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M3 Accounting Core Software vs. Wave Accounting

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    M3 Accounting Core Software

    N/AN/AAs the flagship product and the entry point to the M3 platform, the cloud-based Accounting Core provides a set of modules that streamline accounting functions for hoteliers. M3 can be used by hotel owners, management teams, and general managers access to an accurate snapshot across multiple properties improving efficiency and visibility to drive hotel financial performance.N/A

    Wave Accounting

    Score8.3 out of 10
    N/AWave Accounting is a free, cloud-based accounting platform exclusively for small businesses. It supports double-entry bookkeeping and permits unlimited user access, invoicing, and expense management. Wave Accounting integrates with Wave's invoicing, receipt scanning, payment processing and payroll apps.

    $16

    per month

    Pricing
    M3 Accounting Core SoftwareWave Accounting
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Starter
    $0
    Pro
    $16
    per month
    Pro - billed annually
    $170
    per year
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    M3 Accounting Core SoftwareWave Accounting
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    M3 Accounting Core SoftwareWave Accounting
    Considered Both Products
    M3 Inc
    No answer on this topic
    Wave
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    57%
    Would buy again
    8 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    71%
    Delivers good value for the price
    10 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    71%
    Happy with the feature set
    10 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    58%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    79%
    Implementation went as expected
    11 Answers
    Features
    M3 Accounting Core SoftwareWave Accounting
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of M3 Accounting Core Software and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    M3 Accounting Core Software
    -
    Ratings
    Wave Accounting
    6.2
    24 Ratings
    22% below category average
    Pay calculation00 Ratings7.123 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration00 Ratings7.54 Ratings
    Direct deposit files00 Ratings1.220 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings7.712 Ratings
    Reimbursement management00 Ratings7.48 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of M3 Accounting Core Software and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    M3 Accounting Core Software
    -
    Ratings
    Wave Accounting
    8.5
    13 Ratings
    11% above category average
    API for custom integration00 Ratings9.99 Ratings
    Plug-ins00 Ratings7.011 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of M3 Accounting Core Software and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    M3 Accounting Core Software
    -
    Ratings
    Wave Accounting
    6.4
    45 Ratings
    26% below category average
    Single sign-on capability00 Ratings6.432 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions00 Ratings6.436 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of M3 Accounting Core Software and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    M3 Accounting Core Software
    -
    Ratings
    Wave Accounting
    6.3
    72 Ratings
    22% below category average
    Dashboards00 Ratings6.070 Ratings
    Standard reports00 Ratings8.069 Ratings
    Custom reports00 Ratings5.036 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of M3 Accounting Core Software and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    M3 Accounting Core Software
    -
    Ratings
    Wave Accounting
    7.0
    75 Ratings
    11% below category average
    Accounts payable00 Ratings7.158 Ratings
    Accounts receivable00 Ratings7.169 Ratings
    Cash management00 Ratings8.561 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation00 Ratings8.565 Ratings
    Expense management00 Ratings7.563 Ratings
    Time tracking00 Ratings9.811 Ratings
    Fixed asset management00 Ratings9.812 Ratings
    Multi-currency support00 Ratings10.019 Ratings
    Multi-division support00 Ratings7.19 Ratings
    Regulations compliance00 Ratings5.016 Ratings
    Electronic tax filing00 Ratings5.914 Ratings
    Self-service portal00 Ratings8.040 Ratings
    Global Financial Support00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
    Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings9.05 Ratings
    Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings4.05 Ratings
    Localizations00 Ratings5.23 Ratings
    Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings8.530 Ratings
    Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings4.07 Ratings
    Configurable Accounting00 Ratings5.017 Ratings
    Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings1.03 Ratings
    Standardized Processes00 Ratings7.019 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of M3 Accounting Core Software and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    M3 Accounting Core Software
    -
    Ratings
    Wave Accounting
    8.1
    11 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Inventory tracking00 Ratings5.68 Ratings
    Automatic reordering00 Ratings9.95 Ratings
    Location management00 Ratings8.12 Ratings
    Manufacturing module00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of M3 Accounting Core Software and Wave Accounting
    Feature
    M3 Accounting Core Software
    -
    Ratings
    Wave Accounting
    7.6
    52 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Pricing00 Ratings9.926 Ratings
