Wave’s Starter Plan is free, and all its features are available immediately, with no trial period or time limits. QuickBooks might be better for businesses with more complex needs and a bigger budget. Expensive, complicated tools don’t pay off.Access how to estimate the final maturity value on savings bonds Wave’s pocket- and small business-friendly solutions today, starting at free.
No sweat accounting
The information has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been provided or reviewed by the card issuer. Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services.
Set-up is quick and easy
The platform’s design is intuitive, so it’s easy for anyone to set up and use. Learn more about changing subscription periods and plan types in our Help Center. Our plans are built for small business owners at every stage! If you’re looking for an on-the-go solution, you can install our mobile app to help you manage invoices and payments.
What features should I look for in accounting software?
- If you manage a hospitality business, for instance, we would recommend using Xero because of its handy budget creator tool and slick POS integrations.
- And while it doesn’t offer much in the way of advanced accounting features, it has everything you need to get started, including quality invoicing integrations.
- QuickBooks includes an option to add on accounting, which adds bill management, inventory and job costing capabilities in addition to expense tracking.
Online invoicing, time tracking, expense tracking and integrated payments Wave responds to a need in the market for money management software that caters to solo business owners and micro-businesses, for whom many of the main players are too complex and costly. We provide different levels of support, depending on the plan and/or the add-on features you choose. Any connections between you, your bank accounts, and Wave are protected by 256-bit SSL encryption. Wave’s tools are web-based, so you just need an Internet connection and browser—no installation is necessary for our online software!
Best for Operational Efficiency: QuickBooks
Wave and QuickBooks are two popular platforms for invoicing and accounting for small businesses. Unlike other software, Wave is built for small business owners and solopreneurs at every stage—not accountants—so it’s easy for you to use. Not only is it a great low-cost tool for billing clients thanks to its generous invoice limits, but it has the best set of core accounting features out of all the providers that we tested. This plan starts at a reasonable $16 per month, but as Wave’s free plan is one of its main draws, this will be a source of frustration to customers who want to look professional without breaking the bank.
QuickBooks also deserves some plaudits for its tax readiness tools. With QuickBooks, you can get paid directly from within your invoice with a selection of different payment processors available. With QuickBooks, you’re able to set up invoices manually, set up recurring invoices, and even set up automatic invoice sending. Our team found it really simple to edit and send invoices in general.
- Wave, meanwhile, is a pretty rudimentary accounting solution, but it has a decent array of core features.
- Simply create your Wave account, set up your business in minutes, and let the magic happen.
- That’s why at Tech.co, we have full-time product researchers to re-run this testing process regularly.
- Wave and QuickBooks offer comparable features for invoicing but the QuickBooks suite of services goes far beyond what Wave offers, so it can better grow with bigger businesses.
- Wave doesn’t include a time-tracking feature, so you’ll have to track hours separately and enter them manually for hourly work.
Do I need to enter my credit card details to sign up?
This may influence which products we review and write about (and where those products appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. If you choose to cancel your subscription, it will remain active until the end of your current billing period. You can cancel your subscription up until one (1) day before your renewal date through Wave. Discount applied to the listed monthly price for Wave’s Pro Plan, starting from the date the Pro Plan is purchased and continuing for three monthly payment periods.
What’s the difference between QuickBooks Pro and QuickBooks Premier?
Powerful, cloud-based accounting software that perfectly integrates with Wave’s suite of money management tools to help you run your business better. With Wave, you can access invoicing, accounting, and other business management features at a lower price point. In short, QuickBooks Premier is best for businesses that need industry-specific features, while QuickBooks Pro is ideal for small businesses with general accounting needs.
You’ll pay a 2.9% plus $0.25 per transaction fee for invoiced credit card payments; and 1% (up to $10) for ACH payments. You can disable payments and let clients pay another way, such as through a paper check or PayPal. Wave doesn’t include a time-tracking feature, so you’ll have to track hours separately and what is cumulative enter them manually for hourly work. New customers can still sign on for a yearly subscription to QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise. Learn how to cancel your subscription in our Help Center.
Plus, our features are designed to work together, meaning less to worry about. In eight years, we haven’t had a single unpaid invoice, thanks to how easy it is to create, send, and follow up. “Wave makes your life a whole lot easier and takes that worry off you. I’ve tried Quickbooks—it’s a bit more complicated and technical, and takes more time to set up.” Perhaps, this is a temporary station problem. Install the free Online Radio Box app for your smartphone and listen to your favorite radio stations online – wherever you are!
