[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"global":3,"entry:software:wave":324},{"id":4,"documentId":5,"siteName":6,"organizationSchema":7,"contactEmail":13,"contactPhones":48,"address":49,"currencyRates":50,"createdAt":70,"updatedAt":71,"publishedAt":72,"logoDark":49,"logoLight":49,"nav":73,"footer":257},1,"ded2oyx8g005xuue0dkk17wm","Accountaire",{"url":8,"logo":9,"name":6,"@type":10,"email":13,"sameAs":14,"address":16,"@context":21,"legalName":22,"telephone":23,"areaServed":24,"knowsAbout":36,"description":46,"foundingDate":47},"https:\u002F\u002Faccountaire.com","https:\u002F\u002Faccountaire.com\u002Flogo.png",[11,12],"Organization","AccountingService","hello@accountaire.com",[15],"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fcompany\u002Faccountaire",{"@type":17,"streetAddress":18,"addressCountry":19,"addressLocality":20},"PostalAddress","5 Davis Road, G-8, Shimla Tower","PK","Lahore","https:\u002F\u002Fschema.org","Accountaire (SMC-Private) Limited","+1-925-219-6399",[25,28,30,32,34],{"name":26,"@type":27},"United Kingdom","Country",{"name":29,"@type":27},"United States",{"name":31,"@type":27},"United Arab Emirates",{"name":33,"@type":27},"Canada",{"name":35,"@type":27},"Australia",[37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45],"Bookkeeping","Cloud Accounting","VAT","Payroll","Management Accounts","CFO Advisory","Xero","QuickBooks Online","Making Tax Digital","Modern remote accounting for ambitious SMEs. ACCA-qualified team delivering bookkeeping, payroll, tax and CFO advisory across the UK, US, UAE, Canada and Australia.","2022-09-08",[23],null,{"AED":51,"AUD":55,"CAD":59,"GBP":63,"USD":67},{"sym":52,"rate":53,"label":54},"AED ",3.67,"AED",{"sym":56,"rate":57,"label":58},"A$",1.52,"AUD",{"sym":60,"rate":61,"label":62},"C$",1.36,"CAD",{"sym":64,"rate":65,"label":66},"£",0.79,"GBP",{"sym":68,"rate":4,"label":69},"$","USD","2026-06-03T16:16:36.280Z","2026-06-23T19:38:06.501Z","2026-06-23T19:38:05.773Z",{"id":74,"groups":75},31,[76,128,197,238],{"id":77,"title":78,"twoCol":79,"links":80},121,"Services",false,[81,85,88,92,96,100,104,108,112,116,120,124],{"id":82,"label":83,"href":84,"badge":49,"external":79},1949,"Cloud bookkeeping","\u002Fservices\u002Fcloud-bookkeeping",{"id":86,"label":40,"href":87,"badge":49,"external":79},1950,"\u002Fservices\u002Fpayroll",{"id":89,"label":90,"href":91,"badge":49,"external":79},1951,"Tax & 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modern remote finance team for ambitious businesses across the UK, US, UAE, Canada and Australia.","© Accountaire (SMC-Private) Limited. All rights reserved.",[261,265,269],{"id":262,"label":263,"href":264,"badge":49,"external":79},2006,"Privacy","\u002Flegal\u002Fprivacy",{"id":266,"label":267,"href":268,"badge":49,"external":79},2007,"Terms","\u002Flegal\u002Fterms",{"id":270,"label":271,"href":272,"badge":49,"external":79},2008,"DPA","\u002Flegal\u002Fdpa",[],[275,291,304],{"id":276,"title":78,"links":277},91,[278,280,282,284,286,288],{"id":279,"label":83,"href":84,"badge":49,"external":79},1991,{"id":281,"label":40,"href":87,"badge":49,"external":79},1992,{"id":283,"label":90,"href":91,"badge":49,"external":79},1993,{"id":285,"label":94,"href":95,"badge":49,"external":79},1994,{"id":287,"label":98,"href":99,"badge":49,"external":79},1995,{"id":289,"label":290,"href":103,"badge":49,"external":79},1996,"Catch-up",{"id":292,"title":240,"links":293},92,[294,296,298,300,302],{"id":295,"label":26,"href":244,"badge":49,"external":79},1997,{"id":297,"label":29,"href":247,"badge":49,"external":79},1998,{"id":299,"label":31,"href":250,"badge":49,"external":79},1999,{"id":301,"label":33,"href":253,"badge":49,"external":79},2000,{"id":303,"label":35,"href":256,"badge":49,"external":79