Wave vs QuickBooks: Key Differences & What’s Best in 2021

Wave and QuickBooks Online are two of the most popular accounting software brands for small businesses. The most distinct difference between Wave and QuickBooks is that Wave is free and QuickBooks isn’t. QuickBooks is also one of the most comprehensive financial tools on the market, whereas Wave is a better choice if you are aiming for simplicity over complexity.

Designed for microbusinesses and sole proprietors, Wave makes it easy to keep track of your finances. The $0 price tag is particularly appealing, but it also offers solid accounting capability. For those who see themselves working solo for the foreseeable future, Wave offers all kinds of advantages. QuickBooks Online works for small businesses, sole proprietors, and growing businesses, offering a single-user plan that can be scaled up to a plan suitable for 25 users―ideal for growing businesses.

When to Use Wave

Wave’s accounting and invoicing software is free and unlimited, which makes it an attractive alternative to QuickBooks. It gives you immediate access to all features after signing up and doesn’t require the activation of a trial or demo to get started. The signup process is seamless and doesn’t require a credit card. It is built for businesses with a limited number of employees and is also ideal for freelancers, consultants, designers, writers, and small agencies.

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When to Use QuickBooks

QuickBooks provides a more comprehensive accounting solution than Wave, with features like advanced reporting, inventory management, and mileage tracking. While Wave is built for very small businesses, QuickBooks has no upper limit and thrives as you scale and seek out more advanced features. It is difficult to find something that QuickBooks cannot do, especially considering Intuit’s range of other products that will integrate with it, such as QuickBooks Commerce for retail businesses.

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Wave vs QuickBooks at a Glance

For more details, you can read our full reviews of Wave and QuickBooks Online.

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Which Accounting Software Is Right for You?

Wave vs QuickBooks: Pricing

While QuickBooks has pricing plans for anyone from the self-employed to a larger business with employees, Wave’s most basic services are free. It is only when you opt for additional services like credit card processing, bank payments, and payroll that fees are added. See below for a detailed description of both software’s prices.

Wave Pricing

Wave is a cloud-based accounting program, which offers free access to its accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning software. However, for items such as credit card and payroll processing, it charges fees similar to paid software. See below for more information:

• Accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning: $0
• Credit card processing: 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction for most cards, 3.4% + 30 cents per transaction for American Express
• Bank payments: $1 per transaction
• Wave Advisors: Starts at $79 per month for assisted bookkeeping
• Payroll: Starts at $20 plus $6 per employee, per month, in self-service states, and starts at $35 plus $6 per employee per month in states where federal and state payroll taxes can be filed electronically (Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin).

QuickBooks Pricing

QuickBooks offers a choice of five different plans, which range from the most basic of services with the Self-Employed option to the Advanced option, which is intended for businesses with a large number of users. Below are the prices for each plan:

• Self-Employed: $15 per month for one user
• Simple Start: $25 per month for one user
• Essentials: $40 per month, which includes three users
• Plus: $70 per month, which includes five users
• Advanced: $150 per month, which includes 25 users
• QuickBooks Payments: No monthly fee when processing with QuickBooks Online, and transaction fees range from 1% for automated clearing house (ACH) bank transfers and 2.4% to 3.4% for credit cards.
• QuickBooks Payroll: This service has three tiers of pricing: Core for $45 per month plus $4 per employee, per month, Premium for $75 per month plus $8 per employee, per month, and Elite for $125 per month plus $10 per employee, per month.
• QuickBooks Live: This is an online bookkeeping service that connects small businesses with trusted QuickBooks-certified virtual bookkeepers. The cost of QuickBooks Live is in addition to the cost of the software.
  • Low volume: $200 per month for up to $25,000 in monthly expenses
  • Medium volume: $400 per month for up to $150,000 in monthly expenses
  • High volume: $600 per month for more than $150,000 in monthly expenses

Takeaway: While Wave has the benefit of being free for basic functions like accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning, if you have more elaborate needs, such as accepting credit cards or processing payroll, there are additional charges. QuickBooks has five different pricing plans, which depend on the size and needs of your company. However, the main downside of QuickBooks is its cost. Wave does almost everything that QuickBooks Online Simple Start does for free. Since the minimum annual amount that you’ll pay for Simple Start is $300, that is a necessary fiscal consideration for a business owner.

Wave vs QuickBooks: Features

Takeaway: Wave offers a variety of features, including accounting, invoicing, payments, payroll, and receipts, with QuickBooks Online offering much of the same along with a few additional functions like full-service payroll. One of Wave’s best features is its invoicing capability, particularly its custom invoices, which allow you to add your logo or your company’s accent color to any invoice that you create. It also has a variety of templates that you can use, and you can set up an online payment option for customers easily.

