What people complain about in Wave

Capabilities people described needing that Wave does not give them, taken from the highest-scoring problems first. These are individual accounts written in each person’s own terms, so two entries may describe the same underlying gap in different words.

• Mobile app with full desktop feature parity
• Intelligent transaction auto-tagging system
• Accounting software with built-in inter-entity loan and ownership tracking instead of manual spreadsheets
• Accounting software that handles assets with multiple owners and separate funding sources
• Automated workflows for partner reimbursements on shared asset purchases
• Clear guidance and automation for depreciation calculations on partial ownership assets
• A fast, purpose-built receipt camera app that syncs instantly with accounting software
• Accounting software with automatic linking of bank feed deposits to journal entry lines
• Feature to mark imported transaction as 'included in JE' for P&L reporting
• Tool to automatically parse settlement statements and generate correct journal entries
• Integration with Wave to post detailed income and expense breakdowns from net deposits
• Affordable, simple accounting software for micro clients under $100K revenue
• Multi-channel payout aggregation that handles different payout formats
• Lump-sum payment fee estimation without invoice details
• Sales tax tracking across platforms that collect on behalf vs self-collection
• Receipt import and digital storage to replace printing
• Unified import from multiple sources without manual data entry
• Inventory management software that integrates Wave and Google Sheets for automatic syncing
• Automated reconciliation and multi-account support without manual spreadsheet tracking
• Automated integration of Square sales reports with bank transaction feeds
• Simple, non-accountant-friendly bookkeeping workflow for receipt-to-report pipeline
• Transparent multi-artist revenue and expense tracking with sliding scale pricing support
• Photography-specific financial tracking app with gear depreciation and mileage
• Simple financial dashboard that replaces manual spreadsheet tracking with automated income and expense categorization
• Invoicing software with guaranteed issue resolution and callback support

The manual processes people built around the gap. A long workaround list is the strongest evidence a problem is real: someone is already paying for it in time. Where several people described the same workaround, it is marked.

• manually building Excel sheets to track inter-entity transactions
• Using personal savings account for business asset purchase
• Manual tracking of partner reimbursement via wire transfer
• Creating custom depreciation and asset accounts in Wave without clear methodology
• uses Wave to take pictures of receipts but it's too slow
• creates a journal entry that debits deductions and net, credits gross, then imports net deposit
• manually adjusts P&L to avoid double-counting
• Uses Wave's bank feed to only record net deposit
• Might manually create journal entry to add gross and deductions but unsure how
• uses spreadsheets instead of paid accounting software
• Uses Google Sheet with columns for date, platform, gross, fees, shipping, net
• Logs Instagram payments as lump sum and estimates fees
• Manually tracks COGS for materials and packaging separately
• Relies on platform-specific payout handling (Etsy batches deposits, Shopify uses own processor)
• prints everything out to save receipts
• uses separate software for booking (Janeapp) and payroll (Payworks)
• Manually logs each sale into a Google Sheet
• uses spreadsheet to track transactions beyond 2-3 accounts
• used Sheets for bookkeeping but panicked at tax time due to lack of structure
• snap pics of receipts and upload them to Wave but lost on how to use for anything else

The problems themselves

Highest opportunity score first.

• Payment account deactivated without warning, funds withheld for weeks, disrupting operations with no clear resolution path.

  5Critical
  General Business Services·Payment Processing·FundShield Payments

• The Wave Invoicing mobile app lacks advanced features available on desktop, and auto-tagging of recurring transactions is inaccurate.

  3Medium
  Accounting & Bookkeeping·Software Feature Gap·WavePro Mobile Companion

• A solo handyman/repair/fabrication LLC owner needs accounting software that handles income tracking, taxes, bookkeeping, receipts, invoicing, payments, works on iOS/Linux, and integrates with non-traditional payment methods, while avoiding QuickBooks.

  3Medium
  Home Services·Accounting & Financial Management·SoloFlow Accounting

• User is dissatisfied with Wave's removal of phone support and reliance on AI chatbots for customer service, and is seeking an alternative bookkeeping and payment processing software with human support.

  4High
  Software and Technology·Software Selection·SupportFirst Books

• Need affordable multi-entity accounting software that supports inter-entity transactions and complex ownership structures without requiring separate subscriptions per entity.

  4High
  Accounting & Bookkeeping·Accounting & Financial Management·EntityHub Accounting

• Small SCORP business owner needs payroll software and W-2 setup for 3 people.

  3Medium
  Accounting & Bookkeeping·Payroll Management·MicroPayroll Pro

• A business owner is confused about how to properly account for partial ownership of equipment purchased with personal funds and reimbursed by a partner, specifically how to set up depreciation and asset tracking in their accounting software.

  3Medium
  Professional Services·Accounting & Financial Management·CoAsset Pro

• Wave Invoicing has unreliable transaction syncing and unresponsive customer support, causing accounting headaches.

  3Medium
  Accounting & Bookkeeping·Software Reliability & Performance·SyncLedger Pro

• Wave Invoicing is unreliable, often not working, and needs significant improvement.

  3Medium
  Accounting & Bookkeeping·Software Reliability & Performance·InvoiceStream Pro

• Invoice and payment receipt processing is too slow, especially taking photos of receipts.

  3Medium
  Accounting & Bookkeeping·Invoicing & Billing·QuickSnap Receipts

• Wave double-counts net income when journal entries for trucking settlements are combined with the bank feed import, causing inaccurate P&L reporting.

  3Medium
  Accounting & Bookkeeping·Account Reconciliation / Discrepancy Resolution·SettlementSync

• Bookkeeper struggles to record gross income and deductions from trucking settlement statements when only net pay hits the bank account, seeking a clean journal entry method.

  3Medium
  Accounting & Bookkeeping·Accounting & Financial Management·Settlement Splitter for Wave

• Accounting software users are frustrated by in-app advertisements and upgrade prompts that disrupt their workflow.

  3Medium
  Accounting & Bookkeeping·User Experience·Ad-Free Ledger

• Wave accounting app has most features locked behind a paywall, including viewing previously entered transactions.

  3Medium
  Accounting & Bookkeeping·Invoicing & Billing·InvoiceLite

• Sole business owner needs an affordable, easy-to-use bookkeeping app that integrates receipt scanning, invoicing with CC payments, bank connection, financial reporting, tax estimation, and AR/AP tracking.

  3Medium
  General Business Services·Bookkeeping·SoloBooks

• Accounting software for micro clients under $100K revenue is too expensive or lacks appropriate features.

  3Medium
  Accounting & Bookkeeping·Financial Management·MicroLedger

• A new small cleaning business owner needs an integrated invoicing, payment, and bookkeeping solution that handles recurring billing for commercial clients.

  3Medium
  Cleaning & Maintenance·Invoicing & Billing·CleanBill Pro

• User is dissatisfied with QuickBooks Desktop subscription cost and wants to find an alternative online accounting solution that allows self-managed monthly bookkeeping.

  3Medium
  General Business Services·Accounting & Financial Management·BookkeepFlow

• Tracking income and fees from sales across Etsy, Shopify, and Instagram DMs without formal invoices is time-consuming and error-prone, especially for tax reconciliation and sales tax compliance.

  3Medium
  E-commerce·Reconciliation & Cleanup Workflow·StitchSales

• Need simple, non-cloud bookkeeping software for Mac that imports CSV from various sources and works for Canadian small business.

  3Medium
  Accounting & Bookkeeping·Accounting & Financial Management·MacLedger Pro