices, accept online payments, and make accounting easy—all in one place—with Wave’s suite of money management tools. Wave is a well-rated payroll solution that offers a self-serve employee portal, time tracking and payroll processing for both employees and contractors. However, it doesn’t automate payroll or offer a mailing service for paychecks.
Customer support
Wave doesn’t offer third-party app integrations, but FreshBooks has over 100. Wave has recently updated its pricing model to now include a paid plan. Now, many standard features (such as automatic importing of bank transactions) are only available if you purchase a monthly or annual plan.
The platform also includes receipt capture and mileage tracking, so you can automatically gather all the information you need to claim expenses for tax purposes in one place. Project tracking tools in higher-tier plans; lacks industry-specific reports and transaction tracking tags; users with multiple businesses must pay for separate subscriptions. Has a strong invoicing feature; app lets users send invoices on the go; offers significantly fewer reports than competitors; no inventory tracking. Xero also doesn’t support multiple businesses, so pricing can add up quickly for some users. And it’s worth noting that while Xero has more features, the software also has a steeper learning curve than Wave.
Run your business your way
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. If your business needs these features or automations, check out these top Wave alternatives to fully explore your accounting software options. Accounting software helps business owners understand how money flows in and out of their businesses. This can help you save time and make financial decisions quickly. If you run a business that could benefit from extra features like basic inventory management, project tracking and time tracking, FreshBooks delivers better than Wave.
It also features a well-laid-out, clutter-free dashboard with individual tabs for sales, purchases, accounting, banking, payroll and reports. 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.
Allows an unlimited number of users in the Pro plan, but is not complex enough for businesses with more than a handful of employees; ideal for very small service-based businesses, freelancers or contractors. We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence. Create beautiful invoices, accept online payments, and make accounting easy—all in one place. Yes, switching from other accounting apps or products to Wave is easy! See our step-by-step guide on how to import bookkeeping data into Wave here. Wave is PCI Level-1 certified for handling credit card and bank account information.