5 Wave Accounting Alternatives for Small Businesses in 2025

I like QuickBooks because it’s one of the most popular accounting software options in the US, making it a trusted choice for many businesses. As one of our best small business accounting software, it is more robust than Wave in several aspects, offering a broader range of features and capabilities. What really makes it my best overall pick is its flexibility and versatility, allowing it to adapt seamlessly to the needs of different industries.

Standout Features

• Vast network of ProAdvisors: Easily hire a CPA or bookkeeper within QuickBooks’ ProAdvisor network. If ever you need industry expertise, you can find accounting firms and independent accountants offering QuickBooks services catering to your industry.
• Class and location tracking: Get detailed categorization of income and expenses by class and location. You can use this if you want more granularity in financial reporting.
• Outstanding bank reconciliation: Enjoy flexible bank reconciliation options, allowing you to connect live bank feeds, reconcile accounts manually, or import bank statements. You can also track timing differences, which is absent in Wave’s bank reconciliation.

Use Cases

• Project tracking: Track income, expenses, and time specific to individual projects, allowing you to monitor profitability and manage resources effectively.
• Inventory management: Automatically update stock levels, set reorder points, and calculate COGS.
• Mileage tracking: Automatically track and log your business-related mileage using the mobile app to simplify tax deductions or reimbursement claims.

QuickBooks Online outshines Wave in most aspects of our case study, except for pricing, as it’s not one of the most affordable options in this guide. If cost is a concern for choosing QuickBooks Online, I highly recommend ZipBooks as another alternative to Wave. It offers the same simplicity as Wave except that ZipBooks’ paid plans come with more premium features like more granularity in computing invoices.

That said, while QuickBooks Online comes with a higher price tag, it delivers outstanding features, as demonstrated by its strong scores in A/R, A/P, reporting, and project accounting. If ever you need bookkeeping assistance, QuickBooks has a large network of ProAdvisors who can help you with weekly or monthly bookkeeping or create financial statements. For those seeking overall value, I’d say QuickBooks Online’s price is well-justified.

Wave lacks built-in time tracking, something FreshBooks has. This makes it easy to log billable hours and turn them into invoices—a must-have for service-based businesses. I also appreciate FreshBooks’ robust project accounting tools, allowing you to track project profitability and collaborate with clients more effectively.

Another standout feature is its advanced mobile app, which lets you send invoices, track expenses, and log mileage while on the go. However, similar to Wave, FreshBooks lacks inventory management. If you’re looking for software with inventory features, I highly recommend Xero or Zoho Books. Both have strong inventory features that’ll fit your needs.

Standout Features

• Advanced client collaboration: Share files, notes, and project updates directly with clients. This feature works well with project accounting, allowing you to easily collaborate with clients while accomplishing projects and deliverables.
• Mobile app with mileage tracking: Track mileage, expenses, and invoices seamlessly while on the go.
• Customizable proposals: Create detailed proposals with estimates, project timelines, and deliverables. FreshBooks makes it easy for users to create proposals in just a few clicks. This feature also works well with its project accounting functionality.
• Time tracking: Track time per project or task and immediately include time to the client billing. This is great for those with clients billing by the hour.

Use Cases

• Freelancers managing billable hours: Track the time spent on tasks for each client and turn those hours into invoices with ease.
• Small businesses handling project-based billing: Businesses working on projects can monitor budgets, expenses, and revenue to ensure projects remain profitable.
• Entrepreneurs automating recurring payments: Users with regular clients can set up automated invoices and payment reminders to save time and ensure steady cash flow.

Compared with Wave, FreshBooks is ahead in most aspects. Given that it offers more premium features, like built-in time tracking and project accounting tools, I recommend it as a Wave alternative for service-based businesses. Though Wave can also handle a little bit of project accounting, like creating estimates and invoices, it lacks the granularity of features such as integrating items and services into project accounting.

Similar to Wave, FreshBooks didn’t get a rating in inventory because it doesn’t have inventory management features. If you’re a merchandising business, I recommend picking Xero instead. It has outstanding inventory features that let you keep track of cost and stock levels.

Wave lacks inventory functionality, whereas Xero’s inventory management is a standout feature. It allows businesses to track inventory movement effectively, making it an excellent alternative to Wave for merchandising and retail operations. Within Xero, you can track inventory cost and stock levels and even integrate it with ecommerce software like Shopify and BigCommerce.

Additionally, it offers competitive pricing, including a six-month 95% discount for new subscribers. And even if the discount period is over, Xero’s pricing is still affordable if compared to other paid plans in this list.

Standout Features

• Inventory tracking: Track the cost and quantity of inventory, monitor stock movement, and get insights into inventory on hand. These are things you can’t do with Wave.
• Advanced A/P: Convert purchase orders to bills and track payments to independent contractors. These functions are unavailable in Wave.
• Project tracking: Enjoy tools to monitor project-specific income, expenses, and profitability, helping you evaluate business performance effectively. Wave lacks this feature, so Xero ensures better cost control and resource allocation for service-based industries. Users can link invoices and expenses directly to projects, simplifying financial management.

