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FreshBooks vs Wave

FreshBooks Has All the Features You Need, at Every Stage of Your Journey

When growing businesses feel it’s time to upgrade from invoicing only, they choose FreshBooks to manage their books and deliver better results to their clients.

FreshBooks Is Built to Support Growing
Businesses—and Their Clients

“FreshBooks delivers a vast range of amazing accounting and banking features. Invoices can be conveniently made, bill receipts displayed and all the normal activities managed. Now all of my firm’s accounting procedures are managed by FreshBooks.”


JOANNE BORELLA

SR. ACCOUNT MANAGER

Rated 9.3 for Quality of Support by G2

Users Value FreshBooks’ Customer Service Over Wave’s Support

Quality of Support

Wave rating in G2

Wave Rating

FreshBooks rating in G2

FreshBooks Rating

Wave’s Customers Say “Free” Is Limiting Their Growth

“I would love to see it expand and would pay for a subscription.”

Verified Wave review on G2Crowd

“A nice free alternative but you get what you pay for.”

Verified Wave review on G2Crowd

“I like that it is free. But there are probably better options out there.”

Verified Wave review on G2Crowd

“It sounds good at first: free. Then you find that it lacks many basic accounting functions.”

Verified Wave review on G2Crowd

“I’d rather pay for something that works than have something that doesn’t, free.”

Verified Wave review on G2Crowd

“I am happy with Wave for the price, although it by no means has the capabilities of a true accounting program.”

Verified Wave review on G2Crowd


FreshBooks Offers Invoicing, Time Tracking, Projects, Estimates, and So Much More…

Wave offers a free plan if you want to send invoices and not do much else. But you can’t solve all your accounting needs because that’s not what it’s built for.

  • Free means you don’t get the support you need
  • Free takes away all the power features
  • Free forces you to pay for a second accounting tool
FreshBooks Offers

Time to Upgrade
From Wave to FreshBooks

FreshBooks offers you time tracking, expense tracking, payments, reports and so much more. If you are still using Wave plus a second tool to handle all your accounting, it might be time for an upgrade.

Time Tracking Icon

Track and Bill
for Your Time

Log your team’s hours and add them to invoices, automatically.

Payments Icon

Multiple Payment
Options

Clients from any country can easily pay you in virtually any currency.

Projects Icon

Keep Track of
Projects

Create projects for each client and invite your team to collaborate.

Support Icon

Award-Winning
Customer Support

Friendly help from our team via email and phone—on all plans.

Featured In

FreshBooks Solves Your Accounting Challenges, at Any Stage of Your Journey

Do It All in One App

No more jumping between Wave and Excel or Wave and sticky notes. FreshBooks has all the features you need to handle invoicing and tons of other business and accounting needs.

“We are no more worried about the budgets and revenue analysis, we have got rid of manual entries, neither have we wasted our time in finding the record of any transaction. This is all possible due to FreshBooks.”


Maria Coelho

All In One Features
Multiple Logos

Make It Easy for Clients to Pay You

FreshBooks lets you bill international clients in their currency. Choose from a range of different payment options, including:

Payment processors:

  • FreshBooks Payments
  • Stripe
  • PayPal

Online payment options:

  • Credit Card
  • ACH (US)
  • Direct Debit (UK)

“It’s great that it allows me to accept online payments from customers without a lot of hassle.”


Ellen Lichtenstein Podhajsky

Collaborate Faster With Your Team and Clients

Track everyone’s time spent on projects and automatically bill for their hours. Add clients to your projects so they can stay in the loop. Then, automate recurring invoices so your clients know when to expect transactions.

“These tools can be easily set up and navigated and hence increases the efficiency of your work. It will help you a lot in maximizing communication.”


Nicole Phillips

Collaboration

FreshBooks vs Wave

FreshBooks Accounting Software Made for Your Growing Business

See how FreshBooks makes bookkeeping easy to use for business owners—even if you have no prior experience with accounting software. Try it risk-free with a 30-day trial.

No credit card required. Cancel anytime.


Wave vs FreshBooks Comparison

Features table header
Wave Accounting FreshBooks
Track billable hours Not Available Available

Available on any plan

Easily take the hours you’ve logged and add them to a client’s invoice.

Keep team timesheets Not Available Available

Available on any plan

Know at-a-glance how your entire team is spending their time.

Manage projects Not Available Available

Available on any plan

Invite employees, contractors, and clients to collaborate on your projects.

Stripe (Online Payments) Not Available Available

Available on any plan

Bill international clients in their currency.


FreshBooks vs Wave

Make Accounting Effortless for Your Business

Features table header
Wave Accounting FreshBooks
Payment options
  • Bank transfers
  • Credit cards
  • Advanced payment solutions (FreshBooks Payments)
  • Stripe
  • Bank transfers
  • Credit cards
  • International Payments
  • Virtual Terminal
  • Deposits & Partial Payments
  • Checkout links

FreshBooks vs WAVE

Accounting Made Easy with FreshBooks

Try FreshBooks risk-free with a 30-day trial.

No credit card requiered. Cancel anytime


Wave’s free plan might be holding you back

Switch to FreshBooks and Commit to Growing

Switching from Wave, spreadsheets or a different accounting software? Our team will migrate your account, onboard your team, and walk you through the most important features you need.

Gold 2019 Stevie Award Winner

Done-for-You Migration

“Switching to FreshBooks from one of those other software packages was one of the most liberating experiences of my career.”


FRANK N.


Need Some Help Finding the Best Wave Alternative?

The FreshBooks Support team is here to answer any questions that you might have. Give them a shout at 1.866.303.6061 or support@freshbooks.com.


“Another thing that makes me really happy is their technical support since they are very attentive and will be with you always supporting you with any problem and will be with you until you solve the problem.”


Andrew Luther

Frequently Asked Questions

Does FreshBooks automate my accounting tasks?

FreshBooks automates lots of your business accounting so you can spend more time focusing on your work and your clients. You can have invoices automatically generated and sent, expenses automatically tracked and even have your payments automatically recorded, all from a single software.

How does Wave’s free plan compare vs FreshBooks?

The main difference is Wave offers a free plan, which is heavily focused on invoicing. However, most business owners feel that once their business grows to a certain level, they can’t trust their books to a free accounting software. FreshBooks offers essential business features you can try on a 30-day free trial, including:

  • Unlimited + Customized Invoices
  • Unlimited Expense Entries
  • Unlimited Time Tracking
  • Unlimited Estimates

You can also check out how FreshBooks compares to other programs and details about its function as a viable alternative on our comparison page.

Where can I see FreshBooks pricing?

Find the perfect plan to support your business by visiting our pricing page.

Can I use the software while away from my office?

You sure can. FreshBooks is a cloud based software, which means you can use it from anywhere. You can download iOS and Android apps that let you painlessly invoice your clients and track expenses wherever and whenever you need to.

Can I accept credit card payments through FreshBooks?

Absolutely. With FreshBooks Payments your business can start accepting credit card payments online right away, in just a few clicks.

Is my data safe in the cloud?

The safety of your private data is our top priority, that’s why it’s protected by 256-bit SSL encryption—the gold standard in Internet security. FreshBooks is cloud based accounting software and uses industry–leading secure servers.

Does FreshBooks allow for teams to collaborate?

Yup. With FreshBooks both you and your team can collaborate on and track time towards the same projects and clients. Your team members can also help you with your business books by creating invoices and tracking their expenses. You can also add team members to your account with specific user roles and levels of access to sensitive information.

Is FreshBooks compatible with a Mac?

Great news: FreshBooks software is available on any device—desktop, mobile or tablet and plays nicely with both Mac and PC.