Wave + Contractors & Freelancers: Faster Bank Import
Contractors and freelancers juggling personal and business accounts need to separate expenses for tax purposes. If you use Wave for your accounting, you need a fast way to get bank statement data into the system.
BankScan AI for Contractors & Freelancers Using Wave
BankScan AI converts any bank statement PDF to CSV formatted for direct import into Wave. Upload your bank statements and get organised spreadsheets that make expense categorisation and self-assessment tax returns straightforward.
The Contractors & Freelancers + Wave Workflow
Contractors download bank statements from both personal and business accounts, separate allowable business expenses from personal spending, categorise expenses by type for self-assessment, and either prepare their own tax return or send organised records to their accountant. Limited company contractors also need to reconcile director's loan accounts.
Key terms you'll encounter: IR35, director's loan account, allowable expenses, flat rate VAT.
How It Works
Upload any bank statement PDF
Supports all major banks. Saves 1-2 hours per month on expense tracking and categorisation, plus 3-4 hours at year-end when preparing records for self-assessment
AI formats for Wave
Output as CSV with Date, Description, Amount — Wave supports both single amount column and separate Income/Expense columns — dates in YYYY-MM-DD or MM/DD/YYYY.
Import and reconcile
In Wave, go to Banking > Connected Accounts > Upload a bank statement (CSV). Select the file, map columns to Date, Description, and Amount, then import. Wave's invoicing is tightly coupled with bank imports — when you import a bank deposit, Wave suggests matching it to outstanding invoices automatically.
Supported Banks
BankScan AI works with all major UK and US banks, including:
Wave Features for Contractors & Freelancers
- Wave ready — Output formatted as CSV matching Wave's expected column structure
- Smart integration — Wave's invoicing is tightly coupled with bank imports — when you import a bank deposit, Wave suggests matching it to outstanding invoices automatically.
- Built for Contractors & Freelancers — Saves 1-2 hours per month on expense tracking and categorisation, plus 3-4 hours at year-end when preparing records for self-assessment
- Software compatible — Output works directly with FreeAgent, Xero, QuickBooks Self-Employed
Import Steps for Contractors & Freelancers Using Wave
As contractor, here's how to get bank data into Wave:
- In Wave, go to Banking > Connected Accounts > Upload a bank statement (CSV)
- Select the file, map columns to Date, Description, and Amount, then import
Common Import Issues
Wave's free tier has occasional processing delays on large files. Also, Wave uses MM/DD/YYYY by default which conflicts with UK DD/MM/YYYY — select the correct format during import.
Wave Import — Built for Contractors & Freelancers
Completely free with no paid tier for accounting features (monetised through payment processing). Popular with budget-conscious startups and side-hustlers.
Try Free — Wave + Contractors & Freelancers