Free Alternatives to Wave Accounting Software
Wave Accounting left the global market. We built Fastbooks because we were customers who got left behind.
A Letter from Former Wave Accounting Users
We started using Wave Accounting in 2014 when we were a small team trying to keep costs low. Wave was everything we needed — free invoicing, expense tracking, and reports that made tax season manageable. For six years, it was the backbone of our financial operations.
When Wave was acquired and began restricting access to US and Canadian users only, we were suddenly without our primary accounting tool. We tried the paid alternatives — QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks — but none of them felt right. They were either too expensive for what we needed, or too complex for our small team.
That frustration became the spark for Fastbooks. We set out to build a free accounting tool that captures everything we loved about Wave — the simplicity, the clean design, the "it just works" feeling — while adding modern features like AI and a better global experience.
Why Wave Accounting Is No Longer an Option for Most Businesses
Wave Financial was acquired by H&R Block in 2019. Since then, the product has shifted to focus exclusively on the North American market. As of 2023, new signups from outside the United States and Canada are no longer accepted, and many features have been restricted or removed for international users.
If you are a small business in the UK, Europe, Australia, India, Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East, or anywhere else outside North America, Wave Accounting is no longer a viable option for you. This has left a significant gap in the market for free accounting software.
That gap is exactly what Fastbooks fills.
How Fastbooks Compares to Wave Accounting
| Capability | Fastbooks | Wave Accounting |
|---|---|---|
| Available worldwide | ✓ | ✗ |
| Free plan with core features | ✓ | ✓ |
| Professional invoicing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Quotes & estimates | ✓ | ✓ |
| Expense & bill tracking | ✓ | ✓ |
| Recurring invoices | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI-powered bill extraction | ✓ | ✗ |
| AI Accountant chat assistant | ✓ | ✗ |
| Product & service catalogue | ✓ | ✗ |
| Profit & Loss report | ✓ | ✓ |
| Balance Sheet | ✓ | ✓ |
| Aged Receivables | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tax Summary report | ✓ | ✓ |
| Revenue by Customer report | ✓ | ✗ |
| Email invoices & quotes | ✓ | ✓ |
| Public shareable document links | ✓ | ✗ |
| Quote to invoice conversion | ✓ | ✗ |
| Dark mode | ✓ | ✗ |
| Keyboard navigation shortcuts | ✓ | ✗ |
| Team roles & permissions | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bulk document actions | ✓ | ✗ |
| Completely ad-free | ✓ | ✗ |
| Bank connections | ✗ | ✓ |
| Payroll (paid) | ✗ | ✓ |
What You Get with Fastbooks
Invoicing & Quotes
Create professional invoices and quotes, email them to clients, track status, and convert quotes to invoices with a single click. Set up recurring invoices for regular clients.
Bills & Expense Tracking
Upload receipts and bills — AI reads and extracts the details automatically. Track what you owe, attach documents, and categorise everything for tax time.
AI Accountant
An AI assistant that understands your financial data. Ask it questions in plain English: "What did I spend on marketing this quarter?" — and get answers instantly.
13+ Financial Reports
Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, Trial Balance, Aged Receivables, Tax Summary, General Ledger, Revenue by Customer, Expense Report, and more.
Contact Management
Keep all your customers and vendors in one place. See a full activity timeline for every contact — invoices sent, bills received, payments made.
Team Collaboration
Invite your accountant or team members. Assign owner, admin, or member roles. Everyone works on the same real-time data.
Other Wave Accounting Alternatives We Considered
Before building Fastbooks, we evaluated every option on the market. Here is what we found:
- QuickBooks Online — Powerful but starts at $30/month. Overkill and overpriced for most small businesses.
- Xero — Clean interface but $15/month for the starter plan, with limits on invoices.
- FreshBooks — Good for freelancers but $19/month and limited to 5 billable clients on the cheapest plan.
- Zoho Books — Free tier exists but limited to businesses under $50K revenue and restricted features.
- GnuCash — Free and open source but desktop-only with a steep learning curve.
None of them offered what Wave did: a genuinely free, web-based, full-featured accounting tool for small businesses. That is the gap Fastbooks fills.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fastbooks really free?
Yes. Invoicing, quotes, bills, contacts, products, and reports are all free. We offer optional paid plans for teams and advanced features, but the free plan is not a trial — it is a full product.
Can I use Fastbooks outside the US?
Absolutely. Fastbooks is available worldwide. We built it specifically because we were locked out of Wave as international users.
Can I import my Wave data into Fastbooks?
We are working on import tools. In the meantime, you can manually set up your contacts and products and start fresh with Fastbooks.
Does Fastbooks have bank connections?
Not yet. Bank feeds are on our roadmap. For now, you can upload bills and receipts, and our AI will extract the details automatically.
Is my data safe?
Yes. Fastbooks runs on Google Cloud with bank-grade encryption. Your data is backed up automatically and never shared with third parties.
The Free Wave Accounting Alternative You Have Been Looking For
Join thousands of small businesses who have made the switch. Create your free account in under a minute — no credit card required.