How to Cancel Wave Accounting & Payroll in 2026

Updated February 2026 • Difficulty: Easy

How to Cancel Wave Payroll

1. Log in at waveapps.com
2. Go to Payroll → Settings
3. Click Cancel Payroll Subscription
4. Complete any pending payrolls first — you're legally required to pay employees for work already done
5. Download all payroll records and tax filings before canceling

Before You Cancel: Export Everything

• Export transactions: Accounting → Transactions → Export (CSV)
• Download invoices: Sales → Invoices → download each as PDF
• Export payroll records: Payroll → Reports → download all W-2s, 1099s, payroll summaries
• Save receipts: Download any uploaded receipt images

How to Delete Your Wave Account

1. Cancel any paid subscriptions first (Payroll, Payments)
2. Go to Settings → Account
3. Click Delete Account
4. This is permanent — all data will be lost

Wave Pricing Breakdown

• Accounting & Invoicing: Free forever
• Wave Payroll (Tax States): $40/mo + $6/employee
• Wave Payroll (Self-Service States): $20/mo + $6/employee
• Wave Payments: 2.9% + $0.60 per credit card transaction (pay-per-use, not subscription)
• Wave Advisors (bookkeeping): $149/mo for professional bookkeeping

Alternatives

• Wave Free (keep it!) — the accounting/invoicing is genuinely free and good for freelancers
• Gusto — $40/mo + $6/person for payroll (more features than Wave Payroll)
• QuickBooks Self-Employed — $15/mo for freelancers (accounting + tax deductions)
• Zoho Books — free for revenue under $50K/year
• GnuCash — free, open-source desktop accounting software