01
Payments that reconcile themselves
A payment collected outside Wave's own payment processing gets matched to the right invoice and marked paid automatically, so nobody's cross-checking a bank feed against an invoice list by hand.
Home/Wave
Keep Wave free and stop typing every sale into it.
Wave is free cloud accounting and invoicing software built for freelancers, very small businesses, and solo operators who don't need the overhead of a full paid platform. We connect Wave to the payment processors, receipt tools, and client-facing systems a small business actually runs, so the free bookkeeping tool doesn't turn into a part-time data-entry job.
Free bookkeeping turns into a part-time data-entry job once payment processors and receipt tools don't feed it.
Got a Wave problem? Let's solve it →What we build on top of Wave
Wave's whole pitch is staying free and simple for invoicing and basic bookkeeping, with paid add-ons like payroll and online payments layered in only when a business actually needs them. That simplicity is a feature, not a gap, but it does mean Wave stays light on the kind of native integrations a bigger paid platform ships with.
The most common thing we build: payments collected through a processor Wave doesn't natively reconcile against get matched back to the right invoice automatically, instead of someone checking two systems side by side every week.
The second most common: receipt and expense data from Receipts by Wave or another capture tool flows into the right expense category automatically, instead of someone reviewing a batch of scanned receipts by hand at month end.
For freelancers and small shops that want clients to see invoice and payment status without ever logging into Wave itself, we build a simple branded portal that pulls straight from Wave's data.
A few specific things we build
02
Receipts that file themselves
Scanned or forwarded receipts get categorized and attached to the right expense in Wave without someone sitting down with a stack of them at the end of the month.
03
A client view that isn't Wave's own login
Clients see their invoice history and payment status in a simple branded portal instead of needing a Wave account of their own.
What this looks like in practice
Freelance Photography Studio
Wave for books, clients pay through several channels.
The problemPayments arrive by bank transfer, card links and cash, and the owner matches each one to an invoice manually at the end of the month.
Payments are matched to the right invoice and marked paid as they arrive. The books stay current without a monthly sitting.
More on Wave
What we build on top of specific parts of Wave.
Let's talk
Running your business on Wave and still doing the reconciling by hand?
Tell us what's eating the time, matching payments, filing receipts, chasing a client for payment status, and we'll tell you what's realistic to automate without giving up Wave's simplicity. And if Wave isn't actually where the manual work is, that's fine too. We automate whatever's manual, in Wave or anywhere else in your business.
Let's talk →Questions people ask
Is Wave accounting really free?
Yes, for the core product. Invoicing and basic bookkeeping in Wave don't carry a monthly subscription fee. Wave makes money on paid add-ons instead, mainly payment processing fees when a client pays an invoice online, and optional paid products like payroll.
Does Wave have payroll?
Yes, as a paid add-on called Wave Payroll, separate from the free accounting and invoicing core. It's not bundled in by default, which fits Wave's overall model of keeping the base product free and charging only for what a business actually turns on.
What is Receipts by Wave?
It's Wave's receipt-scanning tool: photograph or forward a receipt and it pulls out the vendor, amount, and date, then adds it as an expense in your Wave account instead of you typing it in by hand.
Is Wave good accounting software for a small business?
For a freelancer or very small business with simple bookkeeping needs, yes, it covers invoicing and basic accounting without a subscription cost. It's not built for inventory, payroll at scale, or multi-entity accounting, so a growing business usually outgrows it faster than it outgrows a paid platform built for more complexity.
How much does Wave cost?
The core bookkeeping and invoicing stay free. Costs come from the add-ons a business actually uses, payment processing fees when clients pay online, and a monthly fee if you turn on Wave Payroll.
What is the difference between Wave and QuickBooks or FreshBooks?
Wave stays free for its core bookkeeping and invoicing, which is the opposite of QuickBooks and FreshBooks' subscription model. The tradeoff is depth. QuickBooks and FreshBooks go further on automation, integrations, and features built for a growing business, while Wave is built to stay simple for a business that doesn't need all that yet.