Recently I have been on the watch for a good web based accounting and invoicing program. There are numerous services out there that are top notch but they all have the dreaded monthly payment. The most common web based software runs around $30 a month, that is a total of $360 for the year. For some semi professionals this is a little steep. My problems were solved when I ran across the free web based app Wave.
*Update*- Wave sent me this great link for photographers. www.waveapps.com/photographers
My main goals when looking for a program was to be able to cut professional invoices. I started using PayPal to send customers invoices, which isn't horrible, but I really didn't want PayPal's name near my brand, I just wanted my brand. With Wave I am able to do this with ease. Wave also lets you link up with a credit card service and offer a one stop shop for your clients.
Wave also lets you create very professional estimates as well. This is great when I am quoting a customer and really want to put my best foot forward. To many times in the past I try to format the email to look professional and fallen short. Once you have booked the event you can simple change the estimate into an invoice and email to your client.
This is just a quick overview on my two favorite parts of Wave so far. I am still learning the ins and outs. Wave also keeps track of you transactions per account, bills, receipts, reports, and payroll. The best part of this software is it is FREE. So you have nothing to lose trying it for as long as you would like. www.waveapps.com
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thank you for sharing!!!! looks great!! will add comments after using it ! =)
Nice, but what happens to your data if Wave goes under? That's the main issue w/ running important stuff in the "Cloud" :-)
You can export your data.
keep copies...
Excellent, have to check this out
It appears only the invoicing, accounting, and personal financing modules are free. The payroll module is ~$5/employee.
It's one of the cheapest options for payroll.
Also, you talk about your concern with putting your "best foot forward" How about a grammar check before you post these articles?
"...nothing to loose..."?
"...ends and outs...?
Really?!
Yes my mom is embarrassed. I changed the title to reflect what is free. I hope you find the app useful.
Interesting. But if I'm reading this right, it's "online only" or cloud use, and not actual software you can install and use on your computer? As someone else has pointed out, that's risky. Companies come and go, and to rely on this place always being around so you can get into your business account is risky. My company uses Quickbooks which is overkill for what we need and we almost went with the online version of it, but our Accountant responded with a very loud, "No No, and NO!", stressing the importance of having actual software we can install and use.
Again, this is neat (and free mostly for the basics) but if they don't have software you can download, I'm out.
You could export your data if they decided to close shop.
Hey Greg!
I'm Sarah (disclaimer, I work at Wave)— and I want to assure you that you can export all of your data at any time. Desktop software is at risk of virus, stolen computers, and crash. You're data is always secure, and always accessible on our platform! If you have any other questions I'd be happy to help- sstockdale@waveapps.com.
Cheers,
Sarah
Technically, if you're listing weaknesses of Desktop software, you might as well list the weaknesses of Cloud software that are somewhat similar: stolen data if your browser has cross-site scripting bugs (similar to virus on desktop), hacked accounts (same as stolen computers), your servers or the Internet could go down (similar to crash on desktop).
Cloud apps aren't always secure or always accessible as we've seen from the Amazon and MS and DNS outages this year. If the servers you host on go down or their DNS server go down or the Internet in part of the country goes down, you get an outage.
Just wanted to clarify as someone who does development/consulting work in this area (web/mobile)...
Where do you install your email services? You have your own email server?If you are so paranoid about the cloud. Where do you host your website? You have your own webserver? In short you have to host your own services and not rely others in the cloud?What?
There are risks w/ running your own systems of course and Sarah covered some of them. You have to choose your own risks, but people should be made aware of all the risks so they can make an informed decision.
What is their business model? Free doesn't exist in this world. Building and maintaining costs money. Usually I'm paranoid if stuff is free, thinking they'll sell your private data or (if it's a hobbyist) drop support or it has security holes. I rather pay for something, than have something for free and get screwed over. Atm we use harvest (http://www.getharvest.com/) which is $12 a month.
Hey!
Wave will never (I repeat, never) sell your personally identifiable data!
Inside Wave you'll see offers from companies like Amex, Staples, Dell etc. These offers live under our Business Savings tab— and allow us to keep Wave's accounting and invoicing tools 100% free (and unlimited). It's pretty cool, we like it:
https://www.waveapps.com/accounting/
Cheers,
Sarah
God damn! I was just looking this kind of software! And good that they have export option too for backups :) Thanks mates!
I tried Wave but I was really annoyed by a few features of it. It required every expense I had to be tied to a product so my products list became cluttered with lots of junk. I have switched over to Studio Cloud and I like it much better.
Sorry to hear that!
In Wave you don't need to tie an expense to a product. Our transactions screen allows you to categorize your transactions & smart software learns your habits and does some of the work for you.
You can check out how our transactions screen works here: https://support.waveapps.com/entries/22657448-Transactions-overview.
Hope that helps!
Cheers,
Sarah
Studio Cloud?!?! Please watch it, I have been really messed up by that company. Data went missing, changed and error after error. They seem to fix a few problems and make a few more. I have records backing this up and would be willing to share. I have since moved to Pixifi and LOVE THEM! Check them out https://www.pixifi.com/?r=MemCap4You use my link and get 30 days free. You can do contracts, contacts, questionnaires, workshops, leads, mileage & accounting to name just a few. They also have a FB support group that is very helpful. Come try it out for yourself
I had a quick look and really liked it. One important question: How about different languages? Is there an option to run the whole thing in other languages than English?
I use this for invoicing and accepting online payments.
I know I am barely scratching the surface but I am grateful for what I do use.
I signed up for this last thursday, got the email confirmation and all. now all of a sudden I can't log into my account..
this is a very nice thanks for sharing it you can also check this online invoice app http://www.invoicemaster.co/
@sarahstockdale:disqus : Does this work for non US companies with specific countries accounting or is this US Tax only ? Question is mainly should i be using this for my accounting as i'm also paying my taxman over 1000$ a year here to get my local taxes done and can't do it myself in whatever pattern i choose (This could help me get a better overview though and that's more of a financial Dashboard even if not finalising the results)
Thanks for your comments and feedback since the start of the thread.
Hi Olivier, we have customers using Wave in over 200 countries, so yes, you can definitely use it outside of the US!
Ping me if you have any other questions: scott@waveapps.com
Cheers,
Scott
I was using both Quickbooks and SuccessWare, and I canceled both and switched to Wave. Invoices look better, general navigation is intuitive and even kinda fun. :) I had my CPA check it out because I was so skeptical of 'free' (and she's a QB advisor) and surprise, surprise... Wave actually DOES know what they're doing. It's free— click around and link your bank transactions, make a draft invoice, and you'll see what I mean. Fun. :) (I made a personal account, too, to handle my personal checking. I'm a nerd, now).
Wave is pretty good, but my friend recently turned me on to a website called PayPanther. It's easy to use and does everything I need. There's a free plan, but I pay $15 a month so I get more user profiles to use for my business partner. It's a lot of these features, but incorporates them seamlessly with CRM and more.
And for those comments questioning if things are safe in the cloud...it's much safer (and cheaper!) than having your own server, especially if you're a small business owner like me.
https://topnotepad.com/simple-online-accounting is the best tool to work with.. It manages all accounting information related to our invoices and estimates. Simple to use and very effective.It has many features : manages expenses , manages Leads (CRM) , Creating invoices , estimates and so on...
Always hated this part of our business. And using a good software can definitely make things easier for you. But I think that using something like https://osome.com/uk/bookkeeping-services/ is even a better solution in some situations.