Disclaimer: Please note this article is not financial advice. The purpose of our blog is purely educational, so please consult a professional accountant or financial advisor before making any financial decision.
Wave accounting software is an award-winning accounting application developed to satisfy the needs of a small business. It enables users to track transactions, manage invoices and bills, and manage online payments within a streamlined and user-friendly accounting platform. With Wave, you can better manage your day-to-day financial bookkeeping activities.
Dive deeper into this article to learn how to get started with Wave and for a short walkthrough on its features.
Wave Accounting Software Pros and Cons
Wave is a free accounting tool that helps many businesses manage their cash flow and derive effective business strategies with the help of financial reports. Since this free accounting tool is accessible with simple, easy steps, the following pointers will help you decide if this software can help your business.
Here are the advantages of Wave:
- Free and user friendly
- Offers unlimited income and expense tracking
- Unlimited Wave invoicing, and you can customize your templates for Wave payments
- Allows you to designate users with different permissions
- Lets you perform double-entry accounting
Wave also comes with downsides that include:
- No service upgrade for leveling up functionalities like inventory management and time tracking.
- Only live chat support and no other means of customer-support like phone support.
Getting Started with Wave
Now that you know the pros and cons of Wave, going down to this section means you are convinced that this free accounting tool is for you! The downsides of Wave are manageable, and there are still so many reasons for you to get started with it.
Here are the various steps in creating your Wave account with no hidden charges:
- Visit Wave using its mobile application or website. It's best if you have a secured and stable connection.
- Now that you are on Wave's site, you can create an account by simply using your own Google account or Wave's built-in form.
- In case you manually sign up, supply your first and last name, business name, what your business does, the country where your business is located, and business currency. The answers to these questions are in the dropdown fields.
NOTE: Wave is best for American and Canadian businesses. If you're not from any of the mentioned countries, you can look for alternative accounting tools like QuickBooks and Xero.
- Click Next and select Manage Your Accounting as your starting point.
- Then you need to answer the following questions:
- How do you manage your accounting?
- Do you work with a bookkeeper or an accountant?
- Do you run payroll?
- Who do you have on your team?
- After satisfying the first set of questions, you'll answer another set of questions:
- How long have you been running your business?
- What type of business do you have?
- Do you have a business bank account?
- How do you usually pay your business expenses?
- Choose Continue to Accounting, and you'll receive a congratulatory greeting. You will then be redirected to your Wave Dashboard.
The Dashboard and Its Features
The Dashboard is the snapshot of your accounts where you can see your cash flow, the visual representation of your cash flow, and how you can connect to your bank. These features are used to reconcile and manage your transactions when you purchase or receive payments.
The Things You Can Do section has:
- Add a customer
- Add a Vendor
- Customize your invoices
- Invite a guest collaborator
- Accept credit cards to get paid faster
These are shortcuts of the features you can do on Wave. On the top right, there is a Create New button that contains the following options:
- Transaction
- Estimate
- Invoice
- Recurring Invoice
- Bill
- Customer
- Vendor
- Product or Service
Please take note that they are activities that you can find on the left side. Right beside the Things You Can Do is the Profit and Loss Snapshot. The Income and Expense section only includes unpaid invoices and bills.
Payable and Owing sits below and categorized by date. It has the following options:
- Most Recent Coming Due
- Coming Due Payable to You
- Bills that You Owe
Below is the Net Income where you can see basic financial figures for income expenses and net income between the current and previous years. You can also enjoy the expense breakdown, acting as the visual representation of expenses.
The Left Panel
The left panel contains most of the menus of Wave. Here are the other features you can access at the side:
Sales
Sales covers all the options that concern your income from your goods and services. Such options include:
- Estimates. The option where you can manage and create your estimation. Remember that an estimate is a quote that you provide to a customer.
- Invoices. The option where you can create a record of purchases for each of your customers. You can customize your invoice.
- Recurring Invoices. The option where you can create scheduled invoices. Once you create your invoice, you’ll be able to set up recurring invoices.
- Checkouts. The feature where Wave allows you to accept direct notifications from your website.
- Payments. With this option, you can receive a payment directly through Wave from your clients. It means you can accept a payment from different providers via Wave.
- Customer Statements. You can create and send these statements to your customers to inform them about specific details surrounding their business with you.
- Customers. Manage all your customers with this option. Simply click Add Customer to record customer details.
- Products and Services. The option for the products or services that you offer. To add a product or service, simply navigate to either product or service, then add a specific product or service.
Purchases
This feature deals with everything you acquire and pay to keep your business moving. Here are the options that you'll see within the feature:
- Bills. Where you can create billing statements for your suppliers and other utilities you need to pay.
- Vendors. The option that allows you to add vendors and suppliers.
- Products and Services. This option is different from the one from the Sales section. This selection refers to the products and services your business pays for.
Accounting
This feature delivers all your accounting essentials. It also comes with:
- Transactions. The part where your transactions are monitored. You can also connect your bank, upload a bank statement, and add manual transactions with this option.
- Reconciliation. The option where you can reconcile different transactions.
- Chart of Accounts. An important part for your bookkeeper or accountant. This option is where you can manage your chart of accounts.
- Hire a bookkeeper. Wave can help you connect to an accountant/accounting professional.
Banking
The feature where you can set your bank connection and settings.
- Connected Accounts. The menu where you can connect your bank with Wave.
- Payouts. The option allows you to see the transactions occurring within Wave when you set up payments.
- Insurance. If you have business insurance, you can go ahead and look at the options and get a quote through insurance under this section.
Payroll
The Wave Payroll feature is where you can basically manage payrolls.
- Run Payroll. You can set up and oversee payroll using this option.
Once the Run Payroll is set up successfully, the following options will be available.
- Employees
- Timesheets
- Payroll Transactions
- Taxes
- Tax Forms
Reports
The feature where you can manage all financial data within Wave. Financial reports are an important aspect of your business because you can think of better and more relevant business strategies with reports.
Wave Advisors
Wave wants you to have the best accounting experience possible. Even if you are having a hard time, Wave can help you find advisors who will give you business opportunities and solutions.
Tax Filing
Accounting software is not complete without tax-related features. Wave gives you the convenience you deserve by allowing you to monitor and file taxes.
Other Wave Accounting Software Advantages
When you get started with Wave, you must have an accountant or a bookkeeper who can help you get the most of this free accounting tool. Each business has different design, systems, and processes and will need a level of guidance from a professional.
You can also do the integration and change different business settings in Wave. Download Wave's application for your mobile or tablet to access it easily whenever and wherever you are.
What Users Have to Say
Wave accounting software reviews are mostly positive. Since Wave’s inception in 2010, it never stopped growing and has been very open about changes and updates that would help its clients.
Wave has satisfied so many business owners and financial experts over the years because it is free and efficient. This application takes away the pain of accounting and invoicing processes because of its simple and user-friendly design according to the majority of users.
Get Into the Wave Now!
Wave can help you automate your accounting processes for free! There are other accounting software out there, but it is practical to use Wave if your business is a startup or still growing.
However, to maximize Wave’s functions, don't forget to consult a highly-skilled financial expert. We at Unloop can help you out. Contact us today!