If you’re trying to decide between QuickBooks’ native payroll solution and a highly rated third-party option like Gusto, check out our in-depth Gusto vs. QuickBooks Payroll comparison. QuickBooks Online’s detailed reporting and transaction tracking is ideal for growing businesses. Moreover, you can integrate QuickBooks with hundreds of third-party tools available in the app marketplace.

• You can import Wave data into QuickBooks Online if you are switching accounting software without needing a Zapier integration.
• Wave also has some of the most appealing invoices on the market.
• You can pay your vendors with a check in QuickBooks Online, something you can’t do in Wave.
• With Wave, you receive a lot of features, like unlimited invoices and unlimited users, that are not always included with other free accounting software options, let alone paid accounting software plans.
• There are no ads or pricing-tier feature limitations with Wave.
• You can also email exported financial statements and reports directly from Wave.

Wave accounting software’s affordability, unlimited invoices, support for multiple businesses, and receipt scanning make it a perfect choice for freelancers and solopreneurs. The software can work well for service-based small businesses too—it’s easy to share your Wave account with your business partners, or with your accountant or bookkeeper come tax time. Despite the fact that Wave supports unlimited users, businesses that continue to hire employees or expand their operations will quickly outgrow it. On top of not having an audit trail to keep larger small businesses accountable, it doesn’t offer multiple plan tiers with additional capabilities. QuickBooks Online’s capabilities scale up with each plan tier, and its highest-tier plan’s 25-user limit should be sufficient for most small businesses. Its Plus plan is the most popular among small businesses and includes the ability to sync with all online sales channels, manage inventory and track project profitability.

Wave Accounting Alternatives

The rate that you charge for your freelancing services can vary, so it’s important to get a grasp of market trends before sending your clients an invoice or quoting a price. Freelance rates can differ depending on experience level and industry. For example, the rate a freelance web developer charges may be different than that of a freelance graphic designer, because each freelancer specializes in a different area. Our bookkeeping and banking tools can be used separately or together for maximum control of your business finances. Between the app and the payment process—I can’t tell you the hours it’s saved, and even the headaches that have gone away because of it.

• I look at the dashboard and know how many invoices are on the way, when they should be paid, and the average time it takes someone to pay.
• Wave and QuickBooks both offer standard features and capabilities for invoicing for small businesses.
• Wave is cloud-based software that boasts a solid set of accounting features suitable for most small businesses.
• While Wave has a good invoicing capability, it still comes up short in terms of other features.
• Or, if you don’t need as many features as QuickBooks Online provides, there’s QuickBooks Self-Employed.

Yes, Wave’s accounting, invoice, and receipt-scanning features are completely free. You do have to pay a credit card processing fee for online payments you accept with Payments by Wave, but that’s a standard requirement for all online payments. Wave’s 1% fee for ACH payments and 2.9% + $0.30 fee for credit card charges meets the industry standard. And since Wave doesn’t charge a base fee, the transaction fee is all you’ll ever pay when you use Wave. QuickBooks Desktop costs an up-front yearly charge, which can range anywhere from $349/99 to $1,340.

Who is QuickBooks Online for?

These support services are expensive for most small businesses, and we can’t fully recommend them to you unless you have a budget to spare. While you can track your sales tax in Wave, there’s no way to file your returns or pay your tax liability. This feature is also handy if you’re working with independent contractors and need to generate a 1099 form for tax filing. The sales and income tax features are evaluated across the other categories, so it has no separate video.

Banking

Another feature of good accounting software is the ability to close a prior year to lock previous transactions, but Wave also falls short on that. There are several additional Wave products that you can purchase for your business. Wave Payroll has two options starting at $20/month plus $6/month per employee. Tax service payroll is available in 14 states, while self-service payroll is available in the remaining 36 states.

Wave Accounting can be a great option if you run a very small service-based business or don’t need more advanced features that alternatives might offer. For small businesses any larger than that, however, Wave is limited. Unlike competitors, Wave doesn’t offer multiple plans to increase the software’s functionality. Xero is the most similar to QuickBooks Online qualitative characteristics of accounting information overview guide in terms of scalability and feature set. It supports an unlimited number of users and has a simple layout that some business owners might find less overwhelming than QuickBooks Online. If you’re unsure which is a better fit, it could be worth taking a test drive of QuickBooks Online and starting a free trial of Xero to see which user interface is preferable.

Look professional with customizable invoices

There are also add-on Intuit services like QuickBooks Payroll or QuickBooks Time. Only integrates with in-house apps, like Wave Payments and Wave Payroll; does not integrate with card readers for in-person payments. Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. After creating your account, everything is set up so you can get started. Your data is always available, and backed up for extra peace of mind.

Access all customer information in one place

You can learn more about the features by watching the video of our accounting expert as he assesses Wave based on the case study criteria. Finally, if you need extra help with your bookkeeping, accounting, or taxes, Wave Advisors is a service you can add to your account. This option is great for business owners who are new to accounting or want to outsource bookkeeping and/or tax filing. Wave also supports multiple businesses, additional users (with four permission levels), and personal finance tracking. Wave is cloud-based, so you can securely access your accounting software and your financial information anywhere you are – whether you are working in your pjs, or waiting for a meeting to start. You can also choose from Wave’s selection of free, beautifully designed invoice templates to make sure every touch point with your client instills confidence in your personal brand.

You can snap a photo of your expense receipt and upload it to Wave through the mobile app, but this requires an $8 per month subscription to Wave Receipts. You can attach a receipt to transactions within the web interface of Wave for free. Set up recurring invoices and automatic credit card payments for your repeat customers and stop chasing payments. Keep your income flowing in with the help of flexible payment options, and money transfers in as little as two days.