Like Wave, QuickBooks Online allows you to track and manage your income and expenses, import receipt images, accept online payments, and connect your banking information. You can also pay your vendors with a check in QuickBooks Online, which is something you can’t do in Wave. Wave also doesn’t give you the ability to manage and track inventory, track time to bill to clients, or file sales tax returns.

Wave vs QuickBooks: Ease of Use

Both Wave and QuickBooks offer easy setup and system navigation, and both offer mobile apps for iOS and Android users. However, Wave isn’t a complete mobile app that is comparable to QuickBooks as there are two apps available for download―one for invoicing and another that allows you to capture receipts. Unlike QuickBooks, which offers a full range of functions, no other functions are available with Wave’s apps.

Wave Ease of Use

The Wave Launchpad (pictured below) is exactly that―the place where new users can set up their business. Choose one of the options that are displayed on the screen, and you’ll be guided through the entire setup process. To get started, you’ll need to enter the information that is absolutely necessary. All product features can be accessed from the vertical menu bar to the left of the main screen, and help can be accessed on any screen of the application. There is also an option to set up a separate account for personal finances.

1. Left menu bar: You can access most tasks from the left menu bar, including creating estimates and invoices, entering bills, and reconciling accounts.
2. File taxes: Take care of your tax filing via Wave’s exclusive integration with Block Advisors.
3. Connect your bank account: Automate your bookkeeping by importing transactions electronically.
4. Reports: Gain access to business insights at a glance with your Cash Flow and Profit & Loss reports. Wave currently only offers 12 reports, with a limited capability to customize the report.

QuickBooks Ease of Use

Below you will find a snapshot of the QuickBooks Online Dashboard. We have also provided some details of the information that you can expect to see on this page:

1. Left menu bar: You can access most tasks from the left menu bar, including creating invoices, generating reports, and tracking mileage.
2. Cash flow: This gives a quick summary of money going in and out of the business during a designated time period.
3. Invoices: View both paid and unpaid invoices and generate reports based on a particular date range.
4. Expenses: View total expenses for a designated time period, along with your top three categories.
5. Profit & loss: View your cash flow summary at a glance, which is customizable for a certain time period.
6. Bank accounts: Check your available bank balances directly from the dashboard. Connect QuickBooks to your online accounts and view both the bank and QuickBooks balances.

Most transactions in QuickBooks Online can be initiated in a variety of ways. The quickest way is to click on the New button above the left menu bar. A screenshot is shown below:

Takeaway: Both Wave and QuickBooks Online are relatively easy to use, with instinctive navigation and solid accounting capability.

Wave vs QuickBooks: Integrations

Wave offers integration with PayPal, Etsy, Stripe, and Shopify, along with numerous customer relationship management (CRM) tools and email marketing apps. There are also more than 1,000 apps that you can integrate with Wave through Zapier, which works to connect web apps automatically.

QuickBooks Online offers integration with hundreds of apps, including expense tracking apps as well as invoicing, time tracking, human resources (HR), CRM, and e-commerce apps. There’s also an Apps category on the navigation bar that allows you to connect QuickBooks Online to any available apps immediately.

Wave Integrations

You can connect Wave with other apps that you use every day to automate your business and manage your financial transactions in the easiest way possible. There is currently one integration, a Google Sheets add-on, that allows you to generate key financial reports. There are also several apps that can be connected using Zapier. These include:

• Payments and e-commerce: PayPal, Shopify, Square, Stripe, and Etsy
• Appointment scheduling: Calendly and Acuity Scheduling
• Customer relationship management: HubSpot, Pipedrive, and Harvest
• Email marketing: Mailchimp, Automational, and SendPulse
• Business management and automation: Slack, ShipStation, FormStack Document, Approval Donkey, eEndorsements, and Google Sheets

QuickBooks Integrations

There are currently four integrations that are accessible directly through QuickBooks―QuickBooks Payroll, QuickBooks Payments, QuickBooks Commerce, and QuickBooks Time. There is also a large selection of third-party apps that integrate with the software. These can be integrated through Zapier, but this is rarely necessary because of the software’s extensive collection of full integrations. See below for more information:

• QuickBooks Payroll: Click on QuickBooks Online from within the software and access full payroll functionality.
• QuickBooks Payments: Invoice customers with built-in payment processing via credit, debit, and ACH bank transfers.
• QuickBooks Time: Use the QuickBooks Time mobile app to track time and then bill it to customers or use it for payroll within QuickBooks Online. Time has many advanced features, which include GPS tracking of employees and timeclock terminals with facial recognition.
• QuickBooks Commerce: Manage your product listings, orders, and inventory across multiple sales channels.

