Free invoicing and accounting software.
Wave is genuinely good at what it does: free invoicing and simple accounting. If all you ever need is to send an invoice and take a card, it's hard to argue with free.
The catch is that Wave isn't built for contractors. There's no estimate-to-contract-to-job workflow, no e-signed agreements, no scheduling, and no per-job profit tracking. The moment you want to send a professional estimate, get a contract signed, or know whether a job made money, you've outgrown it. Job Assistant is built for that whole cycle from day one.
When Wave is the better pick
Freelancers and very small businesses that just need to send an invoice and do basic accounting, and don't need estimates, contracts, or job workflows.
| Feature | Job Assistant | Wave |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $25/mo | Free |
| Built for | Contractors | General small business |
| Invoicing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Estimates (line-item) | ✓ | Basic |
| Digital contracts / e-sign | ✓ | ✗ |
| Online card payments | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scheduling & self-booking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Per-job profit tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Mileage log + IRS deduction | ✓ | ✗ |
| Bookkeeping | ✓ | ✓ |
Wave pricing as of 2026. Subject to change. Comparison reflects our understanding of publicly available information.
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Start your free trialIs Wave good for contractors?
Wave is great for free invoicing and basic accounting, but it lacks contractor essentials like line-item estimates, e-signed contracts, scheduling, and per-job profit tracking. Contractors who need those tend to outgrow it quickly.
Why pay for Job Assistant when Wave is free?
Wave only handles invoicing and books. Job Assistant runs the full contractor cycle — estimates, contracts, scheduling, payments, and job profit — and still includes bookkeeping and mileage tracking, for $25/month.