},2001,{"id":305,"title":306,"links":307},93,"Company",[308,312,316,320],{"id":309,"label":310,"href":311,"badge":49,"external":79},2002,"About","\u002Fabout",{"id":313,"label":314,"href":315,"badge":49,"external":79},2003,"Pricing","\u002Fpricing",{"id":317,"label":318,"href":319,"badge":49,"external":79},2004,"Blog","\u002Fblog",{"id":321,"label":322,"href":323,"badge":49,"external":79},2005,"Contact","\u002Fcontact",{"id":325,"documentId":326,"title":327,"slug":328,"summary":329,"vendor":49,"badge":49,"order":330,"createdAt":331,"updatedAt":332,"publishedAt":333,"seo":334,"blocks":342},331,"s1xq5thfw3rkd7ky5hpiagyg","Wave accounting for solopreneurs.","wave","Wave accounting for solopreneurs in the US and Canada: free software, paid bookkeeping, quarterly estimates and annual tax returns handled by our team.",0,"2026-06-01T17:04:31.001Z","2026-09-11T00:58:42.642Z","2026-09-11T00:58:43.148Z",{"id":335,"metaTitle":336,"metaDescription":329,"keywords":337,"canonicalURL":338,"ogType":339,"ogLocale":340,"twitterCard":341,"noindex":79,"structuredData":49,"ogImage":49},4432,"Wave Accounting for Solopreneurs, US and Canada","Wave accountant, Wave accounting software, Wave bookkeeping, US solopreneur accountant, Canadian solopreneur accountant, free accounting software","https:\u002F\u002Faccountaire.com\u002Fsoftware\u002Fwave","website","en_GB","summary_large_image",[343,351,358,363,375,380,406,411,454,459,465,501,505,519],{"id":344,"eyebrow":345,"heading":327,"lead":346,"artworkSvg":347,"variant":348,"primaryCta":49,"secondaryCta":49,"metrics":349,"media":49,"__component":350},3311,"Software · Free Cloud Accounting","Accountaire pairs Wave accounting for solopreneurs with a paid professional service. The Wave platform stays free, and we take on the monthly bookkeeping review, the quarterly estimated tax payments, the year-end close and the federal, state and Canadian returns for sole proprietors, single-member LLCs and freelancers.","\u003Csvg viewBox=\"0 0 480 360\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.w3.org\u002F2000\u002Fsvg\" role=\"img\" aria-label=\"Illustration\">\u003Crect width=\"480\" height=\"360\" fill=\"var(--ink)\">\u003C\u002Frect>\u003Ccircle cx=\"400\" cy=\"70\" r=\"150\" fill=\"color-mix(in oklab, var(--accent) 14%, transparent)\">\u003C\u002Fcircle>\u003Crect x=\"100\" y=\"85\" width=\"280\" height=\"190\" rx=\"14\" fill=\"var(--ink-mid)\" stroke=\"var(--bg)\" stroke-width=\"2\">\u003C\u002Frect>\u003Cline x1=\"100\" y1=\"122\" x2=\"380\" y2=\"122\" stroke=\"rgba(245,241,232,0.32)\" stroke-width=\"2\">\u003C\u002Fline>\u003Ccircle cx=\"122\" cy=\"103\" r=\"5\" fill=\"var(--accent)\">\u003C\u002Fcircle>\u003Ccircle cx=\"140\" cy=\"103\" r=\"5\" fill=\"rgba(245,241,232,0.32)\">\u003C\u002Fcircle>\u003Ccircle cx=\"158\" cy=\"103\" r=\"5\" fill=\"rgba(245,241,232,0.32)\">\u003C\u002Fcircle>\u003Ccircle cx=\"240\" cy=\"195\" r=\"48\" fill=\"var(--accent)\">\u003C\u002Fcircle>\u003Ctext x=\"240\" y=\"212\" font-family=\"Geist,sans-serif\" font-size=\"46\" font-weight=\"600\" fill=\"var(--ink)\" text-anchor=\"middle\">W\u003C\u002Ftext>\u003C\u002Fsvg>","light",[],"blocks.hero",{"id":352,"eyebrow":353,"heading":354,"body":49,"gridBody":355,"layout":356,"__component":357},14719,"Overview","How does Wave accounting for solopreneurs actually work?","\u003Cdiv>\u003Cp style=\"color:var(--muted);font-size:17px;line-height:1.6;margin-bottom:18px;\">Wave is the leading free accounting platform for US and Canadian solopreneurs and very small businesses. The core accounting features (invoicing, bank reconciliation, expense tracking, basic reporting) are entirely free; Wave monetises through paid payroll, payments processing and the optional Wave Advisor service.