# Wave

> Free accounting software with unlimited invoicing and expense tracking — Pro plan adds automatic bank imports and Etsy transaction syncing for $19/month.

Source: https://selfpublishingdirectory.com/bookkeeping-tax/wave
Website: https://www.waveapps.com
Category: Bookkeeping & Tax (https://selfpublishingdirectory.com/bookkeeping-tax)
Pricing: freemium — $0–$19/monthly
AI-powered: no
Tags: free, freemium, invoicing, expense-tracking, bank-reconciliation, etsy-integration, beginner-friendly, reporting
Last verified: 2026-07-01
Best For: New indie authors who want basic bookkeeping without software costs
Platforms Connected: Bank accounts (Pro), Etsy (Pro, US only)
Tax Filing: no
Tool Type: accounting-software

Wave gives indie authors a genuinely free accounting foundation for tracking royalty income and publishing expenses. The Starter plan costs nothing and covers unlimited invoicing, expense entry, and financial reports — enough for most authors just starting to organize their publishing finances without paying for software.

## What You Get

- **Unlimited invoicing:** Create professional invoices for freelance writing, ghostwriting, or editing clients — no invoice or client caps on either plan
- **Expense tracking:** Log deductible expenses by category (cover design, editing, advertising, subscriptions) manually, or via receipt photo upload
- **Financial reports:** Generate profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash flow statements for tax prep — these feed directly into Schedule C categories your CPA or tax software needs
- **Payment processing:** Accept credit cards and ACH payments via Wave Payments at 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction (Starter); Pro plan reduces the per-transaction fee on the first 10 monthly transactions

## What's Behind the Pro Paywall

The free Starter plan requires manual bank statement imports. Wave Pro ($19/month or $190/year) unlocks automatic bank transaction sync and auto-categorization — the features that eliminate ongoing manual data entry. Pro also includes:

- **Etsy integration:** Automatic import of Etsy shop transactions (US Pro subscribers only, synced every 24 hours)
- **Auto-merge and categorize:** Transactions are matched and categorized based on your history, reducing month-end reconciliation time
- **Late payment reminders:** Automated follow-up emails for unpaid invoices
- **Unlimited users:** The free Starter plan restricts accounts to single-user access; Pro adds unlimited users with different permission levels

## Who It's For

- **New indie authors:** Writers just starting to track publishing income who need a free starting point with room to upgrade as revenue grows
- **Simple finances:** Authors with one or two income sources (e.g., KDP royalties + occasional editing client) and predictable expense categories
- **US and Canadian authors only:** Wave Payments only deposits to US and Canadian bank accounts; features like Etsy integration are US-only

**Pricing:** Starter plan is permanently free for core accounting — not a time-limited trial. Pro plan is $19/month or $190/year (often discounted to ~$9.50/month for the first 3 months). Optional add-ons: Receipts ($8/month or $72/year), Payroll (starting $25/month), Wave Advisors dedicated bookkeeper service (starting $149/month, or a one-time $229 accounting coaching session).

## Strengths

- **No invoice or client caps:** Unlike FreshBooks (5 clients on the $23/month tier), Wave imposes no limits on how many clients or invoices you can manage — even on the free plan
- **Genuinely free:** Core accounting features remain free indefinitely, with no credit card required to get started
- **Familiar double-entry structure:** Wave's chart of accounts and reporting matches professional accounting software, making it easy to hand reports to a CPA at tax time

## Limitations

- **Auto-bank imports are Pro-only:** On the free plan, you must upload bank statements manually or enter transactions by hand — a significant time drain for authors with active multi-platform royalty streams
- **No KDP integration:** Wave does not connect directly to Amazon KDP. Authors must manually enter royalty deposits from their bank statement or downloaded KDP reports
- **Customer support only for paying users:** Starter plan users have no access to human support; reviews from 2025 flag support issues following Wave's mid-2025 payroll processor switch, with many users reporting slow or absent responses
- **Limited third-party integrations:** Wave offers fewer app connections than QuickBooks or Xero, making it a weaker fit for authors with complex software ecosystems

## Alternatives

FreshBooks ($23/month) includes automatic expense categorization without needing a separate paid tier, plus stronger invoicing workflows. For authors who need auto-bank imports without paying, the only path in Wave is upgrading to Pro at $19/month — making FreshBooks a comparable alternative at $4/month more.