Wave
Free accounting software for freelancers and small businesses
About Wave
Wave runs free double-entry bookkeeping, invoicing, and expense tracking with no trial clock and no feature gates on the core product. Day-to-day, you connect bank accounts, categorize transactions, scan receipts with the mobile app, and send invoices with automated payment reminders. Financial reports — P&L, balance sheet, cash flow — are available without upgrading. Payment processing and payroll cost extra, but the accounting itself is permanently free. Wave fits freelancers, sole proprietors, and service-based micro businesses with straightforward books: one currency, no inventory, no project billing. Accountants can recommend it to clients who are currently on spreadsheets and cannot justify $30–$50 a month for QuickBooks Simple Start or Xero Starter. The ceiling is low. Wave has no inventory management, no project tracking, and no multi-currency support. The integration library is thin — PayPal, Stripe, Etsy, and Shoeboxed, nothing else of note. Businesses adding staff, selling products, or billing international clients will migrate to QuickBooks or Xero within a year or two. Wave is a starting point, not a long-term platform for a growing operation.
Best for
Freelancers and micro businesses needing free core accounting
Key Features
- Free double-entry bookkeeping with no trial limits
- AI-powered receipt scanning and data extraction
- Automated bank transaction categorization
- Professional invoicing with payment follow-ups
- Integrated payment processing and payroll add-ons
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Double-entry bookkeeping is permanently free — no trial period, no locked reports, no seat limit for the owner.
- Receipt scanning via the mobile app extracts vendor, date, and amount without manual entry.
- Bank transaction categorization runs automatically after connecting accounts, reducing daily data entry.
- Invoicing includes automated payment reminders and a client portal, matching features that cost money in FreshBooks.
- P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow statements generate instantly with no upgrade required.
- Payment processing integrates directly into invoices, so clients can pay by card or bank transfer without a third-party link.
Cons
- No inventory tracking — any business selling physical goods needs QuickBooks, Xero, or a dedicated inventory tool.
- Single currency only — one international client billing in euros or CAD breaks the workflow.
- Payroll is a paid add-on at $20 per month plus $6 per employee, available only in the US and Canada.
- Integration ecosystem is nearly nonexistent — no native Shopify, HubSpot, or Gusto connections without workarounds.
- Customer support is chatbot-first; live support requires a paid plan, which creates real problems when something breaks.
- No project tracking or time billing, so service firms billing by the hour need a separate tool like Toggl or Harvest alongside Wave.
Ledger Brief Take
Stands alone as the only truly free double-entry accounting platform without trial periods or feature gates, making it a legitimate QuickBooks alternative for micro businesses. While the AI receipt scanning and categorization work well enough for basic needs, businesses requiring inventory management, multi-currency, or extensive integrations will hit the platform's ceiling quickly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions accountants ask about Wave.
Is Wave actually free, or does the free plan expire?
The core accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning are permanently free with no trial period. Wave earns revenue from payment processing fees (2.9% + 60 cents per card transaction) and payroll subscriptions. The free accounting features do not expire and are not downgraded after a set period.
How does Wave compare to QuickBooks Simple Start?
QuickBooks Simple Start costs around $30 per month and adds sales tax tracking, mileage logging, and a much larger integration ecosystem. Wave is free but lacks inventory, multi-currency, and project tracking. For a freelancer with under $500K revenue and no employees, Wave covers the basics. A growing product or multi-client firm will hit QuickBooks within 12 months.
Can an accountant or bookkeeper access a client's Wave account?
Yes. Wave allows the account owner to invite an accountant as a collaborator with view or edit access. There is no separate accountant portal or bulk client dashboard, which makes managing multiple Wave clients less efficient than the QuickBooks ProAdvisor or Xero Partner console.
Does Wave support multi-currency invoicing?
No. Wave operates in a single base currency per account. You can write a number in a foreign currency on an invoice manually, but there is no exchange rate conversion, no foreign currency bank account, and no unrealized gains tracking. One invoice to a UK client in GBP ends Wave's usefulness for that business.
How secure is financial data stored in Wave?
Wave uses 256-bit SSL encryption and stores data on servers hosted by Google Cloud. The company is PCI-DSS compliant for payment processing. Two-factor authentication is available. Wave was acquired by H&R Block in 2019, so it operates under a larger corporate security framework, though the product itself has not materially changed since acquisition.
What happens to my data if I stop using Wave?
You can export transactions as CSV and download PDF reports before closing your account. Wave does not offer a direct export to QuickBooks QBO format, so migrating to QuickBooks requires manual import or a third-party migration service. Plan the transition before you exceed Wave's capabilities, not after.