FrontAccounting vs Wave

FrontAccounting is free, self-hosted web accounting software for small companies, covering accounting tasks across a broader ERP chain. It includes purchasing, sales, accounts payable and receivable, inventory, manufacturing, fixed assets, and a general ledger with budget. Sales tools include quotations, orders, delivery notes, invoices, credit notes, batch invoicing, point-of-sale definitions, and payment allocation. Purchasing includes purchase orders, goods receival notes, supplier price lists and payments, and transaction attachments. Inventory supports stock items, locations, transfers, reorder levels, average material cost, and barcode scanner entry; manufacturing includes bills of materials and work orders. It supports multiple companies and users with different privileges, along with backup, restore, and simple audit trails. Reports can be printed, emailed, converted to PDF, or exported to Excel or OpenOffice Calc. Multi-currency and GST/VAT support are listed. Installation requires a web server, PHP, and MySQL with InnoDB enabled; other database systems are unsupported. The software is web-only, and support requests are directed to its forum. The listed plan is free.

Wave's invoicing software helps businesses create and send invoices, receive payments, and manage customer information. Invoice templates can be customized with a logo and brand colors using drag-and-drop editing. It supports recurring invoices and automatic credit card payments for repeat customers. Customers can pay by credit card, bank payment (ACH/EFT), or Apple Pay, and invoice and payment information connects to Wave's accounting feature. The free Starter plan costs nothing and includes unlimited estimates, invoices, bills, and bookkeeping records; online payments have transaction fees. Pro costs $19 a month and adds automatic bank transaction import, transaction merging and categorization, receipt capture, expense tracking, and late-payment reminders. Wave lists integrations including Amazon, eBay, Capsule, and Etsy, with workflows through Make. Connecting or maintaining Partner integrations and Make requires Pro or a Wave Advisors bookkeeping subscription; third-party API connections also require an active Pro or Wave Advisors package. Wave says it is not HIPAA-compliant and does not support healthcare-related businesses.