MotionOps vs. Wave
Four questions. One honest answer.
Looking for a Wave alternative? If you only need free invoicing and books, you may not need one. If you run crews, you need more than Wave does. Answer four questions and see which tool fits the jobs you actually run.
Skip to the feature comparisonSee MotionOps in action
Click through the real product at your own pace. No sign-up, no sales call.
Wave keeps the books. MotionOps runs the jobs.
Wave is built for invoicing and bookkeeping, with a free plan to start.
The question is: what runs your crews, your schedule, and your job sites?
Wave has no tools for that. MotionOps was built for it.
MotionOps
Built to run the field side of your business.
- Drag-and-drop scheduling with multi-day jobs and several crews per job.
- A crew mobile app with GPS-stamped clock in and on-site time tracking.
- Change orders and digital contracts with customer signatures.
- Job costing per job, built from approved timesheets and material expenses.
- Employee files, certifications and skills, and day-off requests.
- Not an accounting tool: no chart of accounts, bank reconciliation, or tax reports.
Wave
Simple books for small businesses. No field tools.
- Free Starter plan with unlimited estimates, invoices, and bookkeeping records.
- Pro at $19/mo adds auto bank import, recurring billing, and automated reminders.
- Deposits on estimates, paid online before the job starts.
- Profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash flow reports for tax time.
- No scheduling, dispatch, GPS, or crew app on any plan.
- No change orders, and estimates are accepted with a button, not a signature.
Side-by-side feature breakdown
An honest look at what each platform delivers, and where the gaps are for growing teams.
| Features | MotionOpsFor Growing Contractor Teams | WaveFor Small Business Owners & Solopreneurs |
|---|---|---|
| Estimating & Quoting | ||
| Job estimates & quotes | ||
| Line-item materials & labor | Products and services line items | |
| Quote-to-invoice conversion | ||
| Change orders | No change order workflow | |
| Digital customer signature | Accept button only, no e-signature | |
| Invoicing & Payments | ||
| Invoice creation & sending | Sending through Wave: Pro or online payments | |
| Online payment collection | 2.9% + $0.60 per card | |
| Recurring invoices | Pro plan or with online payments on | |
| Automatic payment reminders | Pro plan or with online payments on | |
| Deposit collection | Deposits on estimates; Pro or online payments | |
| Credit card processing | 2.9% + $0.60; Amex 3.4% + $0.60 | |
| Bank transfer (ACH) | 1% per payment, $1 minimum | |
| Accounting | ||
| Chart of accounts | Not an accounting tool | Full double-entry bookkeeping |
| Bank reconciliation | Auto bank import on Pro, $19/mo | |
| Expense tracking | Unlimited receipt capture on Pro | |
| Payroll | Payroll prep only | Add-on, $40/mo + $6/employee |
| Tax filing support | Tax-ready reports; payroll tax filing in add-on | |
| P&L / Balance sheet | ||
| Accountant access | Full user roles on Pro; free tax pro role | |
| Scheduling & Dispatch | ||
| Job scheduling calendar | No scheduling features | |
| Multi-crew dispatch | ||
| Drag-and-drop rescheduling | ||
| GPS tracking | ||
| Route optimization | ||
| Field Operations | ||
| Mobile app for crew | Owner invoicing app, no crew app | |
| Job checklists & forms | ||
| Photo documentation | ||
| Time tracking on-site | ||
| Materials used tracking | ||
| Customer Management | ||
| Customer records (CRM) | ||
| Customer portal | ||
| Job history per customer | Invoice and payment history only, no jobs | |
| Email & SMS notifications | Email only; text a share link manually | |
| Team & HR | ||
| Employee profiles | Via Wave Payroll add-on | |
| Certifications & skills tracking | ||
| Days-off / time-off requests | ||
| Onboarding document storage | ||
| Payroll prep workflow | ||
| Reporting | ||
| Job profitability reports | Via Tags on Pro plan, manual tagging | |
| Revenue by customer | ||
| Financial statements | Full P&L, balance sheet | |
| Custom report builder | Built-in and advanced reports | Filters and tags only, no builder |
IncludedPartial or add-onNot available
What MotionOps adds as your business grows
MotionOps covers the same quoting and invoicing basics as Wave. What sets it apart is what's already
built in for when your business needs more, no upgrade to a different platform required.
A crew app, not just an invoicing app
Crew mobile app with GPS-stamped clock in, on-site time tracking, and timesheet approval.
The mobile app sends invoices and estimates and captures receipts. There’s no crew app.
A schedule for crews and multi-day jobs
Drag-and-drop scheduling, multi-day jobs, several crews per job, and GPS tracking.
No scheduling, dispatch, or GPS tracking on any Wave plan.
Change orders your customer signs
Change orders and digital contracts with customer signatures, from day one.
No change orders. Customers accept an estimate with a button, with no signature.
Job costing without manual tags
Job costing per job from approved timesheets and material expenses, on Go and up.
Job profitability only through tags you add by hand, on the Pro plan.
HR tools for a growing crew
Employee profiles, onboarding documents, skills and certifications, and day-off requests.
Employee records only inside the paid Wave Payroll add-on. No skills tracking or day-off requests.
Your books stay in an accounting tool
Runs the field side. Syncs clients, invoices, and payments with QuickBooks Online.