Here is a sample of the integrations that are currently available for QuickBooks Online:

• Time tracking: Time, ClockShark, and eBillity
• Inventory tracking: eBay by OneSAAS, Shopify by OneSAAS, Amazon Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) & Seller Fulfilled Accounting by Entriwise, and Katana Inventory and Manufacturing
• Pay bills and receive payments: Bill.com, Deluxe eChecks, Plooto, and Veem
• Manage customers: Method:CRM, Insightly CRM, WORKetc, and Capsule CRM
• Manage projects: BigTime, Service Trade, Jobber, Corecon, and Knowify for Contractors
• Perform analytics: Syft Analytics, Qvinci, Fathom, and LivePlan
• Process payroll: QuickBooks Payroll, Gusto, ADP, and Paychex

Takeaway: App integration in QuickBooks Online requires one less step than Wave’s integration because you’re able to connect the app directly from within the software application.

Wave vs QuickBooks Mobile App

Wave offers a mobile invoicing app that allows you to track, edit, send, and record payment of invoices. No matter which device the changes are made on, the app will immediately update data across all platforms. This app also integrates seamlessly with Wave payments, which allows you to accept all major credit cards and bank payments.

With the QuickBooks Online mobile app, you can instantly access your financial data. You can use your device to enter transactions, record expenses, and send reports. It backs up the data to the cloud automatically and syncs it across all of your devices.

Takeaway: While both Wave and QuickBooks offer mobile apps, QuickBooks is much more extensive with its offerings. Wave’s mobile app is restricted to invoicing and receipt tracking, and the QuickBooks app allows you the same functionality as is available on QuickBooks Online.

Wave vs QuickBooks: Customer Support

Both Wave and QuickBooks Online offer a good selection of tools and resources that are designed to make it easy to navigate through either application, and robust user communities provide access to knowledgeable users. In addition to the help provided by paid Wave Advisors, customers can also review featured articles, in-product help, guides, and a searchable knowledge base. QuickBooks offers the same support options as Wave, and you also can connect with a support agent through email, messaging, or telephone.

While the amount of help and support resources that Wave provides is extensive, especially for a free application, having the live support that QuickBooks offers is always preferable.

Wave Customer Support

Help is offered in the form of paid Wave Advisors, which offers accounting coaching that starts at $79 per month. It also offers a bookkeeping and tax service for small businesses that starts at $129 per month.

Wave has email support for customers, as well as chat support 60 days after purchase which will assist users with any issues related to product setup. For customers with any of its paid services, such as Payments by Wave or Payroll, unlimited live chat is available. There are many other resources available, which include a Help center, an option to join a user community and the ability to request support within your Wave account.

QuickBooks Customer Support

QuickBooks offers a variety of customer support options depending on the complexity of your needs. You can visit the Learn and Support page, which includes articles and videos on frequently asked questions. You can also email the support team if the answer is not immediately apparent, and questions are usually addressed within 48 hours.

Customer service representatives are also available via online chat or telephone, although it is not possible to call QuickBooks Support directly, rather you must submit a request online, and someone will contact you. For a complicated issue, you may wish to hire a QuickBooks ProAdvisor. Certified by Intuit, these financial professionals must pass an exam to certify that they are proficient with QuickBooks.

Takeaway: QuickBooks excels in this category as users can choose from a variety of resources to answer their questions. In addition to resources on the Learn and Support page, you can also contact a customer service representative or pay for the assistance of a QuickBooks ProAdvisor. Wave has limited email and chat support―with conditions―and you can also hire a paid Wave Advisor that will assist with accounting coaching or bookkeeping and tax services. While Wave advisors all work in-house, QuickBooks ProAdvisors are independent from QuickBooks.

Wave vs QuickBooks Reviews

Overall, both Wave and QuickBooks are loved by their customers. Wave’s average review of 4.0/5.0 stars showcases its passionate fanbase, while QuickBooks’ average of 4.5/5.0 stars reveals its hugely satisfied user base.

When it comes to ease of use and setup, Wave is the clear winner, but QuickBooks wins on its wide range of features.

Wave Reviews

To summarize Wave reviews, the software receives high marks for its free basic service, access for multiple users, and ease of use. While it has many limitations, users seem to feel that it is a great value for the functionality that is offered. The main criticism of Wave is its lack of a mobile app for accounting and payroll and the limited free customer support.

QuickBooks Reviews

To summarize QuickBooks Online reviews, its main downside is its cost, and customers have also expressed frustration about wait times for customer support, especially during peak times. However, the software’s excellent reporting capability and intuitive design are often praised by users. Overall, QuickBooks has earned its reputation as being the most dominant small business accounting software company on the market.

Takeaway: Both QuickBooks and Wave have received overwhelmingly positive reviews, with limited or delayed customer support being one of the most common complaints. However, both software packages are also praised for their ease of use and setup and value for the services that are offered.

Bottom Line

To determine the best accounting software for you, it is best to think about your needs and vision for the future of your business. If you’re a small business owner who values affordable simplicity and a quick and easy setup, then Wave might be the best option for you. However, QuickBooks is ideal for those who are looking for a comprehensive accounting solution that allows you the room to scale your business. Therefore, this decision depends on your business size, industry, and the features that matter most to you.