Just Invoice vs Wave for Canadian Contractors and Small Trades

Wave is well-known as a "free" invoicing and accounting option popular with Canadian freelancers and very small businesses. The invoicing and basic accounting are free, which sounds perfect on the surface.

However, for Canadian contractors who need reliable tax handling across provinces, want to request Interac e-transfers cleanly on invoices, and plan to accept card payments without high platform fees eating margins, the picture is more nuanced.

This comparison focuses on real-world use by plumbers, electricians, roofers, and other trades in Canada.

Comparison Table

THE "FREE" TRAP FOR CONTRACTORS:

Wave's free invoicing is genuinely useful if you send very few invoices and rarely accept cards. Many people start there.

For Active Trades Businesses

• If you send more than 2-3 invoices per month, you either live with Wave's payment fees on every card transaction or look elsewhere.
• Over a year, a contractor doing 30 invoices/month with even 40% paid by card can easily pay several hundred dollars in extra transaction fees compared to a tool that passes through only the processor's cut with no platform markup.

Just Invoice Premium at $8/month removes invoice limits and gives you card acceptance at raw Stripe rates (no extra platform percentage taken by the software company).

e-transfer Support:

This is a frequent pain point reported by Canadian Wave users in trades.

With Just Invoice you toggle one setting or per-invoice checkbox and the PDF includes clear "Please e-transfer to: email@you.com or phone" language that clients understand immediately.

Wave users typically add a sentence in the notes or terms field. It works, but it's not as prominent or professional as a dedicated field. For businesses where e-transfer is 50%+ of receipts, the native support saves time and awkward follow-ups.

Tax Compliance for Canada

Wave can handle GST/HST and provincial taxes. You create tax rates manually.

Just Invoice Comes with the Common Canadian Combinations Ready

• Québec: GST 5% + QST 9.975%
• Ontario: HST 13%
• BC: GST 5% + PST 7%
• Alberta / territories: GST 5%
• And line-by-line application so tax shows correctly on mixed labour/parts invoices.

If you cross provinces or just don't want to think about tax rate setup, Just Invoice reduces mistakes.

Who Wave Works Well for

• Brand new or very low-volume side gigs (under 5 invoices/month).
• People who primarily get paid by e-transfer or chèque and almost never take cards.
• Those who want free accounting + invoicing in one place and are okay manually configuring taxes.
• Users who like Wave's receipt scanning and basic bookkeeping reports.

Who Should Consider Switching to (or Starting With) Just Invoice

• Any contractor or tradesperson sending more than a handful of invoices per month.
• Businesses that want the simplest possible path to professional invoices with correct Canadian taxes.
• Anyone who wants to offer card payments without paying an extra platform fee on top of Stripe.
• Trades who rely on Interac e-transfer and want it to be obvious and professional on the invoice.
• People who value speed and minimal features over a full (but free) accounting suite.

Real Cost Example

Contractor sending 25 invoices/month, 10 paid by card (~$2,500 average card volume/month):

• Wave: ~$2,500 x 2.9% + 10 x $0.60 = ~$72.50 + $6 = ~$78.50/month in fees.
• Just Invoice Premium + Stripe: $8 + (Stripe fees only, roughly $2,500 x 2.9% + $0.30 x 10 ≈ $75.50). You save the platform portion and the flat $8 is often offset quickly.

Plus you get unlimited invoices and better e-transfer experience.

Bottom Line

Wave is a legitimate free option that has helped thousands of small Canadian businesses. But once you have real volume or care about presenting clean Canadian payment options (e-transfer + low-fee cards), the "free" path starts costing time and money.

Just Invoice is not trying to be a full accounting replacement. It is laser-focused on the invoicing and payment collection part that contractors do constantly.

Many users run Wave for bookkeeping and Just Invoice (or similar) for the actual client-facing invoices and faster collections.

Try Both

You can test Just Invoice's generator with zero commitment. Create real invoices with your taxes and e-transfer details. See the difference in speed and presentation.

Related Pages

• Just Invoice vs QuickBooks Online: Which Is Better for Canadian Contractors in 2026?
• Just Invoice vs FreshBooks: Simple Invoicing for Canadian Contractors 2026
• Best Invoicing Software for Canada 2026 | For Contractors, Trades & Small Businesses
• How to Get Paid Faster as a Canadian Contractor 2026 | Reduce Late Payments
• Invoicing Resources for Canadian Contractors and Trades | Just Invoice