Small Business Accounting Software Start for Free

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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. With the Pro Plan, automatically import, merge, and categorize your bank transactions. It’s always available, and it’s backed up for extra peace of mind. Overall, we rate Wave 3.9/5 and recommend it for business owners looking for a cheap — or in most cases, free — accounting software option.

Is Wave Right for You or Your Business?

It’s also intuitive so you don’t need to be an accountant to use it successfully. With a Pro Plan subscription, you can connect your bank account with Wave and automatically import your transactions. Check out our comparisons among these top three accounting software options to find the right fit for your business. Wave offers a decent number of support resources to customers, but the response times can be slow.

It’s been one of the best decisions I’ve made when it comes to making sure my accounting is on point. Ready to invoice in style, bookkeep less, and get paid fast?

Wave also offers time-saving automations, such as recurring invoices, automatic billing, and receipt scanning. This app is super helpful, the main issue I have while using it is the lag. When inputting information the character count for it is super slow/delayed to where it forces me to stay on a certain page until it registers that information has been inputted. After inputting information and trying to click done at the bottom it will not register unless I swipe the keyboard away.

Our tools work together, so you work less.

The most basic plan, Simple Start, what are functional expenses a guide to nonprofit accounting costs $30 per month, and the top-tier Advanced plan costs $200 per month, which is a sizable investment if you’re running a business on a tight budget. Although accounting and invoicing are separated into two different product sections on the Wave website (shown similarly below), they don’t require separate accounts. These solutions are integrated within your dashboard and you’ll access them both through your single Wave login. After providing a few basic details about your business — name, type, currency you use, address — you’ll have instant access to your account. We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence.

1. We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence.
2. However, some features are noticeably missing, such as project management and budgeting, that are found with competing software options such as QuickBooks Online.
3. Furthermore, customers using the free Starter plan will have limited support options.
4. These solutions are integrated within your dashboard and you’ll access them both through your single Wave login.

With the higher-tier QuickBooks plans, you have access to inventory management, billable expenses and project profitability tools, none of which are offered with Wave. You can effectively analyze the financial health of your business, find ways to generate more profit, and move forward with your business plan. Create beautiful invoices, accept online payments, and make accounting easy—all in one place—with Wave’s suite of money management tools. This free, easy-to-use accounting software is great for small businesses, especially for eCommerce, but lacks in project management, budgeting, and inventory tracking.

We weigh each section differently to calculate the total star rating. 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. With Wave, you have access to expense tracking, bank reconciliation, and reporting to help you manage your finances. Wave also has some of the most appealing invoices on the market.

See our step-by-step guide on how to import bookkeeping data into Wave here. Bank data connections are read-only and use 256-bit encryption. Servers are housed under physical and electronic protection. Wave is PCI Level-1 certified for handling credit card and bank account information. When everything is neatly where it belongs, tax time is simple. Wave’s smart dashboard organizes your income, expenses, payments, and invoices.