FreshBooks vs. Wave (2024): Accounting Software program Comparability

Wave and FreshBooks are two of essentially the most noteworthy accounting software program choices for small companies. Wave Accounting’s fully free software program plan lets small-business homeowners — particularly self-employed freelancers — monitor their funds, ship invoices and receives a commission for gratis. FreshBooks, which begins at $19 a month, has extra expansive invoicing options and a number of plans that scale as much as help rising and midsize companies.

Nonetheless, FreshBooks can work properly for some self-employed freelancers, and Wave Accounting’s options could possibly be best for some small and midsize companies. In our FreshBooks vs. Wave assessment under, we examine every software program’s professionals, cons, pricing and options that will help you hone in on the best choice on your wants.

FreshBooks vs. Wave Accounting: Comparability desk

Wave and FreshBooks deal with the identical primary bookkeeping duties, from invoicing and billing to expense monitoring and past. Though they had been constructed for various kinds of enterprise homeowners (Wave for freelancers, FreshBooks for different small companies), each accounting instruments exit of their strategy to cater to non-accountant enterprise homeowners.

Nonetheless, the 2 instruments differ by way of how a lot they price, what number of automations they provide and which third-party apps they sync with for essential duties like payroll and time monitoring.

Plan and pricing information verified as of 5/22/2024.

FreshBooks vs. Wave Accounting: Pricing

FreshBooks pricing and plans

Beginning worth: $19/mo. 

FreshBooks’ 4 plans have pretty industry-standard pricing. Their options vary from primary invoicing and accounting to enterprise-level monetary reporting:

• FreshBooks Lite prices $19 monthly and consists of limitless expense, earnings and gross sales tax monitoring.
• FreshBooks Plus prices $33 monthly and consists of job automations, extra thorough accounting stories and double-entry bookkeeping.
• FreshBooks Premium prices $60 monthly and consists of revenue monitoring, invoice administration and extra bill customizations.
• FreshBooks Choose is a customized plan for enterprises that requires a customized quote.

FreshBooks runs frequent gross sales all year long, providing new customers reductions as deep as 50% off for as much as six months. Companies can even reap the benefits of a ten% low cost in the event that they pay yearly fairly than month to month.

Get extra data on FreshBooks by studying our detailed FreshBooks assessment.

Wave Accounting pricing and plans

Beginning worth: $0/mo.

Till not too long ago, Wave Accounting offered free accounting software program solely. As of early 2024, nonetheless, the corporate has launched a (comparatively) reasonably priced paid plan that small companies can scale as much as as they develop. The 2 plans break down as follows:

• Wave Starter is free for all times. It consists of limitless invoices, payments, estimates and bookkeeping information in addition to on-line cost acceptance and money circulation monitoring.
• Wave Professional prices $16 monthly billed month-to-month or $170 a 12 months billed yearly. It consists of reductions for transaction charges, limitless receipt scanning, expense monitoring and computerized financial institution reconciliation.

Cell receipt scanning, which permits app-based scanning so you may retailer and categorize receipts, is obtainable to Wave Starter customers for a further payment of $11 monthly (billed month-to-month) or $96 per 12 months (billed yearly).

In the meantime, Wave Payroll begins at $20/month + $6/worker for self-service payroll or $40/month + $6/worker for full-service payroll.

Study extra about how Wave works by studying our complete Wave Accounting assessment.

Characteristic comparability: FreshBooks vs. Wave Accounting

Monetary monitoring

Winner: Wave Accounting

Each Wave and FreshBooks assist you to hold an in depth eye in your funds through earnings and expense monitoring. When you join your online business financial institution accounts and bank cards together with your most popular software program, Wave (with the paid plan) or FreshBooks (with all plans) routinely pull in transaction information to maintain you updated in your funds.

Nonetheless, FreshBooks’ most cost-effective plan depends on the single-entry accounting system, which is much less correct than the extra broadly accepted double-entry system. And in contrast to almost each different accounting competitor, FreshBooks doesn’t embrace free accountant entry with its most cost-effective plan both.

