Review Insights · App Store
Wave: Small Business Software
Wave Financial Inc · 6,583 ratings · ★ 4.4
4.4
★★★★★
6,583 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 69 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"customer"
22 negative reviews mention this · 32% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Useless app from a notably bad company. Dare not to use this app unless you pay their subscription and want risk being a customer of a company which lets its users down. The app has literally no functionality as others have described in their reviews. Many users, including ones…" - l-blb
2
"service"
22 negative reviews mention this · 32% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Scam!. No customer service, beta on important functions; no option for invoicing for additional payment and the worst, after confirmation a client payment we did the job and when almost finished, Wave sent them back the full payment! Which they do…" - Jacobs222
3
"wave"
21 negative reviews mention this · 30% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Useless app from a notably bad company. Dare not to use this app unless you pay their subscription and want risk being a customer of a company which lets its users down. The app has literally no functionality as others have described in their reviews. Many users, including ones…" - l-blb
4
"support"
20 negative reviews mention this · 29% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Do not buy. I paid my fee for a full year. Two days of trying to get my bank accounts to work and no help from support. I asked for a refund and they said no. They are a rip off do not subscribe!" - Tekezo
5
"customer service"
17 negative reviews mention this · 25% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Scam!. No customer service, beta on important functions; no option for invoicing for additional payment and the worst, after confirmation a client payment we did the job and when almost finished, Wave sent them back the full payment! Which they do…" - Jacobs222
6
"been"
15 negative reviews mention this · 22% of all complaints
★★★★★ "This app sucks. My experience with this platform has been terrible from start to finish. The platform itself is clunky, unreliable, and full of issues - but somehow their customer service manages to be even worse. They take forever to respond, they don’t s…" - Chicolai
7
"paid"
13 negative reviews mention this · 19% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Unusable without a paid subscription. I was hoping to use this for basic bookkeeping but none of those features are available without a paid subscription." - Momomonsta9
8
"business"
12 negative reviews mention this · 17% of all complaints
★★★★★ "A child’s toy. As a seasoned professional accountant, my opinion is that wave is not worth the money. Their SaaS is terrible and business practices are less than friendly. They were super petty over refunding my first month, even though I only used the so…" - Pete Dovey
9
"free"
12 negative reviews mention this · 17% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Very little for free. You have to pay for everything" - Just don’t do it! Nope, nope
10
"payment"
12 negative reviews mention this · 17% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Scam!. No customer service, beta on important functions; no option for invoicing for additional payment and the worst, after confirmation a client payment we did the job and when almost finished, Wave sent them back the full payment! Which they do…" - Jacobs222
11
"payments"
12 negative reviews mention this · 17% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Not a serious accounting app. If you’re looking to take payments as a part of your business, do not use this app. They will flag reasonable amounts and cancel your transactions." - crazylegscali
12
"account"
11 negative reviews mention this · 16% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Narrow. The choices of dashboard are too narrow. Only the desktop version gives you account balances" - curtdennison
📋 All 69 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
Useless app from a notably bad company
Dare not to use this app unless you pay their subscription and want risk being a customer of a company which lets its users down.
The app has literally no functionality as others have described in their reviews.
Many users, including ones who felt forced to pay Waves after they stripped basic features, and others who were already paying customers, have had big problems with Waves, including their critical payroll system.
Look at how many people regret using Waves after so many problems and frustrations on online forums (a simple online search will do) and think twice before joining them.
The app has literally no functionality as others have described in their reviews.
Many users, including ones who felt forced to pay Waves after they stripped basic features, and others who were already paying customers, have had big problems with Waves, including their critical payroll system.
Look at how many people regret using Waves after so many problems and frustrations on online forums (a simple online search will do) and think twice before joining them.
❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌Add please packing list
Sometimes we need to make a packing list and we can’t
Unusable without a paid subscription
I was hoping to use this for basic bookkeeping but none of those features are available without a paid subscription.
Do not buy
I paid my fee for a full year. Two days of trying to get my bank accounts to work and no help from support. I asked for a refund and they said no. They are a rip off do not subscribe!