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp style=\"color:var(--muted);font-size:17px;line-height:1.6;margin-bottom:18px;\">For solopreneurs and very small businesses (typically under $150k revenue), Wave is often the right software choice. There's no reason to pay a monthly subscription for \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fsoftware\u002Fquickbooks\">QuickBooks\u003C\u002Fa> when Wave is free and the feature gap doesn't matter at small scale. The constraint is service: solopreneurs still need a real accountant for tax filing, year-end work and strategic advice.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp style=\"color:var(--muted);font-size:17px;line-height:1.6;margin-bottom:18px;\">We provide that service inside your Wave subscription. You keep using Wave (it stays free); we handle the bookkeeping cleanup, tax preparation and advisory work. Where a year or more of records is missing, the rebuild is priced as \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fservices\u002Fcatch-up\">catch-up bookkeeping\u003C\u002Fa> before the monthly service starts. Pricing reflects scale, from $500\u002Fmonth for basic solopreneur scope including annual tax return.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fdiv>","grid","blocks.section-head",{"id":359,"eyebrow":360,"heading":361,"body":362,"gridBody":49,"layout":49,"__component":357},14720,"What we do in Wave","What we do in Wave.","Professional accounting service inside free software.",{"id":364,"heading":49,"intro":49,"items":365,"__component":374},3023,[366,367,368,369,370,371,372,373],"Monthly bookkeeping cleanupWe review your Wave entries monthly, fix miscoded transactions, ensure reconciliation is clean. You keep doing day-to-day; we keep books tidy.","Annual tax returnsUS: Schedule C (sole props), Form 1040, state returns. Canada: T1 personal return, T2125 self-employment statement.","Quarterly estimated tax (US)Form 1040-ES quarterly payments calculated. State estimates coordinated.","Sales tax (where applicable)For Wave users with sales-tax obligations, multi-state nexus tracking. Avalara or TaxJar integrated.","Annual close & year-end reviewYear-end reconciliation, depreciation, and clean trial balance prepared for tax return.","Wave to QuickBooks migrationWhen you outgrow Wave (typically $150k+ revenue or when you hire your first employee), we migrate you to QuickBooks Online cleanly.","Advisory check-insAnnual planning conversation: pension, business structure (sole prop vs LLC vs S-corp), expense optimisation.","1099-NEC issuanceFor US Wave users with contractor payments above the $600 threshold. W-9 collection, 1099 filing, recipient distribution.","blocks.deliverables",{"id":376,"eyebrow":377,"heading":378,"body":49,"gridBody":379,"layout":356,"__component":357},14721,"Best for","When Wave is the right choice.","\u003Cp class=\"lead\">Specifically for very small US and Canadian businesses.\u003C\u002Fp>",{"id":381,"heading":49,"dark":131,"variant":382,"note":49,"cells":383,"__component":405},7031,"default",[384,390,395,400],{"id":385,"num":386,"numUsd":49,"eyebrow":49,"headline":387,"avatar":49,"body":388,"span":389,"rowSpan":79,"accent":79,"dark":79,"href":49},28000,"01","US\u002FCA solopreneurs","Single-person businesses under ~$150k revenue. Free software, paid service.","2",{"id":391,"num":392,"numUsd":49,"eyebrow":49,"headline":393,"avatar":49,"body":394,"span":389,"rowSpan":79,"accent":79,"dark":79,"href":49},28001,"02","Single-member LLCs","LLC structure with passthrough taxation. Wave + Schedule C handles it.",{"id":396,"num":397,"numUsd":49,"eyebrow":49,"headline":398,"avatar":49,"body":399,"span":389,"rowSpan":79,"accent":79,"dark":79,"href":49},28002,"03","Side hustles & freelancers","For people running a second income source. Wave is materially cheaper than QuickBooks.",{"id":401,"num":402,"numUsd":49,"eyebrow":49,"headline":403,"avatar":49,"body":404,"span":389,"rowSpan":79,"accent":79,"dark":79,"href":49},28003,"04","Pre-employee businesses","Until you hire your first employee, Wave is sufficient. Hiring usually triggers a move to QuickBooks + Gusto.","blocks.bento",{"id":407,"eyebrow":408,"heading":409,"body":410,"gridBody":49,"layout":49,"__component":357},14722,"Platform comparison","Wave vs QuickBooks, FreshBooks and Neat.","What the free platform actually costs you, set against the three paid alternatives a solopreneur considers.",{"id":412,"heading":409,"columns":413,"rows":415,"__component":453},216,[414,228,44,232,236],"Criterion",[416,420,424,430,435,441,447],{"Neat":417,"Wave":418,"Criterion":419,"FreshBooks":417,"QuickBooks Online":417},"Paid","Free","Core accounting cost",{"Neat":29,"Wave":421,"Criterion":240,"FreshBooks":422,"QuickBooks Online":423},"United States and Canada only","US, Canada, UK","US, Canada, UK, Australia and more",{"Neat":425,"Wave":426,"Criterion":427,"FreshBooks":428,"QuickBooks Online":429},"Expense-heavy service businesses","Sole proprietors and single-member LLCs under about $150k","Best fit","Consultancies billing by the hour","Anything that hires or holds stock",{"Neat":431,"Wave":432,"Criterion":40,"FreshBooks":433,"QuickBooks Online":434},"Weak","Wave Payroll, paid add-on","Integration only","Full ecosystem: Gusto, Rippling, ADP",{"Neat":436,"Wave":437,"Criterion":438,"FreshBooks":439,"QuickBooks Online":440},"Limited","Basic, needs Avalara or TaxJar","Multi-state sales tax","Needs TaxJar","Strongest of the four",{"Neat":442,"Wave":443,"Criterion":444,"FreshBooks":445,"QuickBooks Online":446},"Expense analysis","Profit and loss, balance sheet, little more","Reporting depth","Project profitability","Segment, project and class reporting",{"Neat":448,"Wave":449,"Criterion":450,"FreshBooks":451,"QuickBooks Online":452},"See Neat accountants","Right answer until you hire, then move","Our position","See FreshBooks accountants","Upgrade target, see QuickBooks ProAdvisor accountants","blocks.compare-table",{"id":455,"eyebrow":456,"heading":457,"body":49,"gridBody":458,"layout":356,"__component":357},14723,"The honest answer","Is free accounting software a false economy?","\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Cp style=\"color:var(--muted);font-size:17px;line-height:1.6;margin-bottom:18px;\">Not at this size, and we will say so even though it means quoting a lower software line than a firm selling you a subscription. A sole proprietor with one bank account, forty invoices a year and no employees gets everything they need from Wave. The feature gap against a paid platform is real and completely irrelevant until the business changes shape. What is not free is the judgement: which expenses are allowable, what to set aside for tax, and when the structure should change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"color:var(--muted);font-size:17px;line-height:1.6;margin-bottom:18px;\">The move happens at the first hire, almost without exception. Payroll pulls in federal deposits, state withholding, unemployment insurance and a quarterly \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.irs.gov\u002Fforms-pubs\u002Fabout-form-941\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Form 941\u003C\u002Fa>, with deposit frequency set by the lookback rules in \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.irs.gov\u002Fpublications\u002Fp15\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">IRS Publication 15 (Circular E)\u003C\u002Fa>. That is a compliance calendar, not a feature request, and