# Wave accounting for beginners: transactions, invoices, bills, reconciling and reports on one page > A free one-page Wave accounting cheat sheet: chart of accounts, categorized transactions, invoice to payment, bills, reconciling and the two reports. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets/wave-accounting-basics · Updated 2026-10-23 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) [Tool cheat sheet](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets#kind-tool) · One page · US letter · [Wave](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/tool/wave) By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) · Published October 23, 2026 · From the free lesson [Wave: Chart of Accounts, Transactions and Reports](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/wave-first-steps) A free one-page Wave accounting cheat sheet: chart of accounts, categorized transactions, invoice to payment, bills, reconciling and the two reports. [Download the free PDF (64 KB)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets/wave-accounting-basics.pdf)Print this sheet Free, no sign-up and no email needed. It prints on one letter-size page; the whole sheet is below. *▶*StepthroughFree printable cheat sheet · learn.ynteractive.com Wave accounting for beginners: transactions, invoices, bills, reconciling and reports on one page Where things live in Wave and the weekly routine that keeps small-business books clean, from the free Wave Accounting for Beginners course. ## 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. **Remember:** Categorize every transaction, record payments against their invoice or bill, and reconcile every bank account each month. Practice it free: [Wave: Chart of Accounts, Transactions and Reports](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/wave-first-steps) at learn.ynteractive.com/modules/wave-first-steps. This sheet: learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets/wave-accounting-basics. Maya's dog-walking business is a made-up business from the lesson. By Robert Breen, October 23, 2026. ## Practice it in the free lesson **Wave: Chart of Accounts, Transactions and Reports**. A beginner Wave accounting walkthrough on real screens: find the chart of accounts, record and categorize a transaction, then run a Profit & Loss and a Balance Sheet. Free Starter plan. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of Wave, it checks your work as you go, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on. Free, and nothing touches your real accounts. [Start the free lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/wave-first-steps) [Or read the full step-by-step guide](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/wave-first-steps) ## Lessons on this sheet - [Wave: Chart of Accounts, Transactions and Reports](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/wave-first-steps): A beginner Wave accounting walkthrough on real screens: find the chart of accounts, record and categorize a transaction, then run a Profit & Loss and a Balance Sheet… - [Wave: Create an Invoice and Record the Payment](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/wave-invoice-and-payment): A beginner Wave accounting walkthrough on real screens: create an invoice, approve it, mark it sent, record the payment so income is counted once, and check Aged… - [Wave: Enter a Bill, Pay It and Reconcile](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/wave-enter-and-pay-bills): A beginner Wave accounting walkthrough on real screens: enter a supplier bill, record the payment so it no longer shows as owed, and open bank reconciliation for month… ## Related terms Plain-English definitions, each with an example from a free lesson. [Invoice](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/invoice) · [Accounts receivable](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/accounts-receivable) · [Bank reconciliation](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/bank-reconciliation) [The full AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary) ## More cheat sheets - [ChatGPT at Work Cheat Sheet: Facts, Format, Privacy](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets/chatgpt-at-work): A free one-page cheat sheet for ChatGPT at work: give it facts, set the format and length, check every promise and keep private data out. - [GA4 Cheat Sheet: Traffic Sources, Top Pages, Events](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets/ga4-basics): A free one-page GA4 cheat sheet: read the Reports snapshot, find which channel brings visitors, see top pages and form submissions, and read events. - [Jira Cheat Sheet: Sprints, Story Points, Kanban, WIP](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets/jira-sprint-and-kanban): A free one-page Jira cheat sheet: create a space, fill and run a sprint, story points, a Kanban board with a WIP limit, and the reports that show progress. 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