A child’s toy
As a seasoned professional accountant, my opinion is that wave is not worth the money. Their SaaS is terrible and business practices are less than friendly. They were super petty over refunding my first month, even though I only used the software for a week and found their SaaS completely inadequate. I really should’ve known better. It’s a very low value offering.
Very little for free
You have to pay for everything
Scam!
No customer service, beta on important functions; no option for invoicing for additional payment and the worst, after confirmation a client payment we did the job and when almost finished, Wave sent them back the full payment! Which they don’t want to pay now
No Linking Of Bank Accounts
App does not allow linking of bank accounts.
Because this was not clear initially, and no free period of usage is provided, I had to pay and lose $20 for a useless subscription.
I tried to contact their support, but found that not not possible after canceling the service.
Because this was not clear initially, and no free period of usage is provided, I had to pay and lose $20 for a useless subscription.
I tried to contact their support, but found that not not possible after canceling the service.
A JOKE!
THEY WILL LET YOU PROCESS THEN ASK FOR PROOF YOU SEND THEM IT THEN FREEZE ALL FUNDS AND TELL YOU THEY WILL REFUND THE CUSTOMERS I HAVE CUSTOMERS STILL WAITING. LIARS
This app sucks
My experience with this platform has been terrible from start to finish. The platform itself is clunky, unreliable, and full of issues - but somehow their customer service manages to be even worse. They take forever to respond, they don’t solve anything, and every interaction leaves you more frustrated than before.
Find a new app
I only use wave to create invoices and track income as a freelance creative professional. I refuse to use their online payment systems as the fees and holding times are ridiculous. I recently closed a bank account that was by default connected to the wave app, and connected a new one just in case. Wave decides to TURN BACK ON the online payment system retroactively on an invoice, leading to my money currently being held hostage as I have bills to pay today.
Terrible support
I am a pro subscriber to Wave accounting and there is no way to submit a support request to a human being. All I get is AI slop.
I am writing this review in the hope that someone at wave will reach out to me.
I am writing this review in the hope that someone at wave will reach out to me.
A masterclass in hypocrisy and incompetence
I would give Wave zero stars if I could. My experience has been a Kafkaesque nightmare of "customer service" and technical irony.
One day after opening an account, they suspended it because I used Apple Private Email Relay to protect my privacy. They claimed they couldn’t support an "anonymized third-party service." The punchline? Wave uses Apple Private Email Relay for their own marketing and support emails. They literally told me they couldn’t help me via the very service they were using to send the message. It is beyond moronic; it’s an insulting double standard.
The "Pro" Trap: Since they suspended my account, I am now locked out and unable to log in to cancel my paid "Pro" subscription. I have been trying for nearly a month to get a resolution. I received one single "we're looking into it" response on March 4th and have been ghosted ever since.
While they claim they "can't support" my email for account access, they have absolutely no problem using it to hit me with relentless marketing spam.
Bottom line: If you value your time, your money, or basic logic, stay far away from Wave. They will take your subscription fee, lock you out of your own data for exercising basic privacy rights, and then ignore your pleas for help.
One day after opening an account, they suspended it because I used Apple Private Email Relay to protect my privacy. They claimed they couldn’t support an "anonymized third-party service." The punchline? Wave uses Apple Private Email Relay for their own marketing and support emails. They literally told me they couldn’t help me via the very service they were using to send the message. It is beyond moronic; it’s an insulting double standard.
The "Pro" Trap: Since they suspended my account, I am now locked out and unable to log in to cancel my paid "Pro" subscription. I have been trying for nearly a month to get a resolution. I received one single "we're looking into it" response on March 4th and have been ghosted ever since.
While they claim they "can't support" my email for account access, they have absolutely no problem using it to hit me with relentless marketing spam.
Bottom line: If you value your time, your money, or basic logic, stay far away from Wave. They will take your subscription fee, lock you out of your own data for exercising basic privacy rights, and then ignore your pleas for help.
