Wave and QuickBooks are two popular platforms for invoicing and accounting for small businesses. QuickBooks is a mainstay that’s dominated the industry for decades, while Wave is a relative newcomer responding to the needs of modern freelancers and micro-businesses that don’t need the complex services QuickBooks offers. In this review of Wave vs. QuickBooks, we’ll look at how the services stack up, including their features, pros and cons, and which kinds of businesses can benefit from each.
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QuickBooks
$15 per month (for the first 3-months, then $30 per month)
30 days
Expert help, Invoicing, maximize tax deductions, track mileage
Wave vs. QuickBooks: At a Glance
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. As a more modern platform, Wave has a simpler and easier-to-navigate user interface (UI) while QuickBooks offers an array of features and tools that require a significant learning curve to navigate.
Wave
Starting price
Free invoicing and accounting
Key features
Integrated payments and business bank account
Best for
Small businesses and startups on a budget
Free invoicing and accounting
Integrated payments and business bank account
Small businesses and startups on a budget
Wave is an up-and-coming contender in invoicing and payments software for small businesses. It’s primarily devoted to freelancers and small single-owner businesses, offering a single free plan that lets you send invoices, track expenses, receive online payments and run financial reports.
The platform’s design is intuitive, so it’s easy for anyone to set up and use. 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.
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. It pares down design and services to show you just what you need as a solo business owner: invoicing, online payments and straightforward accounting that lists income and expenses. You can add payroll and a bank account if you want more out of the platform, and these integrate seamlessly with the accounting experience.
- No startup or monthly fees
- Unlimited users
- Intuitive design
- Optional Wave Money bank account
- No native time-tracking feature
- Can’t schedule invoices
- Not as comprehensive as Quickbooks
QuickBooks Online
Starting price
$30 per month
(after $15 per month introductory period)
Key features
Online invoicing, time tracking, expense tracking and integrated payments
Best for
Businesses with more complex accounting needs
$30 per month
(after $15 per month introductory period)
Online invoicing, time tracking, expense tracking and integrated payments
Businesses with more complex accounting needs
QuickBooks by Intuit is a mainstay in online invoicing and accounting for small businesses. Its suite of tools offers accounting, invoicing, expense tracking, time tracking, tax reporting, employee and contractor payroll and more.
QuickBooks offers a robust set of tools that far outweigh Wave’s capabilities—but that could be a drawback for small, simple businesses. The platform offers enough features and add-ons to grow with your business, but it may be more complex than you need if you’re a one-person shop.
Among QuickBooks product offerings are add-ons for payroll, a bank account, advanced accounting, employee time tracking and e-commerce inventory management. QuickBooks expense tracking lets you automatically capture information from receipts and track miles, features that make QuickBooks more flexible for a variety of businesses.
- Vast array of native business tools available
- Expense and mileage tracking and receipt tracker
- Tax estimates and reporting
- Optional QuickBooks Checking account
- Room to grow with your business
- No free version
- More expensive than Wave
- Complex ecosystem to navigate
How the Services Stack Up
| Wave | QuickBooks Online | |
|---|---|---|
|
Starting Price
|
Free
|
$15 per month introductory rate, then $30 per month
|
|
Invoicing
|
Create customized invoice templates with branding, save client and service details, create recurring invoices
|
Create customized invoice templates with branding, save client and service details, create recurring invoices
|
|
Time Tracking
|
N/A
|
Track billable hours to add to invoices
|
|
Expense Tracking
|
Automated expense tracking
|
Automated expense tracking, receipt capture and mileage tracking
|
|
Payments
|
Clients can pay invoices via ACH, credit/debit card or Apple Pay
|
Clients can pay invoices via ACH, credit/debit card or Apple Pay
|
|
Payroll
|
Add-on for $35 plus $6 per employee/contractor per month
|
Add-on starting at $22.50 plus $5 per employee/contractor per month during introductory period, then $45 plus $5 per employee/contractor per month
|
|
Banking
|
Optional to open an integrated checking account for free
|
Optional to open an integrated checking account for free
|
|
Learn More
|
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Read Reviews
|
Invoicing
Both Wave and QuickBooks offer solid invoicing features and capabilities for small businesses.
Wave invoicing is better suited for freelancers and businesses of one, with a user-friendly interface and basic features that let you record client details and save product or service information to easily build invoices each time. Wave doesn’t include a time-tracking feature, so you’ll have to track hours separately and enter them manually for hourly work.
QuickBooks invoicing is built to scale with more complex businesses, including construction and other service businesses. It offers time tracking and item-based pricing, along with the features you can expect from most invoicing software: customized templates, client database and recurring invoices.
