The Wave Alternative for Startup Teams
Klerky is a paid alternative to Wave for startup teams that have outgrown free single-owner accounting — a shared ops workspace with runway, built-in AI receipts, and a people directory instead of add-ons bolted onto one owner's books. Wave is genuinely hard to beat for a solo owner who needs free invoicing and simple books; Klerky isn't full accounting, so if that's all you need, Wave may still be the right call.
The usual reason to look elsewhere: Wave is free and excellent for one person, but the moment you're a team the pieces you need — multi-user access, receipt automation, payroll — move to paid add-ons, and there's still no runway or team view. If you've hit that point, here's an honest read on switching.
Who should switch — and who shouldn't
Switch to Klerky if you're a 2–10 person team who wants everyone in one shared workspace, receipt-AI included rather than an add-on, and a live answer to “how long does our cash last?” without stitching together reports. Once you're adding teammates and recurring expenses, that's the stretch Klerky is built for.
Stay on Wave if you're a freelancer or single-owner business whose needs are invoicing plus a basic set of books. Wave's free Starter plan is excellent value — there's little reason to pay for more, its invoicing is solid, and double-entry bookkeeping at no cost is rare. Klerky gives you a profit snapshot and runway, not a double-entry ledger, so for a one-person operation watching every dollar, Wave is a sensible default.
| For a small team | Wave | Klerky |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Freelancers and solo owners wanting free invoicing and books | Startup teams of 2–10 running the whole business |
| Price | Starter free; Pro $19/mo; receipts, payroll, bookkeeping are add-ons | Free to start; $69/mo flat for the whole team on Pro |
| Accounting depth | Double-entry bookkeeping and basic financial statements | Income, spend, and a profit snapshot (not full accounting) |
| Runway tracking | Not included | Live from your real expenses, invoices, and salaries |
| Receipts | Receipt capture is a paid add-on ($8–11/mo) | Built in — AI fills in vendor, amount, and date |
| Invoices | Yes — strong free invoicing | Yes — issue, send PDF, track payment in one place |
| Team workspace | Multi-user only on Pro; built around one owner | One shared workspace with roles for the whole team |
| Team directory | Not included | People directory with salary and monthly payment tracking |
| Ops view | Accounting reports, not a live ops cockpit | Income vs spend and how long the cash lasts, always current |
| Best when | You're solo and want free books plus invoicing | You're a team and want one place to run ops |
How to move from Wave to Klerky
There's no one-click importer, and you won't need to migrate a ledger — a small team can be running in an afternoon:
- Export your data from Wave (clients, outstanding invoices, recent expenses) for a clean starting record.
- Add your clients in Klerky and start issuing invoices from the shared workspace.
- Log expenses by uploading a receipt — the AI fills in the vendor, amount, and date, no paid add-on required.
- Add your teammates to the people directory and set your cash on hand so the runway figure starts tracking.
- Keep a formal double-entry ledger with your accountant for tax time — that's the one thing Wave's bookkeeping does that Klerky deliberately doesn't.
What Klerky does differently
Klerky is built for the team, not the sole owner. Everyone works in one shared workspace, receipt-AI is included rather than an add-on, and invoices, expenses, and salaries roll up into a profit snapshot and a live runway figure automatically — no formulas, no reconciliation step.
Pricing is flat — one workspace fee for the entire team, so the bill doesn't change as you grow. For a fuller side-by-side, see the full Klerky vs Wave comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Is Klerky a good Wave alternative?
It depends on where you are. For a solo owner who mostly needs to send invoices and keep simple books, Wave's free Starter plan is hard to beat, and we'll say so plainly. The math changes for a team: Wave's multi-user access, receipt automation, and payroll are paid (Pro plus add-ons), and even then there's no runway, no team directory, and no ops-first view. Klerky's flat $69/mo team price buys the whole back office — and a runway figure that stays current on its own — so for the 2–10 stage it's the better-fit alternative.
Does Klerky do accounting like Wave?
Not full accounting. Wave keeps a double-entry ledger and basic financial statements. Klerky gives you a clear income-vs-spend snapshot, a profit figure, and a runway number — what a small team checks weekly — but it isn't a replacement for bookkeeping software at tax time. Many teams use Klerky for day-to-day ops and hand structured records to an accountant later, keeping a formal ledger where it's needed.
Wave is free — why would a team switch to a paid workspace?
Wave was designed for freelancers and very small, single-owner businesses, and it's excellent at that. As you add teammates, recurring expenses, and the question “how long does our cash last?”, you outgrow what free accounting was built for — real multi-user access is Pro-only, and receipts and payroll are paid add-ons that stack up. Klerky is built for that 2–10 stretch, with the team, receipts, and runway included rather than bolted on.
Can I switch from Wave to Klerky easily?
You enter clients, invoices, and expenses directly, and AI receipt scanning means you're not retyping receipts. Klerky is built so a small team can be running in an afternoon rather than migrating a ledger. If you still want a formal ledger for tax, keep that with your accountant.
More alternatives
- QuickBooks alternative — a startup ops workspace vs full accounting
- Expensify alternative — expenses folded into a whole back office
- FreshBooks alternative — a team workspace, not a freelancer invoicing tool