Wave provides hosted bookkeeping and invoicing for small businesses through a free Starter plan. Users can create unlimited basic business records, while online payment processing, payroll, receipt scanning and more automated financial workflows are separately paid features.
Invoices
Estimates
Basic bookkeeping
Cash-flow dashboard
Is it a good fit?
Best suited to
Small businesses in the United States or Canada needing basic bookkeeping.
Before you choose
Available only to US and Canadian businesses; bank automation and scanning are paid.
Editorial assessment based on the provider’s published information. Our method
Know what you're signing up for.
Wave Starter is an ongoing free plan for businesses in the United States and Canada, excluding US territories. It includes basic bookkeeping and unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and accounting records. Payments, payroll, receipt scanning and automated bank imports have separate charges or paid-plan requirements.
Starter
$0ongoing free access
Payment processing, payroll and receipt scanning are paid; bank transaction automation belongs to Pro. Available to businesses in the United States and Canada; US territories are not supported.
Payment processing, payroll and receipt scanning are paid; bank transaction automation belongs to Pro. Available to businesses in the United States and Canada; US territories are not supported.
Hosted dashboard avoids local software maintenance
What to keep in mind
Restricted to US and Canadian businesses
Bank automation, payments, payroll and scanning have separate charges
How to use it well
Set up business details and an invoice template, then enter a small sample of income and expenses. Use consistent categories and verify how payments are recorded before sending live invoices or relying on the dashboard for cash-flow decisions.
Starter is useful when manual bookkeeping is acceptable. Identify whether the business needs bank-feed automation, receipt scanning or payroll before choosing a long-term workflow. Online payments also involve approval and processing fees, so the free accounting plan does not make customer transactions free.
A few things you might be wondering.
Is Wave free?
Wave Starter is an ongoing free plan for businesses in the United States and Canada, excluding US territories. It includes basic bookkeeping and unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and accounting records. Payments, payroll, receipt scanning and automated bank imports have separate charges or paid-plan requirements.
Are invoices limited in Starter?
The pricing page lists unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records.
Does Starter include automatic bank imports?
Automatic bank transaction import is a Pro feature rather than a basic Starter inclusion.
Where can I check the latest prices?
Use the provider link on this page. Billing period, location, team size, promotions, taxes, and optional extras may affect the amount you pay.
How should I compare this tool with alternatives?
Choose tools for the same task, then compare their feature limits, platform support, and total cost for your team. The Compare button helps you keep a shortlist.
Are the user reviews moderated?
Yes. New reviews are submitted for moderation. We show published user reviews separately from the editorial overview and never assign a default user rating.
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