Wave + Tradespeople (Plumbers, Electricians): Faster Bank Import
Tradespeople receive payments from multiple customers, buy materials from suppliers, and manage van and tool expenses — often on the go with no time for bookkeeping. If you use Wave for your accounting, you need a fast way to get bank statement data into the system.
BankScan AI for Tradespeople (Plumbers, Electricians) Using Wave
BankScan AI converts any bank statement PDF to CSV formatted for direct import into Wave. Convert your bank statements to Excel to track job payments, match material purchases, and get your books ready for self-assessment without hours of data entry.
The Tradespeople (Plumbers, Electricians) + Wave Workflow
Tradespeople receive customer payments via bank transfer, cash, or card, purchase materials from builders' merchants and wholesalers, pay for van fuel and maintenance, and manage tool and equipment costs. Most do their bookkeeping in the evenings or at weekends, matching bank transactions against job quotes and material receipts to calculate profit per job.
Key terms you'll encounter: day rate, materials markup, call-out charge, retention.
How It Works
Upload any bank statement PDF
Supports all major banks. Saves 2-3 hours per month on expense categorisation and receipt matching, with year-end self-assessment preparation reduced from a full day to under 2 hours
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 Tradespeople (Plumbers, Electricians)
- 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 Tradespeople (Plumbers, Electricians) — Saves 2-3 hours per month on expense categorisation and receipt matching, with year-end self-assessment preparation reduced from a full day to under 2 hours
- Software compatible — Output works directly with QuickBooks Self-Employed, FreeAgent, Excel
Import Steps for Tradespeople (Plumbers, Electricians) Using Wave
As tradesperson, 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 Tradespeople (Plumbers, Electricians)
Completely free with no paid tier for accounting features (monetised through payment processing). Popular with budget-conscious startups and side-hustlers.
Try Free — Wave + Tradespeople (Plumbers, Electricians)