Plus, thanks to its integration with the budget-friendly Wave Payroll solution, Wave Accounting can also work well for small businesses with employees. Since the paid version of the software allows for multiple users, it may also appeal to midsize and growing businesses where more than one person keeps an eye on company finances. Wave’s introduction of a second plan on top of its free accounting tool makes it a more scalable solution than its previous one-plan-only structure. Still, with just one paid plan, Wave can’t accommodate growing businesses the way multiplan competitors like QuickBooks Online, FreshBooks or Zoho Books can. If you have a question or issue, you can browse the help center or reach out to Mave, the automated chatbot. If you do want live support, you’ll need to invest in an Advisor or paid service.

Pros

While the invoicing platform is not easy to integrate with popular third-party payroll apps like Gusto or OnPay, Wave does have its own payroll software. Small businesses that plan to hire employees at some point might need to change accounting software systems in the future or upgrade to Wave Payroll. The software design and intuitive interface make Wave simple to set up and easy to use, even for those with little previous accounting experience. The site’s onboarding process is a breeze; first provide a few basic details about your business, such as name, address and industry. Then answer questions from a drop-down menu about the direction you want to concentrate on—invoicing, accounting or payroll—and you are directed to link financial accounts.

Scheduling and Accepting Payments

• With Wave, you’ll be able to send unlimited, customized invoices to your customers, manage an unlimited number of expenses and track unlimited receipts through its receipt scanning and capture feature.
• Wave Payments fees depend on transaction payment methods and your subscription plan.
• A lot of online reviews of Wave’s products center around the accounting solution, but some themes carry over to customer experiences regardless of the product.
• So, while Wave Accounting is ideal for small businesses and freelancers on small budgets, larger businesses prefer QuickBooks.
• The Wave app lets you easily generate and send invoices to your clients wherever and whenever you need to.

8 See EY Global Tax Alert, Saudi Arabia announces eighth wave of Phase 2 e-invoicing integration, dated 24 August 2023. 7 See EY Global Tax Alert, Saudi Arabia announces seventh wave of Phase 2 e-invoicing integration, dated 31 July 2023. 6 See EY Global Tax Alert, Saudi Arabia announces sixth wave of Phase 2 e-invoicing integration, dated 20 June 2023. 5 See EY Global Tax Alert, Saudi Arabia announces fifth wave of Phase 2 e-invoicing integration, dated 30 May 2023. 4 See EY Global Tax Alert, Saudi Arabia announces fourth wave of Phase 2 e-invoicing integration, dated 2 May 2023. 3 See EY Global Tax Alert, Saudi Arabia announces third wave of Phase 2 e-invoicing integration, dated 24 March 2023.

Online

Wave is a fast-growing accounting software designed for small businesses, particularly those in marketing, advertising, and IT. It’s owned by parent company H&R Block and offers a suite of money management tools. Create and send as many customized, professional invoices as you want with Wave’s free Invoice Generator. In a matter of seconds, and just a few clicks, you’ll have a free, professional invoice to send to your customers. Sign up for a Wave account so that everything flows right into your accounting records and your bookkeeping will be done for you. FreshBooks came to life as an invoice- and billing-specific software program that expanded into a total accounting solution.

Businesses can also send payment requests via SMS text messaging or sharable links to give customers the most convenient way to pay. Customers can make payments with credit card and ACH bank transfers, as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay. In addition, Wave’s mobile app lets you send invoices and track payments on the go. The app offers a receipt scanning feature as well, but you have to pay a subscription fee to access it. Electronic invoices are created with online invoicing software or other cloud-based services, which makes it easy to automate the invoicing process.

Best Invoicing and Billing Software Options for 2025

Your must input your login information to connect the Wave invoice app to your online account. Once connected, you’ll be able to use the app for sending and duplicating receipts as well as mobile invoicing, which lets you create, customize, and send invoices straight from their mobile device. It also sends automatic notifications, letting you know immediately when an invoice is viewed, past due, or has just been paid. The platform offers accounting and expense management as well, letting you manage your finances within the platform. We rank Wave third in our guide to the best small business accounting softwave, below only QuickBooks and Xero.

