Wave accounting for beginners: transactions, invoices, bills, reconciling and reports on one page

Where things live (free Starter plan)

Chart of accounts

Accounting › Chart of Accounts: Assets, Liabilities & Credit Cards, Income, Expenses and Equity tabs.

Transactions

Accounting › Transactions: add by hand or upload a bank CSV. Automatic bank import is Pro.

Invoices

Sales & Payments › Invoices.

Bills

Purchases › Bills.

Reports

Reports: Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, Aged Receivables.

Record a transaction

1. Add transaction: date, description, Withdrawal (money out) or Deposit (money in), amount.
2. Pick a Category from the chart of accounts and Save. Never leave it as Uncategorized.

Invoice to payment

1. Add a customer, add the line, Save and continue: a Draft, not owed yet.
2. Approve draft, then Send invoice (emails it) or Mark as sent (records it only).
3. When paid: Record a payment on the invoice. Never add the same money again as a deposit.

Bill or expense?

Bill

You pay the supplier later. Enter it when it arrives, then Record a payment: it shows Paid, $0.00 due.

Expense

Already paid, for example by card: a Withdrawal in Transactions.

Month end

• Switch on Reconciliation on Accounting › Transactions: statement end date and closing balance, then tick lines until the difference is zero.
• Profit & Loss: income minus expenses. Report Type switches Accrual and Cash Basis.
• Balance Sheet: what you own and owe on a date.
• Aged Receivables: who still owes you, by days overdue.