By means of comparability, Wave Accounting, Xero, QuickBooks On-line and most different accounting software program companies routinely default to double-entry accounting. All of those opponents embrace accountant entry with each plan, even plans that in any other case restrict you to 1 person solely.

Invoicing

Winner: FreshBooks

Each Wave and FreshBooks have glorious bill templates which might be straightforward to customise and ship to purchasers. Each accounting merchandise allow you to settle for funds inside the bill, arrange computerized recurring invoices and ship cost deadline reminders.

Nonetheless, FreshBooks has a number of extra invoicing options than Wave. As an illustration, with FreshBooks, you may connect bills to your invoices for reimbursement, sync time-tracking information to every bill, schedule computerized late cost fees and join together with your clients through FreshBooks’ shopper self-service portal.

Wave Accounting wins huge over FreshBooks in a single key space: Really limitless invoicing. Whereas FreshBooks helps you to ship an infinite quantity of invoices every month, it limits the variety of purchasers you may ship these invoices to.

Plan information correct as of 1/24/2024.

Person limits

Winner: Wave Accounting

Technically, each Wave Accounting and FreshBooks allow you to add limitless customers to your account. Nonetheless, Wave Accounting helps you to achieve this at no extra price whereas FreshBooks fees a per-user payment. (Word that extra customers are solely out there with Wave’s paid plan. The free plan limits you to 1 person solely.)

Three of FreshBooks’ 4 plans embrace entry for only one person within the base price. (The enterprise-level accounting plan consists of two customers within the base price.) Whilst you can add as many customers as you need, you’ll pay an additional month-to-month payment of $11 per particular person — a value that may add up quick.

If you’d like a number of eyes in your accounts with out paying additional, Xero has limitless customers. Zoho Books fees simply $3 monthly per additional person, and QuickBooks On-line presents entry for as much as 25 customers (relying on which plan you select).

Time monitoring

Winner: FreshBooks

Wave Accounting doesn’t have a built-in time-tracking device, though you should use Zapier to combine third-party apps like Well timed with Wave. (Word that Wave Payroll doesn’t embrace built-in time monitoring both.)

FreshBooks, in distinction, has a superb time-tracking characteristic constructed into each plan. It’s straightforward to trace time (for your self or for any 1099 contractors you’re employed with), then sync that point to your shopper’s bill so that you might be paid precisely on your time.

Payroll integration

Winner: FreshBooks

Wave Accounting’s solely built-in integration is with its payroll product, Wave Payroll. And whereas Wave Payroll is completely serviceable, that’s about all it’s. The software program consists of solely primary payroll options like paycheck calculation, direct deposit, entry to 1 payroll report and end-of-year W-2 kind technology.

Moreover, Wave Payroll’s full-service plan, which calculates and remits payroll taxes in your behalf, is restricted to 14 states. Purchasers in all different states should use Wave Payroll’s self-service plan, which prices much less however requires you to file payroll taxes by yourself.

In distinction, FreshBooks syncs with Gusto and SurePayroll by Paychex, two of essentially the most totally featured payroll options for small companies within the U.S. (FreshBooks additionally has built-in payroll integrations for its software program customers in Canada, the U.Okay. and Australia.) Gusto is a full-service payroll supplier solely whereas SurePayroll by Paychex has each a self-service and full-service plan.

In contrast to Wave Payroll, Gusto and SurePayroll by Paychex may also help you discover healthcare and different advantages on your staff (although with Gusto, medical health insurance is obtainable in solely 38 states and D.C.). Each suppliers even have extra HR instruments than Wave, together with new-hire reporting and primary onboarding options.

Customer support

Winner: FreshBooks

With Wave’s free plan, buyer help is restricted to Wave’s chatbot and on-line useful resource middle. Professional plan customers can entry reside customer support throughout enterprise hours on weekdays, however help is restricted to electronic mail and reside chat solely. Telephone-based buyer help isn’t out there with any Wave Accounting or Wave Payroll plan.