It also allows you to generate reports on all reconciled records and any discrepancies that need handling. So, if there is a problem with your accounts, Wave Accounting will let you know. Wave also handles general finance management, and with the right third-party integrations, it can support CRM, ecommerce, and email marketing as well.

Wave’s biggest perk is probably its cost, or its lack thereof The only charges you’ll accrue with Wave Accounting’s free plan are typical online payment and transaction fees you pay with any payment processing service. Otherwise, unless you add an optional service like Wave Payroll or Wave Mobile Receipts, Wave Accounting is free to use. Users can connect an unlimited number of bank accounts to Wave Accounting software, ensuring every transaction is accounted for and financial snapshots are up to date.

Wave also offers a free app to help you manage your invoices on the go. With Wave Invoicing, you’ll be able to track, edit, send and pay invoices from any mobile device. In addition, Wave allows you to manage multiple businesses on one free account and uses double-entry accounting, which is ideal for accountants and tax time.

With the scanner built into the mobile app, you can easily scan up to 10 receipts at a time using OCR technology. The receipts are stored on the cloud, which gives you peace of mind since they’re safe and can be accessed anytime. You can invite your accountants, bookkeepers or other business partners to Wave via email and designate their user roles.

Regardless of which you choose, you will have to pay processing fees to accept invoice payments online. Wave also offers paid products for payroll, coaching and mobile receipt scanning. However, like most products with free plans, Wave has its limitations, especially compared to more scalable small-business accounting software. Although Wave’s paid plan offers additional features, it’s still missing some more advanced capabilities, like built-in inventory tracking and audit trails, that growing businesses might need.

Wave’s support options include a Help Center, with resources that can be browsed by categories including Accounting, Invoices & Estimates, and Payments, among many more. Wave’s payroll service’s functionality is defined by whether you live in a state that allows a third-party service to file for you, or if you need to do it yourself. Easily monitor and keep track of what’s going on in your business with the intuitive dashboard. The quick summary allows you to stay in control of your business finances, including a task list of outstanding items. The Wave app is the mobile companion to your desktop experience, helping you keep tabs on your biz— anytime, anywhere.

The right billing software provides high scale order ingestion capabilities coupled with order management to ensure a seamless transition into billing. Xero is feature-rich accounting software with all the best features of Wave, such as payments, invoices, bank connections, payroll, sales tax, reporting, bank reconciliation, and bill and receipt capture. If you’re a startup, micro-business or sole proprietor who doesn’t want to invest in accounting software but needs to keep track of your finances, Wave Accounting is a great option. As long as you’re content with basic features and don’t see yourself expanding in the foreseeable future, you’ll find this completely free, easy-to-use software particularly appealing. Since you don’t have to pay anything to get started, it’s certainly worth trying out.

• Plus, thanks to its integration with the budget-friendly Wave Payroll solution, Wave Accounting can also work well for small businesses with employees.
• The best part of using Wave is, you don’t have to worry about a payment gateway like Stripe.
• For instance, it can help if you want to download transactions from Wave Accounting to Google Sheets and upload the spreadsheet to Zoho Books.
• Once they click it and pay, the funds will appear in your account in 1-2 business days.
• For small businesses any larger than that, however, Wave is limited.

Plus, our features are designed to work together, meaning less to worry about. 21 See EY Global Tax Alert, Saudi Arabia announces 21st wave of Phase 2 e-invoicing integration, dated 3 March 2025. 20 See EY Global Tax Alert, Saudi Arabia announces 20th wave of Phase 2 e-invoicing integration, dated 5 February 2025. 19 See EY Global Tax Alert, Saudi Arabia announces 19th wave of Phase 2 e-invoicing integration, dated 2 January 2025. 18 See EY Global Tax Alert, Saudi Arabia announces 18th wave of Phase 2 e-invoicing integration, dated 3 December 2024.

Schedule everything, from invoice creation and invoice sending, to payment collection and overdue payment wave invoicing reminders. A common issue when invoicing in Microsoft Word, Excel, or other DIY solutions is making calculation errors. Wave’s invoicing software for small businesses removes the worry of making these errors because calculations are done for you, including the taxes. Keep tabs on your cash flow, know who owes you and who you owe, and access important reports to stay in the know—even on-the-go, with our mobile app, the convenient companion to your desktop experience.