    Order entry00 Ratings10.018 Ratings
    Credit card processing00 Ratings2.345 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold00 Ratings10.033 Ratings
    Order Orchestration00 Ratings5.85 Ratings
    End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings8.24 Ratings
    Order exception Resolution00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
    User Ratings
    M3 Accounting Core SoftwareWave Accounting
    Likelihood to Recommend
    -
    (0 ratings)
    6.0
    (81 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.8
    (3 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (16 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    6.7
    (4 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    2.9
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    2.1
    (12 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    4.7
    (3 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (8 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    3.0
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    M3 Accounting Core SoftwareWave Accounting
    Likelihood to Recommend
    M3 Inc
    No answers on this topic
    Wave
    Wave Accounting was used for a small practice without a lot of the accounting considerations a large company would have. For the price, you really can't beat what Wave offers out of the box. All of the basic tools for things like invoicing and expenses are all easy to use. End of year accounting is easy with exports of data.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    M3 Inc
    No answers on this topic
    Wave
    • Reconciliation is very difficult with multiple Wave transactions that need to be deleted or merged before it can be matched to a bank transaction.
    • Payroll worked fine for us but took several days to get it set up. We have switched to another bookkeeping system and another payroll system. Canceling with Wave took several days and they charge $6 for something even though the month was paid for in advance.
    • Credit card processing is nice and worked fine for us.
    Read full review
    Cons
    M3 Inc
    No answers on this topic
    Wave
    • I know that credit card processing is a way for Wave to make money, but I really wish they offered ACH payment on Invoices.
    • I do cash-based accounting, which means I have to make little journal entries at the start and end of each year to get my books to balance because Wave wants to do everything differently. This should just be a setting to flip, whether you want cash-based or accrual-based.
    • They use Yodlee for bank connection, which doesn't play nice with 2FA. Pretty much every time I log in I have to re-enter credentials, get a code sent to me, reauthenticate, and know that I'm going to have to do it again next week. Not really on Wave, but wish they could get it together nonetheless.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    M3 Inc
    No answers on this topic
    Wave
    Easy to use for clients with no accounting background and the price is right.
    Read full review
    Usability
    M3 Inc
    No answers on this topic
    Wave
    I am a professional bookkeeper and I have no problems using Wave and all of it's features. I can see that certain individuals who have no accounting knowledge might struggle with a few different features and entries, but that is why Wave has an emphasis in connecting users to Wave Pro's who will walk them through things
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    M3 Inc
    No answers on this topic
    Wave
    WAVE is always available when we need it ! Peter
    Read full review
    Performance
    M3 Inc
    No answers on this topic
    Wave
    Wave does tend to slow down when filtering your transactions screen especially by date. This is more of an issue when trying to trouble shoot certain transactions or clean-up a set of books.
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    M3 Inc
    No answers on this topic
    Wave
    I never had to call Wave Support as we barely experienced any support-related problems on our side. However, I do know a few people that complained about Wave support. It would be nice as well, though if they could have more in your face tutorials for new users or how-to videos should we struggle to do something
    Read full review
    Online Training
    M3 Inc
    No answers on this topic
    Wave
    easy to use and east to train on ! Our WAVE clients enjoy the ease of use
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    M3 Inc
    No answers on this topic
    Wave
    Wave is FREE for most functions. Payment processing costs no matter where you go (as does payroll or taxes). Wave rises above tools like QuickBooks Online because they know that for our small firm, being nimble is the name of the game. We don't need exhaustive reporting and management like QB offers and we certainly don't want to pay for it
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    M3 Inc
    No answers on this topic
    Wave
    Once they out grow what is ability to move up to a more robust system?
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    M3 Inc
    No answers on this topic
    Wave
    • Wave has been ROI positive for our company. With not having to pay for the service we can use our money for growing our business.
    • The fees on credit card transactions for invoices are reasonable especially as we don't pay a monthly subscription.
    • The invoicing feature has made our lives easier for us and our customers. The invoicing piece and AR tracking has been ROI positive as well.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
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