Wave vs QuickBooks: Key Differences & What’s Best

Wave is a free software suitable for very small service-based businesses while QuickBooks Online is a moderately priced software with advanced accounting features like time tracking, project accounting, and inventory accounting. If you need a free solution for basic accounting and invoicing with no limitations to the number of users, you might consider Wave. However, if you need more advanced features then you’ll prefer QuickBooks Online.

Wave vs QuickBooks At-a-Glance Comparison

When To Use Each

When To Use an Alternative

• Low-cost inventory accounting: Just like QuickBooks Online, Xero includes automatic tracking of inventories but at a lower price. To use inventory accounting with QuickBooks Online, you need to get a Plus plan at $85 per month, whereas with Xero, you only need its Growing plan at $32 per month. Xero’s Early plan at $11 monthly also includes inventory, but you can only enter up to five supplier bills every month.
• Manufacturing firms: Wave has no features for tracking inventory. QuickBooks Online does, but it can’t track inventory assemblies, which is crucial for manufacturing companies. If you need to track raw materials and finished goods, then we recommend QuickBooks Desktop.
• Solopreneurs looking for free accounting software with a great mobile app: Lendio Accounting (formerly Sunrise) offers a free version for a single user. It comes with a good set of features, including a capable mobile app that lets you issue invoices, enter bill payments, and capture expense receipts on the go.

Fit Small Business Case Study

We’ve developed an extensive case study to evaluate accounting software on a standard set of criteria across 11 categories. You can see the detailed results for each application by reading our QuickBooks Online review and Wave review. Here’s a summary of our evaluation:

Wave vs QuickBooks Online: Pricing

Many practical small businesses choose Wave for processing basic accounting tasks like invoicing and payment processing. However, it may not be ideal if you need more developed features like inventory management and income and class tracking by location.

The $0 price tag results in significant savings, especially for startups and freelancers, but QuickBooks Online’s cheapest plan at $30 per month is preferable if you need to track mileage and file 1099s directly from the software. QuickBooks Online’s most popular plan, Plus, contains many valuable features, including project management, inventory accounting, and advanced reporting.

Wave vs QuickBooks: Features

Wave vs QuickBooks Online: Banking & Cash Management

Bank reconciliation is an essential part of accounting, and QuickBooks Online nails it. While Wave lets you reconcile bank accounts, you can’t reconcile an account if checks have been written that haven’t yet cleared the bank. This makes Wave’s reconciliation feature essentially useful if you write many checks. Meanwhile, QuickBooks Online can reconcile items, including checks that aren’t yet processed by your bank. If your business pays bills with paper checks then QuickBooks Online is the much better choice.

Wave vs QuickBooks Online: Invoicing

Very small businesses and self-employed professionals needing basic invoicing may do well with Wave. It lets you create, send, email, and print invoices. You can also customize invoices, but there’s no option to preview the color.

For larger businesses wanting a more robust invoicing solution, QuickBooks Online is the better choice. It provides more options for customization and lets you create recurring invoices, which comes in handy when customers pay you on a regular basis. Another great feature is the ability to calculate the correct tax rate on each sale automatically based on where you sell and ship your item, which is useful if you sell products and services in different jurisdictions.

Wave vs QuickBooks Online: Accounts Payable

Both programs offer an easy way to record a bill and track outstanding bills, but QuickBooks Online has some features that Wave doesn’t. It lets you create POs and convert them into bills and enter a vendor credit and apply it when you pay the bill. If you want a more solid solution to manage your unpaid bills, then choose QuickBooks Online.

Wave vs QuickBooks Online: Inventory Management

Wave has a limited inventory management feature; you can’t use it to keep track of your stock. If you’re a product-based business, QuickBooks Online is well-suited for you. It has a robust inventory management system that lets you track available items and quantities, adjust inventory quantities automatically, and set up alerts so your team knows when it’s best to replenish your stocks. Most importantly, it’ll calculate your cost of goods sold (COGS) automatically, something you’ll need to do manually with Wave.

Wave vs QuickBooks Online: Project Accounting

Very small project-based businesses may find Wave’s estimate management feature helpful, but if you need robust project management features, QuickBooks Online is the better choice. While you can’t compare estimated and actual project costs like you can with FreshBooks, QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced can still be a good solution to track project profitability.

Wave vs QuickBooks Online: Ease of Use

Wave has the upper hand in terms of ease of setup, but mostly because it lacks the sophisticated features that must be set up with QuickBooks Online. Wave’s interface might be more desirable for new users because it uses simple language, such as invoices owed to you.

Wave vs QuickBooks Online: Integrations

You can connect Wave to other apps that you use every day to automate your business processes and streamline your financial transactions. Wave integrates with third-party applications, including:

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

Meanwhile, QuickBooks Online itself has extensive integration with internal software like QuickBooks Payroll, QuickBooks Time, QuickBooks Payments, and QuickBooks Commerce, making it a clear winner in this category. It also connects with hundreds of third-party tools, such as:

• Time tracking: 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
• CRM: Method: CRM, Insightly CRM, WORKetc, and Capsule CRM
• Analytics: Syft Analytics, Qvinci, Fathom, and LivePlan
• Payroll: Gusto, ADP, and Paychex
• Project management: BigTime, Service Trade, Jobber, Corecon, and Knowify for Contractors
• Payments: Bill.com, Deluxe eChecks, Plooto, and Veem

Wave vs QuickBooks Online: Mobile App Functionality

Instead of a single, full-featured mobile application, Wave uses two mobile apps, one for creating invoices and one for scanning expense receipts, though they have very limited features. There might be instances where you need to send an invoice while you’re on a trip. In this case, you can use both Wave and QuickBooks to create and send an invoice to your client using your smartphone. However, if you find yourself needing to track your expenses and view your financial reports on the go, then you should choose QuickBooks Online.

Wave vs QuickBooks Online: Assisted Bookkeeping

All QuickBooks and Wave advisors are certified and are equally competent to help you with your bookkeeping duties. The main factor that may affect your choice would be the price, which favors QuickBooks Online.

Wave ProAdvisors provide one-on-one accounting and tax coaching services for Wave customers. You’ll be assigned a dedicated advisor who’ll help you complete your bookkeeping requirements.

• Wave ProAdvisor pricing:
  • Bookkeeping support: $149 per month
  • Accounting and payroll coaching: $329 (one-time fee)
  • Tax service: From $899 per year

QuickBooks, on the other hand, offers QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping. Users will work with a QuickBooks-certified bookkeeper to help them with duties, such as reconciling bank accounts, generating reports, and preparing for tax filing.

• QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping pricing:
  • Low-volume bookkeeping: $200 per month for businesses with $25,000 in monthly expenses
  • Medium-volume bookkeeping: $400 per month for businesses with $25,001 to $150,000 in monthly expenses
  • High-volume bookkeeping: $600 per month for businesses with $150,001 or more in monthly expenses

Wave vs QuickBooks: Customer Support

QuickBooks Online’s customer support is more reachable, and they can provide answers to your questions quickly. The availability of live chat and phone support is crucial if you encounter issues that need immediate assistance.

Bottom Line

When it comes to price, Wave is the clear winner. However, that’s not always the only consideration for businesses. While very small businesses only need basic invoicing and accounting to survive, larger businesses may require more advanced features, such as inventory management, paying bills by check, and income or expense tracking by location. This is where QuickBooks Online takes the lead. Overall, your choice of accounting software depends on your needs, business size, and budget for such a program.