In distinction, FreshBooks has a strong on-line useful resource library and a primary troubleshooting chatbot. Most significantly, it additionally has electronic mail and cellphone help. You’ll be able to request assist instantly out of your FreshBooks dashboard, which incorporates fast hyperlinks to the FreshBooks assist middle.

FreshBooks professionals and cons

Execs

• Glorious bill options, customizations and automations.
• Person-friendly interface and cell app.
• Responsive customer support with a number of strategies of contact.
• 100+ third-party integrations, together with Gusto and SurePayroll by Paychex.
• Constructed-in mission administration, time monitoring and expense monitoring.

Cons

• Far fewer third-party integrations than most opponents (particularly Xero and QuickBooks).
• Excessive payment for added customers.
• No accountant entry or double-entry accounting with primary plan.
• Restricted stock administration options.
• Billable purchasers restricted by plan.

Wave Accounting professionals and cons

Execs

• Utterly free accounting software program plan.
• Double-entry accounting with normal ledger and chart of accounts.
• Easy Wave Payroll integration.
• Limitless customers, checking account syncing and enterprise administration (with paid plan).
• Clear, easy setup directions with user-friendly interface.

Cons

• Third-party app integrations via Zapier solely (subscription required).
• Restricted email-only customer support.
• Restricted accounting options.

Ought to your online business use FreshBooks or Wave Accounting?

Whilst you ought to all the time take your online business’s distinctive wants under consideration when selecting an accounting software program supplier, we suggest following these normal tips.

Select FreshBooks if:

• You run a service-based freelancing enterprise and cost purchasers by time or mission.
• You need a simple strategy to collaborate with purchasers on mission prices.
• You need accounting software program that provides barely greater than the fundamentals with out getting slowed down in overly complicated options.
• Your organization is rising however you don’t plan to develop into a midsize enterprise or giant company.

Select Wave Accounting if:

• You’re a freelancer, solopreneur, self-employed contractor or a small-business proprietor with a handful of staff.
• You need user-friendly software program that allows you to cost clients and handle your funds for gratis.
• You want primary accounting instruments solely, similar to earnings monitoring, on-line cost acceptance, expense monitoring and invoicing.
• You don’t depend on many third-party apps to handle your online business.

In case you don’t assume both Wave or FreshBooks will give you the results you want, there are dozens extra accounting software program choices to select from, beginning with these:

• QuickBooks On-line begins at $30 a month and has extra accounting options than both FreshBooks or Wave.
• Xero begins at $15 a month and consists of limitless customers and stock monitoring with each plan.
• Zoho Books prices nothing for companies with an annual income >$50K USD. Its plans embrace no less than as many options as QuickBooks On-line, if no more.

Lastly, even in the event you’re fairly positive you’ve discovered the best accounting product for your online business, we suggest taking it out for a test-drive first. All of the merchandise on this listing are free (like Wave Accounting), supply a free plan (Zoho Books) or embrace a 30-day free trial (QuickBooks, Xero and FreshBooks).

Organising a free account is the best first step towards discovering accounting software program that can assist you to meet — and even exceed — your monetary objectives.

Methodology

To check Wave Accounting vs. FreshBooks, we created free accounts with each companies so we might take a look at every device’s user-friendliness, options, and cell apps. We seen demos and product specs on each opponents’ websites. We additionally thought-about opinions from verified customers on third-party websites (the BBB, the App Retailer and Google Play, amongst others) to attract conclusions about general buyer satisfaction, customer support responsiveness and extra.

To information our analysis, we centered particularly on how every software program answer excelled or fell quick within the following areas:

• Total accounting and bookkeeping options.
• Pricing and plans.
• Total buyer satisfaction and firm fame.
• Person-friendliness and accessibility, together with ease of setup and entry to cell apps.
• Integration with different software program, particularly third-party payroll suppliers.