THIS IS A JOKE
This system is a joke. They do not offer half of the things that you need. I’m trying to finish my books for the end of the year and you can’t even run the reports correctly because it doesn’t show half of the information, mind you there’s not an actual phone number for you to call to get a hold of them. You have to wait on a chat system and the last time I had to talk to someone in order to file my 1099‘s which spoiler alert you can’t file anymore on here. I had to wait five hours on a chat and if you don’t answer the chat in enough time, you don’t get to talk to someone don’t waste your time to have to change your books over again for this system.
Cant cancel subscription
Been trying to cancel for months.
VERY limited
Been using the free version of Wave on my desktop web browser for almost a year. The app makes you subscribe to do almost anything, including free browser features. Scammy
Owner
No phone number and no customer service. After authenticator app secondary verification was installed into this app. First phone was not able to access the app. then my lap top. And now my IPad. Leaving me with more than $15,000 in open invoices. All are welcome to contact me to confirm my claim.. small business beware.
Worked great till my account was randomly suspended
Worked great, after testing for 2 weeks was going to upgrade to the paid service but my account was suspended with no notification, no communication. I have no clue what happened, whether i did something incorrectly etc. the only way to contact support is if you have a paid account, otherwise you can only talk to an ai chat bot and then only if you are signed in. So i have no access to any support whatsoever, not even an ai chatbot. I guess all my invoices are dead, gotta go remake them, be wary if you use this program.
Edit: 4 days later i have been informed i was banned for using bitcoin. For the record, i have never used bitcoin in my life, they have given me no further responses, and cannot provide me any context as to what the transaction was, the date of it etc. So after spending hours getting everything setup, I’m banned for nothing (i seriously have never associated with bitcoin nor would i know how to receive a bitcoin payment), and i have no recourse, my files, invoices, estimates, receipts are all gone now.
Edit2: A week later I have been informed it was not a bitcoin issue, their automated system improperly flagged my account and had it banned. Ridiculous that I had to be locked out of my account for 1.5 weeks, I will no longer be using this software, ymmv.
Edit: 4 days later i have been informed i was banned for using bitcoin. For the record, i have never used bitcoin in my life, they have given me no further responses, and cannot provide me any context as to what the transaction was, the date of it etc. So after spending hours getting everything setup, I’m banned for nothing (i seriously have never associated with bitcoin nor would i know how to receive a bitcoin payment), and i have no recourse, my files, invoices, estimates, receipts are all gone now.
Edit2: A week later I have been informed it was not a bitcoin issue, their automated system improperly flagged my account and had it banned. Ridiculous that I had to be locked out of my account for 1.5 weeks, I will no longer be using this software, ymmv.
Not a serious accounting app
If you’re looking to take payments as a part of your business, do not use this app. They will flag reasonable amounts and cancel your transactions.
Useless compared to website
If you’re using the free version don’t even both downloading this app it’s completely useless. You can’t see any of your transaction or even pull up a simple report from the app
Great option to make you look like a fool.
I was ready to upgrade my service with them after a payment or two went through with no issues and it was charged back and said my business payments aren’t supported by wave. Now I have multiple invoices sent out and look like a fool because wave wants to lead you on with services and not deliver.
Useless app
App does not do much, at first you think it’s just hard to navigate, after a while you realize it’s as simple as it is. Not a very helpful app at all and you have to pay a monthly membership. I’m using stride for free, it does so much more.
Useless
Didn’t file my year end tax forms like I paid them to, won’t respond to emails and can’t get thru their useless chat box. No phone line either. 1099s are incorrect and W2s were late. Save yourself the trouble and do NOT use this company.