While QuickBooks can cost as much as $235 per month for its Advanced Plan, Wave is completely free to use, making it perfect for smaller businesses looking to keep expenses low. QuickBooks is a better, more versatile accounting tool than Wave, boasting a robust core feature set, a good range of tools to boost your overall operational efficiency, and significantly better help and support options. We understand that accounting software is always evolving. QuickBooks Online offers a library of integrations, so users can connect with useful third-party tools. Integrated HR and payroll teams will find this particularly useful, as it means you can handle all of your business operations from within one program.
You also can open a Cash Account offered by Atomic Brokerage which allows you to earn interest on your cash through a cash sweep program. Pre-qualified offers are not binding. When evaluating offers, please review the financial institution’s Terms and Conditions. This discount can’t be combined with any other promotional offer from Wave. As your business grows, you can save more time and reduce admin work with Wave’s Pro Plan.
The Freshbooks feeling a little stale? for smallbusiness owners
What’s more, as of May 26, 2025, you’ll need a Pro Plan subscription to connect to existing and new API integrations. On the other hand, Wave places a much smaller emphasis on value-add features. You can also add your company logo and contact info to make your forms look more professional than ever. Users can create personalized invoices, estimates, and sales receipts, with the ability to change display fields, table contents, colors, fonts, and layouts. Highlights include a series of digital document management apps, such as Clio, Client Hub, and DocuSend, which make it easy for users to digitize, edit, and manage their important documents.
If you’re a freelancer or other solo service provider, Wave is a better option. With QuickBooks Checking, you can get integrated bookkeeping plus instant deposit of your payments, plus 1% APY interest on your balance (as of July 6, 2022). In self-serve states, the cost is $20 plus $6 per employee or contractor per month. Wave also handles payroll taxes in 14 states, but all other states are self-serve (the platform continues to add more full-service states).
In full-service states, payroll in Wave costs $35 plus $6 per employee or contractor per month. Both Wave and QuickBooks have the option to add payroll capabilities to your account for an additional fee. You’ll pay 2.9% plus $0.60 per transaction for Visa, Mastercard and Discover; 3.4% plus $0.60 per transaction for American Express; and 1% per transaction for ACH transfer from your client’s bank account. When you send an invoice, clients have the option to pay with the click of a button by entering their credit card or bank account information or connecting to Apple Pay. QuickBooks includes an option to add on accounting, which adds bill management, inventory and job costing capabilities in addition to expense tracking. Create customized invoices and estimate templates that align with your brand and save information about clients and services so you don’t have to re-enter the same information over and over each time you invoice.
To go alongside its core accounting functionality, QuickBooks is stacked with value-add features that’ll give your day-to-day operations a healthy shot in the arm. It doesn’t offer a free plan, although users can get a 30-day free trial on any of its plans (although you will have to waive this if you want to take advantage of the current promotional offer). Among them, you’ll be able to create unlimited estimates, invoices, bills, and bookkeeping records, and you’ll have the option to accept online payments. Wave, meanwhile, is a pretty rudimentary accounting solution, but it has a decent array of core features. This will be warmly received by businesses that cater to a lot of clients, such as an investment bank. It has an outstanding set of tools for invoicing and quoting, including the ability to seamlessly convert estimates into invoices and send payment reminders from directly within the “Overdue” section.
Wave is a well-rated payroll solution that offers a self-serve employee portal, time tracking and payroll processing for both employees and contractors. Wave and QuickBooks both offer standard features and capabilities for invoicing for small businesses. It comes with no monthly fees and no minimum, and you can receive invoice payments instantly instead of waiting for a payment to process and hit your bank account. Wave Money is a free business bank account that integrates with your Wave account for easy bookkeeping and faster payments. With QuickBooks, your online payments will be deposited into your connected bank account within the next business day, or you can pay a 1% fee for instant deposit (free with a QuickBooks Checking account).
If you manage a hospitality business, for instance, we types of income statement would recommend using Xero because of its handy budget creator tool and slick POS integrations. While QuickBooks and Wave fundamentally appeal to different demographics, they still won’t meet the needs of every business. This is an option, but as a lot of users will be having the same problem, you’ll often find yourself waiting in a lengthy queue.
