BuddyWorkflowBuddyWorkflow
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Wave alternative

A Wave alternative with clients built in.

Shopping for a Wave alternative? Most either charge for basic accounting or, like Wave, stop at the books. BuddyWorkflow keeps bookkeeping and invoicing free forever and adds the client CRM, contracts and marketing analytics Wave doesn't have.

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What you get
BuddyWorkflow
Wave
Bookkeeping & reports
Yes
Yes
Invoicing
Yes
Yes
Books free forever
Yes
Yes
Client CRM & pipeline
Yes
No
Contracts & e-signatures
Included — no DocuSign
No
Scheduling & booking links
Yes
No
Marketing analytics tracking
Yes
No
Payment fees
Card at cost, zero markup · free ACH
Standard % on cards, 1% on ACH

Why switch from Wave

Wave is a fine free ledger, but the moment you need to track leads, send a contract or see which channel brings paying clients, you're back to juggling extra apps. A better alternative keeps the free books and adds the client and marketing side.

Still free where it counts

BuddyWorkflow keeps bookkeeping and invoicing free forever — you don't trade Wave's price for a monthly bill just to get a CRM. Pro adds pipeline, custom branding and marketing analytics.

Switching is quick

Export your data from Wave, import clients and history from a CSV in minutes, and connect your bank for automatic bookkeeping — all in one login.

Common questions

Is BuddyWorkflow a good Wave alternative?
Yes — it matches Wave's free bookkeeping and invoicing, and adds a client CRM, contracts, scheduling and marketing analytics that Wave doesn't offer.
Is it really free like Wave?
The books and invoicing are free forever. Optional Pro features add pipeline automation, custom branding and marketing analytics, and start at $29/mo.
How do payment fees compare?
Bank transfers are free and cards are passed through at Stripe's exact cost with zero markup — versus Wave's percentage on cards and 1% on bank payments (2026 published rates).

Free books, plus the clients Wave leaves out.

Free forever for your books. We pass Stripe's real processing cost straight through — never marking up the rate the way others keep the spread — and Pro removes our fee entirely.

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© BuddyWorkflow — bookkeeping, CRM and marketing in one place.
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