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Wave
OVERVIEW:
Wave is a free accounting and invoicing platform built for freelancers and very small businesses. Owned by H&R Block since 2019, it offers core bookkeeping at no cost with paid add-ons for payroll and payments.
TOP FEATURES:
• Free Core Accounting: Unlimited income and expense tracking, unlimited invoices, and bank connections at no cost on the Starter plan.
• Professional Invoicing: Customizable templates with online payment links, recurring billing, and automatic reminders.
• Receipt Scanning: Mobile app captures receipts and pulls them into expense tracking automatically.
THE TRADE-OFF:
Wave is intentionally limited. No inventory, no project accounting, no class tracking, and no multi-currency. Bookkeepers will outgrow it fast on anything beyond a simple sole proprietorship.
PRICING:
Starter plan is free. Pro is $16 per month. Wave Payroll is $20 per month plus $6 per employee. Payment processing is 2.9% plus $0.60 per transaction.
THE VERDICT:
A legitimate free option for genuinely small, simple businesses. Anyone planning to scale or add inventory should start on QuickBooks or Xero instead.
Last updated on April 29, 2026
