Bonsai vs Wave
Two tools coaches often weigh against each other, compared on the same terms.
Bonsai
Contracts, proposals, invoicing and light CRM in one tool for independent professionals — the admin half of a coaching practice without four subscriptions.
Wave
Free invoicing and lightweight accounting for solo coaches — send an invoice, track what is unpaid, and have something tidy to hand an accountant.
Pricing
Bonsai: Paid plans; trial available
Wave: Invoicing and accounting have a free tier; payments charge per transaction
Category
Bonsai: Business
Wave: Business
Topics
Bonsai: contracts, invoicing, Client Tracker
Wave: invoicing, Revenue Calculator, Client Tracker
Last checked
Bonsai: 2026-09-16
Wave: 2026-09-16
What it is
Bonsai
A back-office suite built for freelancers: contract templates you can send for signature, proposals, recurring invoices, time tracking and a client list that remembers what each one has bought.
Wave
Small-business invoicing and bookkeeping with a free core. You raise invoices, chase them, categorise income and expenses, and export the result at year end.
Best for
Bonsai
Coaches selling multi-month packages who are currently stitching a contract tool, an invoicing tool and a spreadsheet together.
Wave
The independent coach who has outgrown a notes app but does not need real accounting software, and who wants invoices that look like a business sent them.
Watch out for
Bonsai
Its templates are written for generic freelance work — a coaching agreement needs your own terms on scope, cancellation and medical disclaimers. You are paying for the plumbing, not the legal drafting.
Wave
Card payments carry the usual per-transaction fee — free invoicing is not free money movement. Feature availability varies by country, so confirm your region is supported before you build a process on it.
Editorial comparison — nothing here is paid placement. Pricing changes often; treat the vendor’s own page as the truth. How we review