3 sales not marked paid.
SideTrack vs Wave
Wave helps with the books. SideTrack helps understand the work.
Wave is useful for free invoicing, payments, expenses, receipts, and accounting basics. SideTrack is built for the daily work before the report: jobs, payment status, costs, hours, notes, and whether the job was actually profitable.
Payment clarity
The payment page separates collected money from work still open.
Based on the app Payments screen: Outstanding, Collected, Total invoiced, Needs collection, Open payments, Paid sales, and the Mark paid action.
Payments
Track sales payments
Know what is collected, what is pending, and what needs follow-up.
4 paid sales.
Based on tracked sale prices.
Open payments
completedWebsite audit
$900.00Blue Oak Studio · Due Jun 12
activeSpring cleanup
$640.00Maddox Lawn · Due Jun 15
Paid sales
Paid Jun 3Full interior detail
$1,240.00Parker Auto
Paid May 30Logo refresh
$780.00Cedar Co.
Different tools
Do not confuse bookkeeping records with job clarity.
Operational clarity for each job
Track the job while it is still happening: status, price, payment, costs, hours, notes, and profit.
Accounting basics and invoicing
Create invoices, record payments, track expenses, organize receipts, and review financial reports.
Full comparison
SideTrack is built around job profit. Wave is built around accounting basics.
Wave can be a helpful accounting layer. SideTrack is the operating layer for the work itself: what is active, what is paid, what it cost, how long it took, and whether it was worth doing.
| Criteria | SideTrack | Wave |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Track active jobs, payments, costs, hours, notes, due dates, and job profit in one lightweight workspace. | Handle free accounting, invoicing, payments, receipts, financial reports, and bookkeeping basics. |
| Best user fit | Freelancers, solo operators, side businesses, and small service teams that need fast job-level profit clarity. | Very small businesses that want free invoicing and bookkeeping tools before paying for accounting software. |
| Daily workflow | Update job status, see who owes money, log costs, capture hours, and spot which jobs are worth repeating. | Create invoices, record payments, categorize expenses, upload receipts, and review accounting reports. |
| Job profitability | Shows revenue, costs, hours, payment status, and profit around the job so underpriced work is easier to catch. | Useful for income and expense records, but job-level operating context may require workarounds or separate tracking. |
| Learning curve | Intentionally narrow and approachable, built around paid work from lead to paid. | Approachable for accounting basics, but still centered on bookkeeping concepts, reports, and financial records. |
| Payments and status | Keeps payment status close to the job so unpaid work stays visible beside costs and notes. | Strong for invoices and payments, especially if invoicing is your main workflow. |
| Bookkeeping depth | Not full accounting software. It is the operating layer for job decisions before or beside the books. | Built for accounting basics, including invoices, expenses, reports, and bookkeeping records. |
| When it feels too heavy | Better when the immediate question is what is active, what is paid, what it cost, and whether it made money. | Can feel indirect when you just need to update a job after work is done and review simple job profit. |
You need a simple place to run jobs profitably.
- You run service jobs, gigs, projects, or side work and need a fast record of each job.
- You care about job profit, unpaid work, costs, hours, notes, and pricing patterns more than accounting reports.
- You want a lightweight operating layer that is easier to keep updated during the week.
You need free invoicing and accounting basics.
- You mainly need free invoicing, payments, expense tracking, and bookkeeping basics.
- Your priority is financial records, reports, receipts, and accounting-style organization.
- You want an accounting tool first and can handle job-level tracking separately.
The SideTrack lane
A job can move from lead to paid without becoming accounting work.
SideTrack keeps the operating details together so daily decisions do not wait for a report.
Capture the opportunity before it gets buried in texts or notes.
Track price, due date, notes, costs, and hours while the work is moving.
Close the loop with payment status and job profit.
Use Wave for accounting basics. Use SideTrack to understand the jobs.
SideTrack helps freelancers and small service businesses see what is paid, what is costing money, where time goes, and which jobs are actually profitable.
Try SideTrack free