Switch from Wave to Guliel

Guliel is accounting and finance-operations software that runs invoicing, expenses, purchasing, payroll, reporting and a double-entry general ledger on one engine. Switching from Wave today means you import your customer list from Wave's data export, issue new documents in Guliel, and keep your Wave invoices, payments, receipts and payroll history in Wave or in the files you export from it. Guliel has no Wave importer or connector today; a direct Wave connector is planned.

You don't have to close Wave first. Run Guliel beside it and close Wave when you're ready.

Why businesses switch from Wave

Wave is accounting and invoicing software built for small businesses in the US and Canada, with double-entry books, bank connections and payments on the invoice. Businesses look elsewhere when they outgrow that shape:

• Trading outside the US and Canada. Guliel issues documents as PDF in the formats of 39 countries (10 format families), including Singapore tax invoices and Israeli tax documents in Hebrew (live). Structured e-invoice output such as Peppol BIS Billing is planned.
• Buying as well as selling. Purchase orders go to suppliers, each supplier invoice links to its order, and items and stock movements run on the same engine (live).
• Payroll in Singapore. CPF, SDL, FWL and self-help group funds, with payslips, posted to the ledger (payroll, live).
• AI in the books. Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot or any MCP client connects through OAuth 2.1 and acts within the user's role and scopes (live).

These parts share one data model. The general ledger is computed from the same document lines as receivables and payables, so the trial balance and the open balances agree by construction.

What maps to what

In Wave	In Guliel today	How it moves
Customers	Customers (live)	Spreadsheet import
Invoices	Invoices, receipts, credit and debit memos as PDF (live)	Not imported; they stay in Wave
Estimates	No estimates	Stay in Wave
Payments received	Payments recorded against documents, in full or in part (live)	Not imported
Receipts and bills	OCR scan, inbox capture, a person's approval before the ledger (live)	Not imported; new ones start in Guliel
Products and services	Items with stock movements (live)	Added again
Chart of accounts, journal transactions	Double-entry ledger, fixed chart of accounts, balanced journal entries (live); custom accounts (planned)	Opening balances as one journal entry
Bank connections, reconciliation	Not available yet	Stay in Wave until you close it
Recurring invoices	A monthly-schedule automation that creates the invoice (live)	Set up again
Wave Payments	Not a payment processor; PayPal links built, not switched on	Stay with your processor
Wave Payroll	Payroll for Singapore organisations	Stays in Wave

How the customer import works

In Wave, open Settings → Data Export and download the Accounting export; it includes a customers file in CSV or Excel, one Wave business per export. Rename the headers to Guliel's template: Name, Tax ID, Email, Phone, Address, City. Only Name is required. In Guliel, on the Customers page, choose Import, then Other / spreadsheet template. Importing needs the manager role.

1. Column check. Guliel shows which columns it recognised, which required ones are missing and which it will ignore.
2. Review. Each row is marked new, already imported or invalid, with the reason.
3. Commit. Nothing is written until you commit. A bad row is skipped on its own.

Upload the same file again and rows already imported are skipped. Files can be up to 10 MB or 50,000 rows.

Step by step

1. Start free, create one organisation per Wave business and import its customers. The organisation's country sets the document format and numbering.
2. Pick a cut-over date, ideally the start of a month or quarter. From then on, invoices come from Guliel.
3. Collect the invoices still open in Wave there, so each payment sits next to its invoice.
4. Capture new expenses in Guliel by scan or from a connected inbox, and approve them.
5. Give your accountant access. A manager invites them by email; the invite lets them set up a Guliel login if they don't already have one. To start Guliel's ledger from your Wave numbers, they post the opening balances from Wave's trial balance as one balanced journal entry, mapping Wave's accounts onto Guliel's fixed chart. A manager can then set the books lock date to the day before cut-over; postings dated on or before it can't change.
6. Before you close Wave, run its data export (Accounting, Receipts and Payroll) and download the reports you want to keep, such as the trial balance and general ledger.

Running Guliel beside Wave is an option for as long as you need it, for example while bank reconciliation stays in Wave. Guliel's ledger exports as CSV (live), so your accountant can work from either side. As automations take over routine steps, such as acting on overdue invoices, move the rest over.

Where Wave stays ahead

Wave has bank connections and reconciliation; Guliel has neither yet. Wave's chart of accounts is editable; Guliel's is fixed, with custom accounts planned. Wave takes card and bank payments on the invoice; Guliel is not a payment processor. Wave Payroll covers the US and Canada; Guliel's covers Singapore. Guliel does not determine US sales-tax nexus or file tax returns. The full side-by-side is at Guliel vs Wave.

Your accountant stays in the loop

Guliel prepares the records; you or your accountant approve them. Captured expenses wait for a person's approval before they reach the ledger, a manager sets the books lock date, and each member has a role: manager, contributor or viewer (live). A sign-off queue where an accountant approves AI work, and GST and VAT return preparation, are planned.

What it costs

Importing has no charge. Free is $0 per organisation per month: 200 invoices, 100 expense scans, 10 reports, 5 automations. Standard ($20) and Premium ($99) are published prices; paid plans are not on sale yet. Pricing is per organisation, not per seat. See pricing.

FAQ

Is there a direct Wave importer?

No. Your customer list moves by spreadsheet from Wave's data export. Wave invoices, payments, receipts and payroll are not imported. Direct connectors for QuickBooks, Xero, Zoho, Wave, FreshBooks, Invoice Ninja, Stripe and Shopify are all planned; none is built yet.

Does Guliel keep double-entry books like Wave?

Yes. Guliel keeps a double-entry general ledger on a fixed chart of accounts, with balanced journal entries, trial balance, balance sheet, income statement, cash flow, a books lock date and CSV export (live). Custom accounts are planned. Bank connections and reconciliation are not available yet.

Will my Wave invoice numbers carry over?

No. Wave invoices aren't imported, so they keep their numbers in Wave. New documents follow Guliel's numbering for your country.

Do payments from Wave Payments migrate?

No. Payment records stay in Wave, and Guliel does not process payments. Record each new payment against its invoice in Guliel, in full or in part. PayPal payment links are built, not yet switched on.

Can I move one Wave business and leave the others?

Yes. Wave exports one business at a time. Each business you move becomes its own Guliel organisation under the same login, priced per organisation.

Should I switch if my business is only in the US or Canada?

Maybe not. If you rely on Wave's bank connections, payments or payroll, Wave may fit better. Guliel fits when you trade outside North America, buy on purchase orders, track stock or run Singapore payroll. You can run both while you decide.

Start free, import your customers, and issue the next invoice from Guliel.