it is the point at which the QuickBooks and Gusto pairing earns its cost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"color:var(--muted);font-size:17px;line-height:1.6;margin-bottom:18px;\">Worked example, illustrative rather than a real client. A freelance developer bills $96,000 across a year with $11,000 of expenses, leaving $85,000 of net profit on a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.irs.gov\u002Fforms-pubs\u002Fabout-schedule-c-form-1040\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Schedule C\u003C\u002Fa>. Self-employment tax alone runs to roughly $12,000 before income tax, payable in four instalments on \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.irs.gov\u002Fforms-pubs\u002Fabout-form-1040-es\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Form 1040-ES\u003C\u002Fa> rather than once in April. The client who sets that aside monthly never has a problem. The one who discovers it in filing season does, and free software has nothing to do with either outcome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"color:var(--muted);font-size:17px;line-height:1.6;margin-bottom:18px;\">Canadian solopreneurs run the same pattern with different forms, filing a T1 with the T2125 self-employment statement and registering for GST\u002FHST once the small supplier threshold is passed, as set out by the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.canada.ca\u002Fen\u002Frevenue-agency.html\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Canada Revenue Agency\u003C\u002Fa>. Our market pages cover both routes: \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fmarkets\u002Fus\">accountants for US small businesses\u003C\u002Fa> and \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fmarkets\u002Fcanada\">accountants for Canadian SMEs\u003C\u002Fa>. Day to day work sits under \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fservices\u002Fcloud-bookkeeping\">cloud bookkeeping services\u003C\u002Fa>, the annual filings under \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fservices\u002Ftax-vat\">tax compliance\u003C\u002Fa>, and structure questions under \u003Ca href=\"\u002Findustries\u002Ffreelancers\">accountants for freelancers and contractors\u003C\u002Fa> and \u003Ca href=\"\u002Findustries\u002Fsole-traders\">sole trader accounting\u003C\u002Fa>. Anything Wave cannot do is done by a person instead, and all of that work appears in our \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fservices\">complete accounting service list\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>",{"id":460,"quote":461,"name":462,"role":463,"company":49,"avatar":49,"__component":464},2597,"Wave plus Accountaire costs me $95\u002Fmonth total. My old setup was QuickBooks plus a high-street CPA charging $4k\u002Fyear. Same outcome, dramatically lower cost.","Freelance consultant","Sole proprietor · Pacific Northwest","blocks.testimonial",{"id":82,"heading":466,"items":467,"__component":500},"Wave-specific questions.",[468,472,476,480,484,488,492,496],{"id":469,"question":470,"answer":471},12336,"Is Wave really free?","The accounting side genuinely is. Where money changes hands it stops: card and bank payment processing takes a percentage of every invoice collected, and payroll is billed monthly plus a charge per person paid. Wave publishes both on its own pricing page. The cost nobody plans for is the exit, because export options are limited and a later move means rebuilding opening balances rather than lifting the ledger across.",{"id":473,"question":474,"answer":475},12337,"When should I move from Wave to QuickBooks?","Generally when you hire your first employee (Wave Payroll exists but the QBO ecosystem with Gusto \u002F