Time Tracking
Wave doesn’t include an integrated time tracker for hour-based pricing, a feature that’s fairly standard among other invoicing software. If you charge by the hour with most clients, QuickBooks is a better fit.
Expense Tracking
Both Wave and QuickBooks include a section for tracking business expenses, which you can connect to your bank account and credit cards to automatically import transaction details.
QuickBooks includes an option to add on accounting, which adds bill management, inventory and job costing capabilities in addition to expense tracking. The platform also includes receipt capture and mileage tracking, so you can automatically gather all the information you need to claim expenses for tax purposes in one place.
Payments
Wave and QuickBooks facilitate online payments identically. 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.
Transaction fees apply on both platforms, and all payment methods are optional. You can disable payments and let clients pay another way, such as through a paper check or PayPal.
Wave deposits money into your connected bank account within two business days of payment. 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.
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). 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.
Payroll
Both Wave and QuickBooks have the option to add payroll capabilities to your account for an additional fee.
Through Wave, you can onboard and pay employees and independent contractors via direct deposit. 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. In self-serve states, the cost is $20 plus $6 per employee or contractor per month. It doesn’t manage employee benefits.
QuickBooks payroll includes employee and contractor payroll, HR and benefits, employee time tracking and automatic payroll tax filing and payment. Payroll pricing depends on your QuickBooks plan and runs between $35 to $77.50 per month plus $4 or $8 per employee or contractor.
Banking
Both Wave and QuickBooks give you the option to open a free checking account integrated with your invoicing account. You can receive online payments directly into this account, so you can get paid faster and avoid issues related to connecting an external bank account.
Wave Money is a free business bank account that integrates with your Wave account for easy bookkeeping and faster payments. 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.
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). You’ll pay no monthly fee and have no balance minimum.
Featured Partners
1
Xero
Reg. Price: $15 per month; Special Offer: 75% off all plans for 3 months until February 13
Yes
30 days
2
Sage Intacct
Yes
Yes
Yes
3
Melio
Yes
Yes
Yes
4
QuickBooks
$15 per month (for the first 3-months, then $30 per month)
30 days
Expert help, Invoicing, maximize tax deductions, track mileage
Bottom Line
Wave and QuickBooks both offer standard features and capabilities for invoicing for small businesses. Wave’s platform is simpler and designed for easy use for freelancers and businesses of one, while QuickBooks is designed to cover complex business needs and grow as your business grows.
If you’re a freelancer or other solo service provider, Wave is a better option. It’s free to use, and the clear user interface makes it easy for anyone to adopt and navigate, so you can spend more time offering your services and less on managing your business.
If you’re a small business owner offering an in-person service or working with a bookkeeper or accountant, QuickBooks is a standard choice and may be worth the subscription fee. It meets a more diverse set of business needs, and has become standard among accountants, so your team won’t have a learning curve getting started.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best payroll software for small businesses?
The best payroll software include OnPay for small businesses looking for a user-friendly solution, Gusto for startups and businesses with both employees and contractors, and ADP Run for a highly customizable payroll and benefits management platform. Learn more about the best payroll software for small businesses.
Is Wave good for payroll?
Wave is a well-rated payroll solution that offers a self-serve employee portal, time tracking and payroll processing for both employees and contractors. However, it doesn’t automate payroll or offer a mailing service for paychecks. Get more information about how it stacks up with our Wave Payroll review.
What’s the difference between QuickBooks Pro and QuickBooks Premier?
QuickBooks Pro and Premier are two different plans available that offer very similar feature sets leading to much confusion. 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. For more information, check out our guide on QuickBooks Pro vs. Premier.
What are some benefits of billing software?
Using billing software helps to eliminate some or all potential human errors by automating several processes that are normally done manually. This also saves time. Automated billing, invoicing and other processes also help improve project and client management. Your billing and invoicing processes are also more streamlined and bills are processed and sent out in a timely manner.
What features should I look for in accounting software?
The best accounting software programs all provide similar features, so when considering which one is best for your business, you need to consider which features are the most important to your situation. This will help you decide which accounting software meets your needs best. Certain software is best for actions like accounts payable (A/P) and banking and cash management while others are geared more for retail companies, offering cost tracking, inventory management and collecting and submitting sales tax. Other features you may want to consider include whether the software has a mobile app, how good its customer service is and how well it does with accounts receivable (A/R) and financial reporting.
Is accounting software secure?
Today’s leading accounting platforms offer standard security features like data encryption, secure credential tokenization and more. While human error will always play some role in security breaches, you can be confident in your accounting platform when it comes to keeping your information safe.
