Reports are important for managers, owners, and decision-makers. The software must have enough reports that can be generated with a few clicks. Moreover, we’d also like to see customization options to enable users to generate reports based on what they want to see. While not built in, Xero has an integration with BILL (formerly Bill.com) and some useful tools like Google Sheets and BlueCamroo, but all other integrations must be made through Zapier. If you have a Zapier subscription, you can integrate a lot of other apps—but it will be more difficult than having a deep integration, such as those offered in other accounting software.
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However, if it fails, it doesn’t allow you to manually match the imported transaction to the manually inputted transaction. You’ll need to watch for this carefully and then delete the imported transaction to avoid duplication. It’s not ideal, but Wave does clearly indicate imported transactions that have to be dealt with. The primary problem is that the reconciliation doesn’t allow for entries in the books that have not yet cleared the bank, like outstanding checks.
Enter some basic information about your business’s accounting software needs and we’ll send you up to five personalized quotes for absolutely free. 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. Check out our comparisons among these top three accounting software options to find the right fit for your business.
Accounting
- The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication.
- FreshBooks is an affordable option for freelancers and small service-based businesses that operate mostly on the go.
- Deposit times may vary due to processing cutoff times, third party delays, or risk reviews.
- By default, Wave sets up your chart of accounts based on common accounts and categories, but you can add other accounts if you need to.
On the positive side, Wave does integrate with its own payroll and payment processing services, which are crucial functions for most businesses. For more information, check out our Wave Payroll review and what is variable cost learn why variable costs are important to a business Wave Payments review. NerdWallet’s accounting software ratings favor products that are easy to use, reasonably priced, have a robust feature set and can grow with your business. The best accounting software received top marks when evaluated across 10 categories and more than 30 subcategories.
The Fit Small Business accounting team developed an internal case study to evaluate accounting software across 15 different categories based on a common set of facts and functions. The graph below shows how Wave scores across each category compared with two of its competitors, QuickBooks Online Plus and Zoho Books. I provide a detailed explanation of the scores in the Features section below. I have an extensive history of reviewing small business accounting software. Similar to other reputable cloud-based accounting software products, Wave encrypts the data you share with it and monitors its server facilities 24/7.
Does Wave have a feature for tracking sales tax?
Ease of use gets the highest weight in this case study because we want to give more credit to easy accounting software. For this section, we considered customer service, support network, and a subjective expert opinion score. Users must have easy access to customer service channels in case of problems, questions, or assistance. Wave’s inventory management feature is very basic, which is why it lost points in my evaluation. So, if you’re a product-based business, you should consider alternatives like QuickBooks Online or Xero. You can add a product or service, but not the quantity purchased or sold.
Unlike competitors, Wave doesn’t offer many advanced features to increase the software’s functionality. It’s also missing an audit trail and third-party integrations. While Wave has a lot to offer when it comes to invoicing, know that it’s still slightly less automated than some competitors.