Thanks to Jurassic Park, the Velociraptor has earned the reputation of being the stealthiest and smartest killer to grace the Cretaceous period. With similar speed and agility, Wave Accounting slipped into the accounting systems jungle in 2010 and has been busy devouring the competition since. So, without further delay, here is the third installment of our accounting solutions series.

Before we scare anyone, rest assured that Wave only shows its claws when it comes to the competition (Velociraptors actually had feathers – please see below). For its countless users, Wave is a free, one-stop shop accounting solution that has quickly become one of the fastest-growing accounting systems in the world.

Similar to the pack hunter mentality of Velociraptors, Wave Accounting has gathered a horde of affiliates and partners to help it overwhelm the competition. These partnerships allow Wave to provide its product completely free of charge by offering partner promotions for its users inside the app. Unless you’re a Wave competitor, this strategy is a win/win!

Being the nimble up-and-coming accounting solution, here is what you can expect from Wave:

Wave Accounting Strengths

  • Completely free, always

  • Built for small business owners to be very user-friendly (Smart Interface)

  • Minimizes manual entry

  • Integrations with your bank/credit cards for automatic expense tracking (with de-duplication features to keep transactions from being logged twice)

Wave Accounting Weaknesses

  • No Payroll in the U.S. until late 2012 (Only available in Canada currently)

  • Unobtrusive advertisements, but ads nonetheless

  • Some users have issues with foreign bank integrations and bank feeds

In fairness, we learned during our research that the Velociraptor was actually about three feet tall and covered in feathers (okay, it’s not as ferocious as the Spielberg version). That said, this dinosaur was one of the deadliest and shrewdest prehistoric animals. We warn you not to overlook Wave just because it looks like a little guy in the accounting world. Doing so could land you in a dangerous position.

Wave Accounting is probably best for business owners who are

  • Small businesses and microbusinesses

  • Mompreneurs and WAHMs

  • Photographers, freelancers, independent entrepreneurs

  • Individuals

If you’re ready to take a bite out of the effort you put into accounting for your small business, try Wave Accounting. It’s always free, so imagine a permanent free trial. Then you can tell your clients you’ve got a Velociraptor on your side!

Is Wave your preferred accounting solution? If so, tell us what you think!

About Shoeboxed!

Shoeboxed is a receipt scanning service with receipt management software that supports multiple methods for receipt capture: send, scan, upload, forward, and more!

You can stuff your receipts into one of our Magic Envelopes (prepaid postage within the US). Use our receipt tracker + receipt scanner app (iPhone, iPad and Android) to snap a picture while on the go. Auto-import receipts from Gmail. Or forward a receipt to your designated Shoeboxed email address.

Turn your receipts into data and deductibles with our expense reports that include IRS-accepted receipt images.

Join over 1 million businesses scanning & organizing receipts, creating expense reports and more—with Shoeboxed.

Try Shoeboxed today!