Double-entry bookkeeping, P&L, and balance sheet on the free plan. Auto bank import on Pro.
Wave pricing vs MotionOps: What you actually pay
Wave's Starter plan is free, and Pro is $19/mo. Payments and payroll cost extra.
MotionOps costs more because it does different work: scheduling, crews, change orders, and job costing. It doesn't replace your accounting.
Up to 5 people: Wave Pro is $103.17/mo less than MotionOps Go, but it has no scheduling, crew app, or change orders. Go adds those, plus job costing and payroll prep.
MotionOps
Solo
$39 / mo (annual) · 1 user
CRM, proposals, scheduling, invoicing, digital contracts, QuickBooks Online
Go
Most Popular$119 / mo (annual) · 1–5 users incl.
Everything in Solo + job costing, overtime tracking, HR docs, AI expense tracking. Additional users $29/mo.
Scale
$199 / mo (annual) · 5 users incl.
Everything in Go + multiple locations & service areas, multi-timezone scheduling, team skills & grades, time-off management, job costing reports, white glove onboarding.
Wave
Starter
$0 / mo · 1 owner
Unlimited estimates, invoices, and bookkeeping records. No auto bank import, no extra users.
No scheduling or crew tools on any plan.
Pro
$15.83 / mo ($190/yr, annual) · multiple users
Auto bank import, auto-categorization, unlimited receipts, recurring billing, and automated reminders. $19/mo billed monthly.
Wave Payroll
$40 / mo + $6 per employee · add-on
US payroll with tax service in all 50 states. Plus $6 per contractor paid. 30-day free trial.
MotionOps prices are annual. Wave prices were checked on 2026-10-26 and are its regular rates; no promos are included. Card payments on Wave cost 2.9% + $0.60.
See all MotionOps plans and features“Before MotionOps, we needed to be present on every job site, every day. Huge change for us was being able to monitor our projects remotely. This gave us time to focus on growth.”
Make the switch if you recognize yourself here
MotionOps is ideal for contractors who've outgrown invoicing-only tools and need a real system for the work in the field. Tap the ones that sound like you.
0 of 8 Nothing picked yet.
Book a demoFAQ
Is MotionOps a good alternative to Wave?
For running jobs, yes. For bookkeeping, no. Wave is accounting and invoicing software with no scheduling, dispatch, GPS, or crew app. MotionOps handles that field side, plus change orders with customer signatures, timesheets, and job costing. It isn't an accounting tool, so your books stay in Wave or in QuickBooks Online, which MotionOps syncs with.
Does MotionOps sync with Wave or QuickBooks Online?
MotionOps syncs with QuickBooks Online on every plan: clients, products and services, invoices, and payments, on your schedule. There is no Wave integration, so if you keep Wave, the two run side by side without a sync. How the QuickBooks Online sync works: QuickBooks Online integration for contractors.
Is MotionOps more expensive than Wave?
Yes. Wave Starter is free and Pro is $19/mo, or $190/yr. MotionOps Solo is $39/mo billed annually, and Go is $119/mo for up to 5 users. The difference is the work each one does: Wave keeps the books, MotionOps schedules crews, tracks time on site, handles change orders, and costs out every job. Card fees: Wave 2.9% + $0.60, MotionOps from 2.9% + $0.30. ACH is 1% on both; MotionOps drops to 0.5% over $20k.
Can Wave schedule jobs or track crews?
No. Wave has no scheduling, dispatch, or GPS tracking on any plan, and its mobile app is for invoices, estimates, and receipts. MotionOps includes drag-and-drop scheduling, multi-day jobs, a crew mobile app, and GPS-stamped clock in.
Does Wave do job costing?
Not directly. On Pro you can tag income and expenses by project or client and compare profit for up to 7 tags. MotionOps job costing comes with Go at $119/mo and builds each job's profit from approved timesheets and material expenses.
Does Wave handle change orders or signatures?
No. Customers accept a Wave estimate with a button and can pay a deposit, but there are no change orders and no e-signature. MotionOps includes change orders with customer signatures and digital contract signing from Solo up.
Who should stick with Wave?
If you work alone, finish most jobs in a day, and mostly need free invoicing and bookkeeping, Wave covers it at no cost. Wave also takes deposits on estimates today. Once you have a crew to schedule, multi-day jobs, or frequent scope changes, MotionOps runs the field side.
Is it hard to switch from Wave to MotionOps?
No. MotionOps is easy to set up and use from day one, with no steep learning curve. Every account gets a free onboarding session and phone support with real people, and larger teams get white-glove onboarding plus a customer success program. You can try it first with a 14-day free trial before moving anything over.
Does MotionOps have a mobile app for my crew?
Yes, at no additional cost. Your crew clocks in with a GPS stamp and tracks time on site from their phone, and field managers can view, adjust, and approve timesheets right in the app. Wave's mobile app is for invoices, estimates, and receipts.
Does MotionOps offer a free trial?
Yes, a 14-day free trial. Wave has no Pro trial listed, but its Starter plan is free. You can also book a demo first to see how MotionOps handles your crews, jobs, and project types before committing.
Ready to run your business with real structure?
Join contractor teams that use MotionOps to manage crews, projects, finances, and growth, all from one platform. It will be worth it, we promise.
Book a demo14-day free trial. Plans from $39/month.