Wave vs QuickBooks
Both keep real books, but they sit at different ends of the range. Wave is free and lightweight; QuickBooks is full-featured and paid. This is a fair look at who each suits, where they trade off, and where a profit tracker fits if what you actually chase is the take-home number rather than a full ledger.
Wave, in short
Wave offers genuine double-entry accounting and invoicing with its core free of charge, which is a real strength for freelancers and small businesses watching costs. You get books, invoices, and expense tracking without a subscription, and it charges only for some add-ons such as payments and payroll.
The trade-off is depth. Wave is well suited to straightforward finances, but as books grow more complex, with heavier inventory, richer reporting, or more integrations, some businesses find they outgrow what it covers.
QuickBooks, in short
QuickBooks is full-featured paid accounting software. It carries inventory on the balance sheet, runs or integrates payroll, files sales tax, and produces the deeper reporting and accountant-ready ledgers that larger or more complex books need. Much of the accounting world already works inside it.
That capability comes at a price, in both subscription cost and setup. There is a chart of accounts to design and a steeper learning curve, so a business with simple finances may be paying for machinery it never uses.
How to choose between them
Keep costs near zero
If your finances are straightforward and budget matters, Wave's free core covers real books and invoicing without a subscription.
Carry inventory or run payroll
If you hold stock, run payroll, or need deeper reporting, QuickBooks is usually built for that depth, and often where growing product businesses land.
Plan for where the books are heading
Simple today may not be simple next year. QuickBooks has more room to grow into; Wave is lean and stays lean.
Check current pricing yourself
Wave's core is free but add-ons are paid, and QuickBooks discounts move around. Compare each vendor's live pricing before deciding.
Where TrueProfit fits instead
Many sellers do not have a bookkeeping problem at all. They have one unanswered question: did last month make money, and where did the margin go once ad spend and fees were counted? Both Wave and QuickBooks can get you close, but only after you categorise every transaction and read a profit and loss report where ad spend sits as one more expense line.
TrueProfit is built for that one question. It is not accounting software and does not pretend to be: no general ledger, no invoices, no payroll. If what you really chase is take-home profit rather than a full set of books, it is the more direct way to see it.
What TrueProfit gives you
One take-home figure
Gross sales minus COGS, platform fees, payment processing, ad spend, shipping, returns, and app subscriptions. One number, not a profit and loss statement to read.
Costs in categories you choose
Enter your cost lines under categories and subcategories you name yourself, and tag any row. Nothing is guessed from a chart of accounts, and the breakdown is the one you set up.
Fees and ad spend in the same math
Enter your platform fees, payment processing, and monthly ad spend per channel, and they are subtracted alongside COGS rather than filed as unrelated expense lines.
Expenses with receipts kept
Log a business expense, attach the receipt, and the file stays with it. At year end you hand your accountant a categorised list instead of a shoebox.
Profit by month and by category
See which months carried the year, and which cost categories took the margin apart once ad spend and fees were counted.
CSV in, or type it in
Import a sales or expense CSV from your store, marketplace, or processor, or enter figures by hand. There is no chart of accounts to design first.
An honest note
Wave and QuickBooks are both capable accounting tools. Wave offering its core free is a genuine strength, and QuickBooks earns its price with depth. For anyone who needs real books, invoices, or payroll, they do things TrueProfit does not.
One limit worth stating plainly: there is no automatic bank sync in TrueProfit yet. Outside a connected Shopify store, data comes in by CSV import or manual entry, with bank feeds on the roadmap.
What TrueProfit costs
Free is $0, Pro is $19 a month, and Business is $49 a month, billed monthly. No card to start. Compare that against Wave's free core and QuickBooks' current pricing rather than a figure quoted on a page like this one, since their plans and discounts change.
Free and lightweight, full-featured, or the profit number
Three tools at different points on the range. The rows Wave and QuickBooks win are the reasons to choose them, not footnotes.
Yes Partial, or possible with extra work Not built in
Frequently asked questions
What is the core difference between Wave and QuickBooks?
Broadly, Wave is lightweight accounting and invoicing software whose core is free, while QuickBooks is full-featured paid software with deeper accounting, inventory, payroll, and reporting. Wave is often enough for simple books; QuickBooks is built to scale with more complex ones. You are largely trading depth and integrations against cost and simplicity.
Who is Wave usually the better fit for?
Often a freelancer, sole proprietor, or small business with straightforward finances that wants real double-entry books and invoicing without a subscription. If your accounting needs are modest and keeping costs near zero matters, Wave covers a lot of ground for free.
Who is QuickBooks usually the better fit for?
Typically a business that has outgrown simple books: it carries inventory, runs payroll, needs richer reporting or integrations, or hands a general ledger to an accountant who already works in QuickBooks. That depth is the reason people pay for it, and product-based or growing teams often land there.
How much do they cost?
Wave's core accounting is free, and it charges for some add-ons such as payments and payroll. QuickBooks is subscription software sold in several tiers, often discounted heavily for new accounts. As of writing those discounts move around, so check each vendor's current pricing rather than trusting a number quoted on a comparison page.
Where does TrueProfit fit next to these two?
TrueProfit is not accounting software, so it replaces neither. It answers a narrower question that both Wave and QuickBooks make you assemble by hand: after COGS, fees, ad spend, shipping, and returns, what did you actually keep? For a seller focused on take-home profit rather than a full set of books, it is the more direct tool.
Can I use TrueProfit alongside Wave or QuickBooks?
Yes, and it is a sensible split. Keep Wave or QuickBooks for the books and invoices your accountant files from, and use TrueProfit to answer the weekly question of whether the current product mix and ad budget are actually profitable. The jobs do not overlap much.
Know what you actually keep
Profit after COGS, fees, ad spend, shipping, and returns, across every channel you sell on. Free to start, no card.