False advertising
They said they could process my payments and a customer paid and the app said that the funds would be available in 2 to 7 business days, then after 7 days they asked me for additional information holding my money hostage. I processed a refund to my client and have now caused a major inconvenience in cashflow and client relations. Will be using another payment process and invoice software
Payroll
Signed up for payroll with wave earlier this year and im finding out they never sent quarterly tax payments to the irs or filed the proper forms. Haven’t even been able to get in touch with anyone from support it’s been weeks already. They took the tax money from my paycheck but never made the payments to the irs
Seems like a scam
The
y take your money and they say it’s being processed it’s being paid to your bank and then they say one week later oh there’s like a security check you need to give us like 10 different documents and then i asked , what is the quickest way maybe just refund so I can ask the client to pay me a check. It would be faster. They don’t even give you a choice saying if you don’t provide the documents. They just sent an email saying we’re blocking. You can’t receive your funds for 70 days. I mean, who does that take your money and then don’t give it back for 70 days without any choice of resolution and you can’t even call them
y take your money and they say it’s being processed it’s being paid to your bank and then they say one week later oh there’s like a security check you need to give us like 10 different documents and then i asked , what is the quickest way maybe just refund so I can ask the client to pay me a check. It would be faster. They don’t even give you a choice saying if you don’t provide the documents. They just sent an email saying we’re blocking. You can’t receive your funds for 70 days. I mean, who does that take your money and then don’t give it back for 70 days without any choice of resolution and you can’t even call them
Trash
Dishonest trash company just kicked rates up by $3 a month with zero notice. ZERO ability to contact customer service. Software wasn’t that good in the first place so I’m leaving.
No communication
Wave is cheap, unreliable, unprofessional, distasteful and 100% not what they use to be. Run away and whatever you do, don’t do anything beyond the free version.
I have 10 emails into support for confirmation numbers for refunds from 5 days ago. Still nothing, my customers have nothing. So the funds just disappeared…
I have 10 emails into support for confirmation numbers for refunds from 5 days ago. Still nothing, my customers have nothing. So the funds just disappeared…
Don’t use!! Get QuickBooks
Worst choice I could have made as a small business. I set up to take credit card payments. They don’t process it for 7 days (no big deal) then tell you it couldn’t be processed because they’re “missing information”. First transaction I made they needed the contract. No issue, sent them the contract, after 4 weeks payments finally went through. Did a few more payments and then suddenly, with the same customer, same job, they’re “missing information” and it will take 70 days to refund. No explanation on what they are missing or what they need. My customer and I are without over $14,000 during a time sensitive project. No customer service number to call. Email support is the only option and they respond vaguely with only one email per day, if you’re lucky enough to get correspondence back at all.
Issues
I can not get the app to open.
Poor customer service
Poor customer service
Nightmare stress for an employee
I clicked the invitation link my employer sent me, it asked me to sign up, I put in my email and created password it says page not found. So I did sign in with Google, it asks me questions as if I OWN a business and there’s no relationship to my employer.
Would not recommend
Would not recommend
AVOID WAVE AT ALL COSTS - They Will Hold Your Money Hostage Infefinitely
If I had the option to give zero stars, or negative stars, that would be more accurate.
If you value getting paid in a reasonable timeframe, RUN from Wave.
I had a client pay via bank transfer. Wave’s system showed the payment received, but then decided to hold MY money for an indefinitely with ZERO transparency, ZERO ability to expedite, and ZERO care for the fact that small business owners rely on timely payments. Their “AI Chat” is a sham. It’s meant to prevent people from actually getting to someone who can help because they don’t want to staff actual humans. What a complete joke of a company.
Their customer “service” is an outsourced nightmare - completely useless, scripted responses, no ability to actually help. Oh, and they are only open 4 hours a day during the busiest time of the day. They are ALWAYS experiencing “unusually long”wait times because they are terrible at their job. When I explained I needed the funds urgently, they basically shrugged and said “wait.” No empathy, no solutions, no accountability.
The UX is confusing and poorly designed. They don’t clearly communicate which payment methods qualify for instant payout vs. being held hostage. The instant transfer marketing tactics are deceitful. There whole operation is deceitful. They seem like a con job.
For a payment processing company, the ONE JOB is to process payments reliably and transparently. Wave fails spectacularly at both.
Small businesses deserve better. I’m switching to literally ANY other platform - Stripe, Square, PayPal, even Venmo for Business would be better than this disaster.
Wave: You’re holding people’s livelihoods hostage with your incompetent processing times and non-existent customer service. Do better, or get out of the business.
TL;DR: Wave will receive your payment, confirm it’s there, then hold it indefinitely while it gets lost in the black hole of incompetence. Absolute garbage company and products. You’ve been warned.
