Wave combines invoicing and payment processing so a business can create an invoice, send it to a customer, accept eligible card or bank payments and have the resulting activity reflected in its bookkeeping. Starter includes unlimited invoicing, while paid processing fees apply when customers use Wave’s online payment methods.
This is different from ordinary invoice software that only produces a PDF.
Wave can also handle the actual payment transaction.
Unlimited Invoices Are Available on Starter
Wave’s free Starter plan currently includes unlimited invoices and estimates.
That means a freelancer does not need Pro merely to send a professional invoice.
Pro adds automation and other features, but the underlying invoice creation capability already exists in Starter.
Estimates Can Precede the Invoice
Wave also supports estimates.
A business can use an estimate before the final sale and request deposits through Wave estimates as part of the current payment workflow.
This is useful for project businesses where the customer commits before final delivery.
The sequence can become:
estimate;
deposit;
work performed;
final invoice;
remaining payment.
Card Payments
Wave currently supports major cards including Visa, Mastercard and American Express, plus Discover for U.S. businesses. Apple Pay compatibility is also part of the current online-payment product.
The customer pays through the invoice payment experience rather than giving card details directly to the business owner.
Starter Card Fees
Current U.S. Starter pricing is:
2.9% + $0.60 for Visa, Mastercard and Discover.
3.4% + $0.60 for American Express.
The fixed component matters most on small invoices.
A $20 card transaction carries proportionally more fixed-cost burden than a $2,000 invoice.
Pro Card Pricing
Pro currently removes the $0.60 fixed component for the first ten cumulative monthly card transactions.
The percentage remains 2.9% for Visa/Mastercard/Discover and 3.4% for Amex during that initial ten-transaction allowance, after which Starter rates apply.
This is useful but should not be described as “free card processing.”
The percentage fee remains.
ACH Bank Payments
Wave also supports bank payments.
Current pricing is 1% with a $1 minimum for ACH/EFT transactions.
For some businesses, bank payments can be useful on larger invoices because the pricing structure differs from card processing.
The customer needs a supported bank-payment route, and settlement timing is different from cards.
Payment Timing
Wave currently says card payments typically reach the business within 1–2 business days, while bank payments generally take 1–7 business days.
Those figures describe normal processing ranges rather than guaranteed arrival for every transaction.
Risk review, banking schedules or account-specific events can affect timing.
Recurring Billing
Wave supports recurring billing and automatic payments for repeat customers under applicable plans and payment configurations.
This can be useful for:
monthly retainers;
subscriptions;
repeat services;
recurring maintenance.
Instead of rebuilding and collecting every invoice manually, the business can create a repeatable billing process.
Payment and Accounting Stay Connected
One of Wave’s strongest design advantages is that online payments connect directly with the accounting system.
Wave says the payment workflow keeps the books synchronized, and its bookkeeping documentation explains that online-payment activity may create several accounting records rather than one simple deposit.
For example, the accounting needs to distinguish:
gross invoice amount;
processing fee;
money in transit;
final bank deposit.
A $1,000 invoice that produces a smaller bank deposit does not mean the invoice was partially paid.
The difference may be processing fees.
Money in Transit Prevents False Duplicates
Wave’s accounting model uses money-in-transit treatment for certain online payment flows.
That helps explain why users can sometimes see more than one accounting entry connected with one customer payment. Wave explicitly warns that the two income-side records generated in online-payment bookkeeping are not necessarily duplicates.
Deleting one without understanding the accounting can break reconciliation.
Invoice Status and Bank Deposit Are Different Events
A customer can successfully pay an invoice before the final funds appear in the business bank account.
The invoice payment event represents customer settlement.
The deposit event represents movement from Wave’s payment-processing path into the merchant’s bank.
Keeping those steps separate makes the accounting more accurate.
Cash and Check Can Still Be Recorded
Businesses do not have to use Wave Payments for every invoice.
An invoice can also be marked as paid through another payment method such as cash or check, and the business can record the corresponding transaction in its books.
The online-payment feature is optional.
Wave accounting and invoicing can still function without it.
Payments and Pro Are Separate Decisions
A business does not need Pro simply to accept payments.
Starter invoices can use Wave’s payment processing at Starter transaction rates.
Pro primarily changes automation and the first ten monthly card-transaction fee structure.
That distinction matters for small businesses choosing whether the monthly subscription is economically justified.
Payment Troubleshooting Should Identify the Layer
When a payment appears wrong, the business should first determine whether the problem is:
invoice creation;
customer payment;
Wave processing;
bank settlement;
bookkeeping reconciliation.
A customer who never paid is not a bank-settlement issue.
A processed payment that has not yet reached the bank is not an unpaid invoice.
A deposit appearing twice in the books may be a bookkeeping issue rather than duplicate money movement.
Invoicing Is the Revenue Workflow; Accounting Owns the Books
Wave’s invoicing feature manages what the customer owes.
Wave Payments manages how the customer pays.
Wave Accounting records the financial result.
Keeping those roles separate makes the entire system easier to troubleshoot.