ZipBooks vs. Wave Accounting


Free Wave alternative for contractors, consultants, and small businesses.

Though Wave and ZipBooks are both free invoice services, ZipBooks still has features that make it hard to go without. ZipBooks has great costumer support for all users, without having to pay a single penny. Look below at the features and see for yourself why ZipBooks is the obvious choice.

Summary
Number of clients you can invoice
Unlimited
Unlimited
Additional Staff Accounts Included
With paid plan
With paid plan
Support
In-app chat always free
In-app chat only with paid add-on
Storage
Unlimited
Unlimited
Pricing
FREE
FREE

Truly free

Enjoy unlimited access to our software at not cost. We won’t ever charge you a hidden or monthly fee. And while we’ll provide you finance features like the integrating with credit card payment, we won’t push you into using them.

Online invoicing
Yes
Yes
Send unlimited invoices
Yes
Yes
Get paid faster with online payments
2 options on free plan (card processor may charge per transaction)
Add-on options
See exactly when your invoice is viewed
Yes
Yes
Recurring invoicing
With paid plan
With paid plan
Multi-currency invoicing
Yes
Yes
Autobilling
With paid plan
With paid plan

One-click invoices

With just a few clicks, ZipBooks invoicing can get your invoice sent to a client. Group unbilled time and client info into your invoice, click “Finalize,” and then “Send.”

Track expenses
Yes
Yes
Automatic expense imports from credit card and bank
Yes 1 bank connection
With paid plan
Expense tracking – including mobile input
Yes
Yes
Snap a pic and instantly capture receipts
Yes
With paid plan
Track expenses by client
Yes
Yes
Add expenses to invoices
Yes
Yes

Access your data on-the-go

If you start your day on one device and end it on another, ZipBooks allows you to switch back and forth with ease. Our online accounting software is the same no matter where you access it from. You can use it on a laptop, smart phone, mobile device, and multiple operating systems.

So if you’re at the grocery store, feel free to pull out your phone and add a new expense entry. If you’re on vacation or working from home, you can still get to your ZipBooks invoices and client information. Take the office with you wherever you go.

Track time
With paid plan
With paid plan
Unlimited time tracking
Yes
No
Record billable time from anywhere
Yes
No
Different rates for each project
Yes
No

ZipBooks has a time tracker

While Wave does offer their basic services for free, they don’t have a time tracker.

ZipBooks has a time tracker that is only available in paid plans, but the tracker is fully integrated and easily allows you to import your team’s time entries into your client invoices.

To simplify your cloud-based accounting, launch ZipBooks’ time tracker and start and stop time as you do your work. Or, if it’s more convenient, you can also enter your time manually.

With ZipBooks, keeping track of time as you go means allowing yourself to invoice faster. When you create a new invoice for a client, just click “Add unbilled time,” and ZipBooks will automatically gather in the time you have completed.

You’ll save time, keep more accurate records, and be more transparent when you use our time tracking feature.

Team time tracking
Yes
No
Manage team timesheets
Yes
No
Team expense reporting
Yes
No

Data-protection in the cloud

If you’re moving your office to the cloud, we can protect your data with 256-bit SSL encryption. Plus, by storing your information online, you’ll avoid physical loss, theft, and hard drive failure.

Double-entry Accounting
Yes
Yes
Bank integration
Yes
With paid plan
Reporting
Yes
Yes
Integration with payroll
Gusto
With paid plan
Connect with PayPal
Yes
Yes

Intuitive design and friendly user-interface

The first time you log into ZipBooks, you’ll understand how easy it is to use. Access every software feature from the left side of the page. There’s pretty much only one way to complete any given task.

Plus, the way to complete one task is very similar to the way you complete another. For example, creating an invoice is very similar to the way you create a new estimate.

So when you learn to use one feature within the software, you’ve already learned how to use most of the others.

And you’ll love how your invoices look on the client end of things. They’re simple, professional, and easy-to-read. Even customize them with your company logo and view your invoice template as a PDF before you send it.

Enjoy a software that makes sense when you start sending invoices and tracking project information from your free ZipBooks account.

Time Worth Tracking

ZipBooks lets you track your time from any browser on the spot. After tracking time, you can immediately submit your time and it will become billable in an invoice.

Include a Team

ZipBooks lets you have unlimited team members so you can track all of your different projects, regardless of who is completing them. Set up different features for your team according to your needs..

Brilliant Support

Have a question about ZipBooks? Chat with support. ZipBooks caters to your needs and is always ready to help. It's not worth getting frustrated trying to figure it all out on your own.

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