Freshbooks vs Wave 2023: Accounting Software Comparison

When you’d like to bill the client for the completed work, simply click “Generate Invoice” and FreshBooks will create the invoice for you. Each line item you add will have the option to add a tax, and you’ll need to set all the tax options relevant to your goods and services. Because of this, we recommend creating tax categories beforehand so you can easily add the proper taxes to items without having to do it manually each time. Throughout this review, we’ll walk through the features offered by FreshBooks and make note of the tool’s usability. Images of the software will be included so that you can get a sense of what it’s like to use FreshBooks. FreshBooks automates some bookkeeping tasks and helps you keep track of income and expenses.

While both software programs offer all the bells and whistles you need to manage your business’s finances, Xero limits the number of quotes and invoices you can send each month. The maximum is 20, which can be quite limiting to a busy professional. Overall, freshbooks is easier to use but limits the number of billable clients to five. So it will be up to the business owners to determine which limit will be more detrimental to business needs. Wave Accounting is an entirely free option for small business owners. Even though it is a free option, Wave Accounting offers many of the features you need to run your business, including free invoicing, unlimited expenses and receipts.

Software Categories

If you’ve created sales tax rates already, you can assign the correct one(s). You can add a discount, which some small business accounting apps allow. In FreshBooks, however, you can also request a deposit and set up a payment schedule. FreshBooks is a software that provides the accounting essentials for freelancers, small business owners and solopreneurs.

• A lock icon in your browser verifies you aren’t using a phishing site impersonating FreshBooks and that your data is secure in transit.
• Links to the Help Center and to a page describing what’s new in FreshBooks appear in the lower right.
• In the same vein, FreshBooks might be limiting for growing businesses that have multiple people working in the software.
• Freelancers, independent contractors and small businesses with no more than a handful of employees are the best candidates for FreshBooks.
• All features are built to be easy to use for small business owners and their teams, clients, and accountants.
• Both Wave and FreshBooks have excellent invoice templates that are easy to customize and send to clients.
• Invite up to 10 Accountants per business at no extra cost, on Plus and Premium plans.

The My Team feature is useful if you have employees, but you can also use it for contractors and accountants. You can also pause time-tracking from within the timer, resuming the timer when you’re ready. You can also now process a refund for a client directly from an invoice, issuing a full refund for the entire invoice total, or by entering a set amount if you’re only issuing a partial refund.

Is FreshBooks free?

Additionally, Wave Payroll’s full-service plan, which calculates and remits payroll taxes on your behalf, is limited to 14 states. Clients in all other states must use Wave Payroll’s self-service plan, which costs less but requires you to file payroll taxes on your own. FreshBooks runs frequent sales throughout the year, offering new users discounts as deep as 60% or 70% off for up to six months.

FreshBooks, on the other hand, is a better fit for small businesses and situations where no more than one person is managing the account. It offers everything that the Lite plan offers, as well as the ability to accept e-signatures on proposals and contracts. The Plus plan will allow you to send an unlimited number of proposals and take client retainers for regular work.

Is FreshBooks Safe To Use?

FreshBooks has three set plans, and you can customize each with add-ons. There is also another plan that is customizable from the beginning. Setting up a free account is the ideal first step toward finding accounting software that will help you meet — and even exceed — your financial goals. While you should always take your business’s unique needs into account when choosing an accounting software provider, we recommend following these general guidelines.