Wave ExitTake the books out of Wave Accounting, checked and complete.
A desktop app for accountants and bookkeepers. Load what Wave can give you, let Wave Exit merge and check it once, then make as many outputs as you need: an archive for the client file, a review workbook, report PDFs, and files for the new system.
How it works
One project per client business. Three screens. Convert once, make outputs now or next month without asking the client again.
Inputs
Drop Wave's files on the window. Wave Exit puts them in the right place.
- Transactions export (the ledger)
- Wave connection (read-only)
- Receipts export
Review
Seven tie-out checks, and plain questions where a person has to decide.
- Cutover date and scope
- AR and AP aging, invoice by invoice
- Every transaction classified once
Outputs
Tick any number. Each one says up front what it keeps and what it loses.
- Archive and report PDFs
- Excel review workbook
- Files for the new system
Why Wave's own export isn't enough
No single Wave channel has everything, so Wave Exit uses both and merges them.
| What you need | Wave's connection | Wave's export files |
|---|---|---|
| The general ledger (every transaction) | No: it can't read transactions at all | Yes |
| Full chart of accounts, including unused and archived accounts | Yes | Only accounts with activity |
| Invoices with line items, due dates and payments | Yes | Invoice numbers on ledger lines |
| Bills | No | Yes |
| Products, sales taxes, estimates | Yes | No |
| Receipt files | No | Yes (separate export) |
No connection? Wave Exit still works from the export files alone, and tells you what that loses before you start.
Outputs
The universal package is always made: it's the archive, and every other output can be rebuilt from it.
Universal package always
Every record as documented CSV files, with receipts, a manifest and the tie-out report.
- Ledger, chart, contacts, invoices, bills, payments
- Receipts, linked to their transactions
- Tie-out report and every review answer
PDF report pack
For the client file.
- Trial balance, P&L and balance sheet by year
- AR/AP aging and general ledger
- No receipts or line items
Excel workbook
For review: every table on its own sheet, with filters.
- A trial balance that recomputes from the journal
- Aging sheets
- No receipt files
General ledger CSV
One row per line with debit and credit, for any system that imports journals.
- Full history, or opening balances plus later activity
- No line items or payment links
Bank statement files
Bank and card history as OFX and CSV for QuickBooks Online, Xero and others.
- History in the new system's banking screen
- Wave's categories: categorise there or use bank rules
Coming planned
QuickBooks Online and Xero import files, direct load into QuickBooks Online and Xero with preview, resume and undo, and Beancount/hledger.
The tie-out checks
Run on every conversion, shown on the Review screen and written to a one-page report for the client file.
- Every entry balances
- Total debits equal total credits
- Every account balance agrees with Wave
- Invoices, payments and accounts receivable agree
- Bills add up to accounts payable
- Nothing lost in reading: rows in equal rows out
- No transactions dated after the export
Your clients' books stay on your computer
- Wave Exit reads from Wave and writes only to the folders you choose. There is no Wave Exit server, no analytics and no upload.
- Projects are stored encrypted, with the key in your computer's keychain.
- It only reads from Wave. It never changes anything in Wave.
- The app can only open the files you pick or drop, and can only contact Wave.
Download
Wave Exit is a preview: it converts and checks books end to end, and loading straight into QuickBooks Online and Xero is still to come. Try it with the built-in sample business first.
Opening a preview build
Preview builds aren't signed by Apple or Microsoft yet, so your computer asks before opening them the first time.
Step-by-step instructionsQuestions
My client is on Wave's free plan and can't give me access. Can I still convert their books?
Yes. The client downloads the transactions export (and receipts) from Wave's Data Export page and sends you the files. Wave Exit works from those alone and shows you what is lost without a connection: unused accounts, invoice line items, products, sales taxes, due dates and the balance check against Wave.
Is it safe to give Wave Exit a Wave access key?
The key is kept in your computer's keychain, for that one project, and Wave Exit only reads with it. Create the key yourself in Wave's Developer Portal, never ask a client to email you theirs, and revoke it in Wave when you're done.
Which systems can I move the books to?
Today: anything that imports a general ledger CSV or bank statement files (QuickBooks Online, Xero and most others), plus the archive, Excel and PDF outputs. QuickBooks Online and Xero import files, and loading directly into them, are next.
What can't be brought out of Wave?
Recurring invoice schedules, bank reconciliation status, bank-feed connections, and payroll detail beyond Wave's payroll exports, which Wave offers only for Canadian businesses. No supported route gives these. Keep the PDF report pack for each closed year.
When can I download it?
A preview is available now from the Download section. It isn't signed by Apple or Microsoft yet, so follow the opening instructions. Signed installers with automatic updates come later.