Rippling is more capable), when revenue exceeds ~$150k, or when you need more sophisticated reporting. We handle the migration.",{"id":477,"question":478,"answer":479},12338,"Can Wave handle US multi-state sales tax?","Only in the narrow sense that you can create a tax rate and apply it to an invoice line. Nothing tracks a nexus threshold for you, and nothing produces a breakdown by jurisdiction, so any state with local district rates has to be worked out away from the ledger. Registration also brings a filing obligation in periods where you sold nothing there. That is usually the point to move platform.",{"id":481,"question":482,"answer":483},12339,"Does Wave work in the UK?","No. Wave focuses on the US and Canada. UK users should use FreeAgent (free with NatWest banking) or Xero.",{"id":485,"question":486,"answer":487},12340,"How much should I set aside for tax?","For a US sole proprietor with no other income, a reasonable working rule is 25 to 30 per cent of net profit held back for federal income tax and self-employment tax combined, with state tax on top where it applies. We refine that after the first quarter using your actual numbers, and we would rather over-reserve early in the year than deliver a surprise in April.",{"id":489,"question":490,"answer":491},12341,"Do I need to register for GST\u002FHST in Canada?","Once you stop being a small supplier, registration is mandatory, and it brings a filing cycle with it. Voluntary registration below the threshold can still be worth it where you have significant input tax to recover, which is common for a business buying equipment in its first year. We run the calculation before recommending either way.",{"id":493,"question":494,"answer":495},12342,"What happens when I hire my first employee?","We move you to QuickBooks Online with a payroll provider, usually Gusto for a small team. Wave Payroll exists and works, but the integration depth around QuickBooks is materially better once there are pay runs, benefits and a quarterly Form 941 in the picture. The migration itself takes about two weeks.",{"id":497,"question":498,"answer":499},12343,"How much do you charge for Wave-based service?","The software being free changes nothing about the work behind it. What moves the fee is how many accounts need reconciling, whether quarterly estimates and state returns are in scope, and how many contractors need a Form 1099-NEC in January. A single-member LLC with one bank account and no contractors sits at the bottom of the range. Add a second state and it does not.","blocks.faq",{"id":502,"eyebrow":503,"heading":504,"body":49,"gridBody":49,"layout":49,"__component":357},14724,"Alternatives we support","Other platforms.",{"id":506,"heading":49,"dark":79,"variant":382,"note":49,"cells":507,"__component":405},7032,[508,512,516],{"id":509,"num":510,"numUsd":49,"eyebrow":49,"headline":207,"avatar":49,"body":511,"span":389,"rowSpan":79,"accent":79,"dark":131,"href":208},28004,"TARGET","Common upgrade target when you outgrow Wave.",{"id":513,"num":514,"numUsd":49,"eyebrow":49,"headline":232,"avatar":49,"body":515,"span":389,"rowSpan":79,"accent":79,"dark":79,"href":233},28005,"ALT","Paid alternative for service-based solopreneurs.",{"id":517,"num":514,"numUsd":49,"eyebrow":49,"headline":43,"avatar":49,"body":518,"span":389,"rowSpan":79,"accent":79,"dark":79,"href":203},28006,"More capable platform once you scale.",{"id":520,"cta":521,"__component":526},2248,{"id":520,"eyebrow":522,"heading":523,"body":524,"primaryLabel":525,"primaryHref":323,"secondaryLabel":49,"secondaryHref":49,"dark":79},"Run on Wave","Want Wave-based accounting service?","Thirty minutes to assess your Wave setup and scope a service plan.","Book a Wave bookkeeping call","blocks.cta-banner"]