# Wave Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is Wave the right Idea Management solution for you? Explore 16 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/146264/Wave/reviews --- Wave 4.6 (16) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/146264/Wave/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Reviews of Wave Ease of use 4.4 Customer Service 4.4 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-16 of 16 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Susan M S. President - Owner Used the software for: 2+ years ### "WAVE Small Business Invoice and Accounting is FREE" October 8, 2017 4.0 It's FREE and great for invoicing! Pros Need I say more, it is FREE. For several years I have used WAVE mainly for invoicing and billing. One of the snazzy features on the invoice is the smart PDF button that allows client the ability to click and pay on the invoice. Quicker pay, better business. Another new add-on WAVE recently added was bank transfer option (ACH) for payments. The fee is 1% instead of the 3-4% for credit cards. WAVE does offer reports but gears toward small businesses or sole proprietors. The accounting features are limited compared to software such as Quickbooks or Xero. To set up the accounting, you'll need to be familiar with accounting. If you fully utilize the software, be sure to review the entries at least weekly to keep up and to ensure accuracy. Wave is set up to integrate your Paypal transactions along with importing your bank account(s). Payroll has been added too with features of direct deposit transactions and timesheets. I recommend using WAVE for small business, freelancers, and sole proprietors due to cost, invoicing, and accounting needs for service oriented businesses. Cons For billing, I wish WAVE offered a column for date and flat rate option. Sometimes the bank importing does not work, therefore, the accounting information may be inaccurate which could be costly for tax preparation and planning. Review Source CD Cliff D. Marketing manager Marketing and Advertising Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Wave accounting software for small business" November 6, 2019 5.0 I'm super happy with wave! I will continue to use it until I absolutely outgrow all the features! Pros This online software has more than everything you'll need for a small business to get going. I especially love how I can automate and send invoices which I can get paid for online via credit card or buy paper check in the mail. It also keeps track of your expenses after you input the data for easy tax preparation. Cons there are one or two tiny bugs that maybe a few times a year are screwy when sending an automated invoice. For example. The person I send my automated invoices to had left the company and updating the email address did not fix the problem. I have to go in and close the customer and then reopen it to enter the new email address. Overall though, not a biggie for a free product. Switched from [Square Payments](https://www.capterra.com/p/170278/Square-Payments-Processing/) Many more features including automated recurring invoices. Review Source JJ Jamie J. Owner/designer Design Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Quickbooks alternative " November 3, 2020 5.0 Works great and happy to keep my reports in order Pros The app functionality and that my accounts sync all in one place Cons Sometimes I have to log back in to my bank account Alternatives considered [QuickBooks Enterprise](https://www.capterra.com/p/174984/QuickBooks-Enterprise/) Reason for choosing Wave No monthly fee Switched from [QuickBooks Enterprise](https://www.capterra.com/p/174984/QuickBooks-Enterprise/) No monthly fees with wave Review Source SK Stephan K. President Real Estate Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Great software" May 12, 2020 4.0 Very stable, great product. I use it for various small companies. Pros Complete package, all you need. Linked into banks, credit cards, etc. All you need. Very easy to get started on bookkeeping. Works great with foreign currency. Cons A bit unflexible, but as it is free, I can work with it (would love more templates for invoices and customizable dashboard). Switched from [QuickBooks Enterprise](https://www.capterra.com/p/174984/QuickBooks-Enterprise/) Quickbooks was too expensive for these small companies. Review Source Kirby C. Business Owner Writing and Editing Used the software for: 2+ years ### "I love Wave because I run my own business, hate accounting, and it does the work for me!! " March 12, 2019 5.0 I own my own business. Wave has saved me every year with its quiet, in the background tracking. Every six months I worry that I should be doing more, paying more attention to my transactions and tracking them, then I open Wave...worried...but I see that Wave has it all under control. With a few clicks, I approve and categorize what I spent money on, what I paid my freelancers, etc. Then, I close it down and don't even think about it again for six months. Wave lets me do what I do best—run my creative business. It handles the scary stuff—accounting and easy tax season. Pros It lets me leave it alone! It does all the work for me! I don't have to check it every day or every month! I can spend a few hours before tax day every year with Wave, and I am super relieved to see it's been following along with my transactions, tracking and logging what I've done, linked the bank accounts, intuitively followed my suggestions on what charges go into what categories, etc. I travel full time too, so I have alot of random business transactions. Wave is perfect for my needs. It's super intuitive, very easy, and it's FREE! Cons There's nothing not to like. Even someone like me, who hates accounting and hates doing taxes, hates checking on this stuff...even I don't mind my tax season with Wave. If it's made me not dread tax season, there's nothing not to love! Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Project Manager Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Wave for accounting" January 11, 2022 4.0 Quick customer support when required, good feature set, outside of them removing the main feature which is why we chose Wave. We are now looking elsewhere. Pros Wave makes accounting and keeping track of your invoices very easy. Interface is friendly and you don't need to be a accountant to get many tasks done. Cons Wave used to have a feature of scanning your receipts, it would then figure out what was on it, and record the items. ie it was from ABC Company and it was $100 + 10 tax. Each item attached to their own category for accounting. This feature, arguably the best feature has been removed :( Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Modeler/Generalist Animation Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Decent record keeping software" February 13, 2019 4.0 I'm an independant contractor and Wave is great for tracking receipts, expenses, bills, and invoices. Of the apps and software I've tried, it's the best of the free options Pros Taking photos in app is really conveinient Cons The file organization leaves quite a bit to be desired. Once files are up and named there's little else you can do with them Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Senior Data Wrangler Computer Software Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Wave by Acuvate" January 5, 2021 4.0 We really needed something that all of the team members can log into and use. This is a great tool for that. Pros The setup was very easy. It is easy to submit ideas and collaborate with the internal team members. Cons We were not a huge fan of the gaming addition as we do not use it. Reason for choosing Wave We wanted something that was easy to use and good for collaboration Review Source JB Jacqueline B. Legal assistant Legal Services Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Amazingly Easy to Use" July 16, 2020 5.0 Overall my experience has been positive I am able to set up my letterhead on my accounts and ease of sending the invoices and sending it to multiple parties at the same time is a bonus Pros I love that this product numbers my invoices sends reminders attaches to my main accounts so many different things I like about this not enough space to write Cons I’m not sure if it was a setting that I did but it sent a reminder out to a client when I didn’t want to reminder sent. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Founder & President Information Services Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Great Accounting Software!" February 4, 2019 5.0 Pros Wave offers a great product! I love that they make receiving payments and tracking accounting so easy and all for free for small businesses. Thanks Wave!! Cons My least favorite feature is the credit card processing fees. Review Source ML Michael L. Therapist Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Wave seems great" January 20, 2020 5.0 I used to be the recipient of a W2 through wave and I never had a problem. Pros I like that the info comes directly from my accounts and I like that it’s free. It seems to offer options I can use when I grow, like payroll or 1099 contractors. Cons I find it a little confusing and I’m not sure where or how to categorize things. They offer a free 20 min consult w a wave advisor. I know they will try to upsell me into something but I don’t mind if they can help. Reason for choosing Wave Mostly because it was free and I could try it without obligation. Review Source AL Alexa L. Business owner Hospitality Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Great for Small Biz" December 4, 2018 4.0 Great for a small biz or start up. The price FAR outweighs the competitors. Pros Wave is a very wallet concious software. Cons I love the auto populate but it always fills in with info that has to be corrected. Not really the time saver it was meant to be Review Source PG Paula G. Massage Therapist Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Excellent free online accounting service for small business owners" March 14, 2018 5.0 Pros Easy and intuitive to setup, connect with your bank, navigate between screens, free for basic features Cons Features like payroll, payments, and premium support cost per month, does not allow for inventory management. Review Source SD Sasheena D. Communications and Admin Officer Accounting Used the software for: I used a free trial ### "Wave is the Wave :)" April 22, 2021 5.0 Very good Pros Its ease of use. Very easy to understand how to use the features Cons The placement of the features can be tweaked a but so they can be a bit easier to find Review Source ML Maya L. Leasing Agent Real Estate Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Wave" November 22, 2019 5.0 Haven't used that long, but so far it's been great and has definitely made keeping track of financial stuff much easier and more organized! Pros Love Wave. Just starting to use this software for our non-profit. It keeps track of all of our accounting and money info. It is free and simple to use. Perfect for our small non-profit (or small business). Cons So far it's been working great and we've been able to do everything we need. Haven't needed to do anything too complicated yet though. Review Source LE Larissa E. Lead Generation Freelancer Internet Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Request payments with ease!" July 20, 2020 5.0 I live designed my invoices with Wave and knowing that my client will receive a clear and easy way to send a payment! Pros I loved how easy Wave was to use! It helped me create professional invoices and I loved that they didn't take out a large percentage for a service fee. Wonderful experience! Cons It took me a little bit of time to setup and I was worried it would cause the invoice I sent out to be delayed, but the next morning it all was quickly approved and I had no issues! Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Related categories [Idea Management](https://www.capterra.com/idea-management-software/)