If you value getting paid in a reasonable timeframe, RUN from Wave.
I had a client pay via bank transfer. Wave’s system showed the payment received, but then decided to hold MY money for an indefinitely with ZERO transparency, ZERO ability to expedite, and ZERO care for the fact that small business owners rely on timely payments. Their “AI Chat” is a sham. It’s meant to prevent people from actually getting to someone who can help because they don’t want to staff actual humans. What a complete joke of a company.
Their customer “service” is an outsourced nightmare - completely useless, scripted responses, no ability to actually help. Oh, and they are only open 4 hours a day during the busiest time of the day. They are ALWAYS experiencing “unusually long”wait times because they are terrible at their job. When I explained I needed the funds urgently, they basically shrugged and said “wait.” No empathy, no solutions, no accountability.
The UX is confusing and poorly designed. They don’t clearly communicate which payment methods qualify for instant payout vs. being held hostage. The instant transfer marketing tactics are deceitful. There whole operation is deceitful. They seem like a con job.
For a payment processing company, the ONE JOB is to process payments reliably and transparently. Wave fails spectacularly at both.
Small businesses deserve better. I’m switching to literally ANY other platform - Stripe, Square, PayPal, even Venmo for Business would be better than this disaster.
Wave: You’re holding people’s livelihoods hostage with your incompetent processing times and non-existent customer service. Do better, or get out of the business.
TL;DR: Wave will receive your payment, confirm it’s there, then hold it indefinitely while it gets lost in the black hole of incompetence. Absolute garbage company and products. You’ve been warned.
Really bummed, can’t even sign in and app crashes
I really wanted to like this as a friend uses the app and seems to not have issues but I’ve tried no less than 5 different occasions to just set up my account and the app freezes, won’t allow input and crashes. Not something I want to use for my financial records. Big bummer
Double Charged
Why is my refund being denied if I have been double charged for months?
Scam
So far, I can only determine this is a scam. I use this account for years as a free account. Then I upgraded so that I could scan receipts and they charged me, but it never upgraded. When I reached out to customer service, they told me to make sure that the app was up-to-date, which I did. Then I uninstalled and reinstalled the app. It never upgraded. I decided maybe it was my phone issue so I created a new account under a new email address and I paid the fee again. Again, I had the same issue. It will not give me the features and tells me to upgrade even though I’ve already paid for it. I reached out to customer service but got an AI bought. It gave me no help and told me that it would send an email to get a resolution. That was a week ago and I’ve still heard nothing. At this point, I can only determine this is a scam and will be going with another service and trying to get my money back.
Poor support
I like this software in general but just know that if you use the free version-there is ZERO customer support. So they kind of force you to either wing it or upgrade and THAT I don’t like. Support should be available at each tier. Additionally, I’ve tried to upgrade my account in order to accept credit card payments through the invoices, but they won’t allow me to do so and there’s so much to go though to reach a real human. For this reason, I mostly use Square invoices instead. Wave could level up, if only they would!! :(
They 100% lock you out until you update
Good luck if you barely have a signal.
Lack of customer support
Customer support does not exist. No phone number to speak to someone. The steps to stop charging a credit card are hours to implement if possible. I have been dealing with poor customer service for more than 2 months with no success. I have gotten nowhere with these jerks. We are a HOA of 12 and we are being treated like idiots
I will continue to post bad reviews until someone gets on the phone and supports this product
I will continue to post bad reviews until someone gets on the phone and supports this product
Downloaded app to track receipts-paid only feature
On the Wave website, which I’ve been using for years, I can work with my transactions for free and upload receipts for free. When I went to view my transactions, I was told to pick a plan, though I can do this online without paying for a plan. Same thing with receipts.
So… what’s the point of using the app then?
So… what’s the point of using the app then?
Can’t use my app
Saying to update it won’t let me since my phone can’t run is 16. So what do I do. Don’t want to buy new phone
Title: Extremely Frustrating: Funds Held Without Cause
I have been using Wave for my handyman business. While their invoicing and bookkeeping features work, the payment system is extremely unreliable.
