Guliel vs Wave: a Wave alternative compared (2026)
Summary
Guliel and Wave are both accounting software with a double-entry ledger, and both have a free plan. Guliel is accounting and finance-operations software that runs invoicing, expenses, purchasing, payroll, reporting and a double-entry general ledger on one engine. Wave is accounting and invoicing software for small businesses in the US and Canada, with card and bank payments built into its invoices.
Both keep real books, so the choice comes down to where you trade and how clients pay you. Wave suits a US or Canadian small business that wants free books, bank connections and a pay button on the invoice. Guliel suits a business that issues documents outside North America (PDF in the formats of 39 countries, Hebrew for Israel), buys on purchase orders, tracks stock, runs Singapore payroll or wants AI clients working in its books through MCP. Guliel does not process payments and has no bank feeds yet.
Both are double-entry
Wave offers free double-entry bookkeeping, with an editable chart of accounts, journal transactions, bank connections with reconciliation, and standard reports including a balance sheet and trial balance.
Guliel's general ledger is double-entry too. Live today:
- A fixed chart of accounts. Custom accounts are planned.
- Manual journal entries for opening balances, accruals and adjustments. An entry saves only when debits equal credits.
- Trial balance, balance sheet, general ledger report, income statement and cash flow.
- A books lock date set by a manager, and CSV export of the ledger.
The ledger is computed from the same document lines as receivables and payables. Issued invoices, recorded payments, approved expenses and approved payslips post their own entries, so the trial balance and the open customer and supplier balances agree by construction. A captured expense reaches the ledger only after a person approves it.
Where Wave is ahead today: bank connections, bank reconciliation and an editable chart of accounts. Guliel has none of the three yet.
Feature comparison
| Wave | Guliel | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Accounting and invoicing for small businesses in the US and Canada | Accounting and finance-operations software with a double-entry ledger, on one engine |
| Double-entry ledger | Yes | Yes, with journal entries, trial balance, balance sheet, books lock date and CSV export |
| Chart of accounts | Editable | Fixed; custom accounts planned |
| Bank connections and reconciliation | Yes | Not yet |
| Where it issues documents | Built for the US and Canada | PDF in the formats of 39 countries (10 format families), including the US and Canada; Hebrew for Israel |
| Document types | Invoices and estimates | Invoices, receipts, invoice-receipts, payment requests, credit and debit memos. No estimates |
| Suppliers | Bills you receive | Purchase orders out; the supplier's invoice links to its order. Invited suppliers link their own Guliel organization and see your orders |
| Items and stock | Products and services for invoicing | Items and stock movements, with a low-stock automation trigger |
| Payroll | Wave Payroll, a paid add-on (US and Canada) | Singapore payroll (CPF, SDL, FWL, self-help group funds) with payslips, posted to the ledger. Elsewhere, basic gross-to-net with no statutory deductions |
| Receipt and bill capture | Receipt scanning | OCR scan with AI categories from your own list; inbox capture from Gmail, Outlook, IMAP and POP3; approval before the ledger |
| Getting paid | Card and bank payments on the invoice, per-transaction fees (US and Canada) | Payments recorded against documents, full or partial. No card or bank payment processing yet. Not a payment processor |
| Several businesses | Several businesses under one login | Several organizations under one login, priced per organization |
| Automations | Recurring invoices and payment reminders | 14 triggers (invoice, payment, expense, purchase-order and stock events, overdue invoices, schedules); actions are any API operation or a webhook |
| API and AI | Public API | REST API and MCP server: Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot or any MCP client connects through OAuth 2.1 within the user's role and scopes. Built-in AI companion |
Pricing
Guliel's published prices are per organization, not per seat:
| Plan | Price | Monthly limits |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 200 invoices, 100 expense scans, 10 reports, 5 active automations, 10 AI messages |
| Standard | $20 / org / month | 5,000 invoices, 1,000 scans, unlimited reports and automations, 500 AI messages, MCP access |
| Premium | $99 / org / month | 50,000 invoices, 10,000 scans, unlimited AI companion. SSO and an audit log are planned |
Billing is not live yet, so Standard and Premium are not on sale. Details at /pricing.
Wave has a free plan and a paid Pro plan, charges per-transaction fees when clients pay through Wave, and sells payroll as an add-on. Check Wave's pricing page for current figures.
Pick Wave when…
You run a small business in the US or Canada, bill in USD or CAD, and want free double-entry books with bank connections and reconciliation. You want clients to pay by card or bank transfer from the invoice, and US or Canadian payroll from the same vendor. You send estimates or rely on recurring invoices. If Wave already covers your business, switching is unlikely to pay off.
Pick Guliel when…
You issue documents outside the US and Canada, such as Singapore tax invoices or Israeli tax documents in Hebrew (Israeli allocation numbers through SHAAM are built, not yet switched on). You buy on purchase orders and want each supplier invoice linked to its order. You track stock or run Singapore payroll. You run several businesses under one login. You want automations and AI clients working in your books under the same rules as people: numbering at issue, totals from line items, country document rules and balanced entries. You want your accountant to review and approve: captured expenses wait for a person's approval, a manager sets the lock date, and each person has a role (manager, contributor or viewer). A sign-off queue for AI work is planned. Document details are at /invoicing.
Running both, then moving
You do not have to leave Wave to start:
- Connect. Issue new documents, capture expenses and send purchase orders in Guliel while Wave keeps running. Export the ledger as CSV for your accountant.
- Automate. An overdue invoice, an approved expense or low stock can trigger an API action or a webhook.
- Move customers. Export them from Wave to CSV, rename the headers to Name, Tax ID, Email, Phone, Address, City (only Name is required) and upload. A column check and a staged review run before anything is saved.
- Set opening balances with a manual journal entry from Wave's trial balance at your cut-over date.
- Leave the history in Wave. There is no Wave importer today (a direct connector is planned), so past invoices, payments, bills and payroll stay there.
The full path is at /migrate/from-wave.
FAQ
Does Guliel have double-entry accounting like Wave?
Yes. Guliel keeps a double-entry general ledger on a fixed chart of accounts, with journal entries that must balance, a trial balance, balance sheet, income statement, cash flow, a books lock date and CSV export. Custom accounts are planned. It has no bank connections or bank reconciliation yet.
Is Wave really free?
Wave has a free plan for invoicing and bookkeeping. Its Pro plan, payment fees and payroll add-on cost money; check Wave's pricing page. Guliel's Free plan is $0 per organization: 200 invoices, 100 expense scans, 10 reports and 5 active automations a month.
Can I use Guliel in the US or Canada?
Yes. Guliel issues invoices in the North American format, with the same ledger, expenses and purchase orders. It does not process card payments, connect to banks or calculate US or Canadian payroll taxes, and it does not determine US sales-tax nexus or file state returns.
Can I use Wave outside the US and Canada?
Wave is built for small businesses in the US and Canada, and its payments and payroll serve those two countries. For a Singapore tax invoice or Israeli tax documents in Hebrew, Guliel issues those today as PDF.
Does Guliel replace my accountant?
No. Guliel prepares the records; you or your accountant review and approve them. Your accountant joins your organization with their own role. Guliel does not file tax or payroll returns.
Can I import my Wave data into Guliel?
Not directly; there is no Wave importer today (a direct connector is planned). Bring customers over by CSV on Guliel's template, enter opening balances as a journal entry, and keep past invoices, payments and bills in Wave.
Does Guliel take payments like Wave?
No. Guliel is not a payment processor. Record each payment against its document, in full or in part, and Guliel can issue the receipt.
Start free at /pricing, and run Guliel beside Wave until you are ready to move.
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