A Wave alternative for teams that need to bill their hours.
PayPolka keeps client time, project expenses, estimates, and invoices in one account. Consider it when your main challenge is getting the team's work recorded and billed.
Try every feature free for 30 days. No card needed.
Start with the problem you want to solve.
Wave offers estimates, invoices, and bookkeeping records, with additional automation and services across its plans. If keeping the books is your main reason for choosing a tool, review those features alongside invoicing. Wave product and plan details were reviewed September 7, 2026.
PayPolka focuses on the daily connection between client work and billing: log hours, record project expenses, prepare the invoice, and review how the job is doing. It includes the same features at every team size.
How Wave and PayPolka compare
If you are moving away from Wave after its recent pricing changes, compare how each tool handles client workflow and team collaboration:
| Feature | Wave | PayPolka |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | Starter (limited) or Pro monthly fee + transaction fees | $9/person per month, all features included |
| Time Tracking & Timesheets | Not available (requires separate time-tracking tool) | Included: weekly grid, cost rates, unbilled hours pull |
| Project Margin Tracking | General ledger accounting, no project profitability | Job costing: labor costs, expenses vs. invoiced revenue |
| Payment Processing | Proprietary Wave Payments merchant account | Connect your own Stripe account; PayPolka adds 0% markup |
| Full General Ledger | Yes (double-entry bookkeeping built in) | No (export clean CSV summaries to your bookkeeper) |
Choosing the right tool
Choose Wave if your primary need is an all-in-one general ledger, chart of accounts, and financial accounting reports in a single system.
Choose PayPolka if your team spends their days doing client work, needs to capture hours and receipts as they happen, and wants to bill clients without wrestling with double-entry accounting. Explore time tracking and invoicing or get started with a 30-day trial.
How PayPolka helps
Make hours part of the billing process
Your team logs time by project and labor category. The invoice can pull in unbilled hourly work at the saved rates, along with project expenses.
Watch project budgets and delivery costs
Set budgets, receive threshold alerts, and review billed work against labor costs and expenses. These reports are included in the plan.
Pay one price for the whole team
$9 per person per month, nothing metered. Unlimited clients, projects, estimates, and invoices. Accountants and client contacts never take a seat, and the first 30 days are free with no card needed.
Give your accountant access
Invite an accountant for free read-only access to financial information. Use CSV exports to pass records to your bookkeeping process.
Questions, answered.
Who is PayPolka a good fit for?
Small US service teams, including contractors, consultants, freelancers, and studios that want project time, expenses, and billing together.
Can I automatically migrate my account?
PayPolka offers a client CSV import and a separate Harvest importer. It doesn't provide a full automatic migration from this product. Review your records and keep access to the history you need.
What does PayPolka cost?
$9 per person per month. Every feature is included, and read-only accountant access is free. New accounts get 30 days free with no card needed. Add a card before the trial ends to keep going; if you never do, nothing is charged.
See how your next project would work in PayPolka.
Start with your next client project. Log the work, prepare the invoice, and see how PayPolka fits your business.
Try every feature free for 30 days. No card needed.