Wave Accounting: Perfect for the small business and aspiring entrepreneur!
Overall Satisfaction with Wave Accounting
I am personally using Wave Accounting (free version) as the primary accounting app to run the backend of my business. I use the program to create, send, and track invoices to my clients, and I use the link to my bank account to track my expenses, profit and loss, sales tax, and general income vs. expenditures. Having a piece of software this comprehensive that is completely free is a pure lifesaver. I am on a generally tight budget, so this feature solves a huge problem for me and my company!
Pros
- Providing a comprehensive piece of accounting software for free
- Invoicing + receiving payments--super easy and intuitive on both fronts
Cons
- Bank account linking: They are working diligently to correct this, but it broke when they updated their system. Probably could have tested more banks prior to rolling out the upgrade
- If you don't fully track and reconcile your books, you'll see carry over numbers--needs a better way to handle this.
- Free is the very best ROI one can get.
- The software was super simple to implement, so not much time taken--another ROI plus.
- QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, QuickBooks Desktop Pro, QuickBooks Online, Sage Business Cloud X3 (formerly Sage ERP X3), Sage CRM and MRI Residential Management
Circling back to the "free" thing again. For a small business, I am getting for free what QuickBooks Online charges no less than $40/month. Moving away from "free," these other solutions I listed above do more, and these would be the right solutions for the right needs. All of the QuickBooks versions include very deep levels of reporting and levels of management that far outweigh the much simpler Wave Accounting platform. Again, Wave Accounting is entry-level after all! The Sage programs run as part of a full-blown ERP solution--generally used for manufacturing, wholesale distribution, and the like--so very advanced and for much larger companies. I selected Wave Accounting because my personal business needs were very basic--invoicing customers, tracking expenses, and sales tax, etc.--and this free solution afforded me all of these things.
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