Use Cases

• Retail and merchandising: Benefit from Xero’s ability to track inventory costs and quantities, a crucial feature missing in Wave.
• Entrepreneurs needing automated expense tracking: Small business owners can rely on Xero’s automated receipt capture to streamline expense tracking, a function Wave doesn’t match.
• Ecommerce businesses: Xero’s inventory tracking is perfect for ecommerce operations, as it automatically calculates COGS and maintains a comprehensive customer list. It also allows you to monitor customer payments and orders, making it highly suitable for managing online transactions efficiently.

Xero demonstrates strong capabilities in inventory and A/P. It scores perfectly in inventory basics and A/P basics, offering essential features like tracking inventory quantities and costs, monitoring unpaid bills, and managing vendor relationships. In comparison, Wave performed great in A/P but missed on criteria related to inventory.

In all respects, Xero is better than Wave, and its features are even comparable with QuickBooks Online, my top-recommended Wave alternative. In my opinion, the only reason why you’d rather go with QuickBooks is its vast network of ProAdvisors in the US—that is if you intend to outsource bookkeeping.

I recommend Zoho Books as a Wave alternative because of the powerful mobile app. You can perform basic accounting functions within the app, making it ideal for business owners who are on the go. It even works well with iOS as it has dedicated widgets and Apple Watch integration.

Compared with Wave Pro, Zoho Books paid plans offer more features. But if you look at the free versions of both, Zoho Books Free still takes the lead. For instance, Zoho Books Free is good for three users and comes with a lot of integrations.

Standout Features

• Comprehensive client and vendor management: Enjoy tools to manage customer and vendor details seamlessly—tools that are not robust in Wave. Zoho Books allows you to maintain detailed records, including payment terms, transaction history, and contact information, for better relationship management.
• Inventory management: Track inventory levels, costs, and reorder points, things that Wave doesn’t support. With Zoho Books, you can automate inventory updates and receive notifications when stock levels run low, ensuring smooth operations.

Use Cases

• Small businesses managing finances on the go: Zoho Books’ mobile app allows business owners to send invoices, record expenses, and access reports from anywhere, unlike Wave’s limited app capabilities. This is especially beneficial for entrepreneurs needing to stay productive while traveling or away from their desk.
• Freelancers logging billable hours: The time tracking feature lets freelancers log hours worked via mobile app and turn them into invoices seamlessly, a functionality missing in Wave. It also helps track time per project, ensuring accurate billing for clients.

Zoho Books stands out in my assessment for its comprehensive range of features, from basic to advanced, catering to more complex business needs. While Wave focuses on simplicity, which suits smaller or less demanding operations, Zoho Books outperforms it in areas like banking, A/R, and project accounting. It’s the better choice if you require detailed bank reconciliations, a customer portal for invoicing concerns, or robust project accounting tools.

That said, its low usability score stems from its smaller network of Zoho Advisors, but it’s still ahead of Wave. If outsourcing bookkeeping is a priority, QuickBooks Online’s extensive network of third-party providers offers far greater flexibility and convenience.

ZipBooks is a great low-cost alternative to Wave, even when you compare it with Wave Pro at $16 monthly. ZipBooks offers features that make it stand out, such as built-in time tracking, task management tools, and automatic transaction categorization, all of which streamline bookkeeping and save time. At its free and even paid tiers, ZipBooks provides better value with unlimited invoicing, detailed reporting tools, and a clean, user-friendly interface.

Unlike Wave Pro, which focuses mainly on invoicing and payments, ZipBooks goes a step further by including advanced reporting like business health scores, making it easier to evaluate overall financial performance. If you’re looking for a budget-friendly solution that offers more than the basics, ZipBooks is the smarter choice.

Standout Features

• Business health scores: Get this unique feature that evaluates financial performance, offering actionable insights. It helps you understand your business’s financial standing at a glance and make informed decisions.
• Automatic transaction categorization: Simplify bookkeeping by auto-categorizing expenses and income. This feature reduces manual data entry and improves bookkeeping accuracy, especially for busy entrepreneurs.

Use Cases

• Freelancers needing time tracking: ZipBooks’ built-in time tracking allows freelancers to log hours worked and generate accurate invoices for clients, ensuring they get paid for every minute spent on a project.
• Small businesses with high invoicing needs: With unlimited invoicing even in the free plan, ZipBooks is perfect for small businesses needing to manage frequent client billing without additional costs.
• Budget-conscious startups: The affordable pricing and robust free plan make ZipBooks an excellent option for startups needing essential accounting tools without stretching their budgets.

ZipBooks scored slightly above average overall in my assessment, even with its Sophisticated plan. Its paid plans include advanced features like class and location tracking, which are absent in Wave.

The platform also outperforms Wave in key areas like reporting and A/R, offering features like business health scores and task management—things Wave lacks. If you find Wave Pro limiting, ZipBooks provides a more robust yet affordable alternative.