My clients paid invoices promptly, yet Wave has held my funds for days without releasing them. Support provided only ticket numbers and no actual resolution. The Risk Team demanded email or text confirmations from my clients, effectively holding my money hostage and issuing arbitrary ultimatums, even though all services were fully rendered and payments were legitimate.
This practice is unacceptable and could constitute unlawful withholding of earned income. I have never experienced a payment provider that requires proof from clients for one-time services before releasing funds that are already paid.
Be warned: using Wave may seriously delay access to your earnings, and prolonged withholding could lead to legal action to recover your money. I cannot recommend this service to anyone who needs timely access to their funds.
My clients paid invoices promptly, yet Wave has held my funds for days without releasing them. Support provided only ticket numbers and no actual resolution. The Risk Team demanded email or text confirmations from my clients, effectively holding my money hostage and issuing arbitrary ultimatums, even though all services were fully rendered and payments were legitimate.
This practice is unacceptable and could constitute unlawful withholding of earned income. I have never experienced a payment provider that requires proof from clients for one-time services before releasing funds that are already paid.
Be warned: using Wave may seriously delay access to your earnings, and prolonged withholding could lead to legal action to recover your money. I cannot recommend this service to anyone who needs timely access to their funds.
I hate Wave
I pay for the pro accounting service and also the payroll service to help run my business and the more I deal with Wave, the more I hate them. To begin, the customer service is beyond awful, they have no phone number to call when I have a question and when the chat bot can’t help, I send an email to customer support that doesn’t get answered for 2 months. (No exaggeration no typo) Now this week they decided to migrate my payroll account to a third party provider (check??) so I’m locked out from running payroll. And to recap, no phone number I can call for help, they have a message on the chat service that says they’re having a large volume of traffic so they limited the chat hours from 11am to 2pm (three hours), so I have employees expecting paychecks and my payroll provider locked me out with no means to contact them for support. It’s well worth the extra $10 to pay Gusto for a service that works and they actually support when I have a question. Goodbye Wave 👋 (pun intended)
DO NOT USE!
It all seems good and well until they change a critical feature that screws up your entire business and/or winds up costing you infinitely more than you planned. Absolute scum business practices that can destroy your small business.
Terrible
I have not had a functioning app for a couple days now and all I get is a chat bot. I submitted an email and no response. I have paid way too much money in processing fees and pro fees to get no support when the ability to bill my customers goes down! I’m leaving wave for quickbooks!
WORST PAYMENT APP-DO NOT TRUST!
Cleaning businesses -I have an LLC, and apparently I am a glutton for punishment. I used them once and was so upset with their customer service that I discontinued use. Recently, I had some issues with one of my payment apps and I needed quick payment and I remembered that I still had this app. I went ahead and gave it another shot I’m still waiting on $700 worth of deposits. I have repeatedly reached out to customer service to the point. I am finally just angry and I’m writing a review. They absolutely will not get back to you in a timely manner, they will not discuss deposits with you and there is no one to call. And I do mean no one to call. The chat box is pretty much unhelpful. And there is always something wrong with the app. Trust the other negative reviews. Definitely trust mine as well. I have screenshots if anybody wants them.
Every single payment was made on August 6, and Wave chose to separate every single one of those payments out in different installments. It is now since last Wednesday and I still have received zero customer service help.
RUN FROM THIS COMPANY.
Every single payment was made on August 6, and Wave chose to separate every single one of those payments out in different installments. It is now since last Wednesday and I still have received zero customer service help.
RUN FROM THIS COMPANY.
Not working
Worked for a minute, subscribed, and it has done nothing but crash since. Disappointing. Will be looking for a refund.
I can’t even start
I just downloaded the app am filling the information (login whit my Apple ID) and kick me out immediately when I try again review everything and keep kicking me out.
Worst
Customer service is terrible. Had issue with payroll, tried to get customer support. 5 days after my request I got an email saying they were sorry. No solution, just sorry. Another 2 weeks and still having issues. No live support.
+ 19 more in the clipboard copy
Sentiment summary
85%
Positive (4-5★)
3%
Neutral (3★)
12%
Negative (1-2★)