Here's my issue with the receipts/bank statement reconciliation process.
I have multiple employees with credit cards. Sometimes they get me their receipts, sometimes they don't. I have my credit card connected to Wave, but transactions don't appear automatically, so I have to manually upload statements from each employee. I say I'll do it weekly, but that turns into monthly or longer because there's just too much to keep on top of as a small business owner.
Let me pause here to say that Wave has been a very valuable tool for me, and a great alternative to the likes of Quickbooks, so I don't mind doing things like this reconciliation process. However, there are two problems I do have: one minor, the other major Major MAJOR.
The minor one is that, when I upload my statements, I always get a message saying that Wave has identified what appear to be duplicate transactions, and the message asks if I want Wave to flag them. I always click "Yes" but then I never see a view where these duplicates are flagged. So I sort all the transactions by amount to try to find the dupes (remember, we are talking about over a month's worth of transactions for each employee). This is where the MAJOR problem comes in.
Each and every time I go through this process, for a yet undetermined reason (at least as far as I can tell), uploading these transactions from my bank statement and then going through the sort by amount within a specific date range causes some glitch in Wave which results in interminable freezes and hangs with every action I perform.
I'm talking 5-7 minutes of being unable to do anything in the system even if I choose to delete one transaction line item. It is EXCRUCIATING. This is also a reason why I dread doing this reconciliation and thus wait weeks to do it, resulting in a vicious cycle where the longer I wait to do it means more transactions I have to review which means dealing with this glitch for a longer period of time to complete the task. Each time I go through my reconciliations, it takes over TWO HOURS to get through four bank statements.
I've contacted Wave about this without resolution. Customer support has advised that I use different browsers (I'm on Chrome but have tried with IE, to no avail) as well as trying Incognito. Nothing has solved the problem, and I don't think it's on my end. I think the combo of the transactions pulled from a bank statement CSV file being included in the system coupled with the various filters I use (date range, sort by amount) creates a long hyperlink which Wave uses to access this info in its database, and the browser has to sort through all these conditions to return the desired info. Each time I perform a step, the browser has to go through this rendering process again, causing the long wait times.
I really am hopeful someone at Wave will read this and relay it to the necessary team to get resolution, or if there is a known fix, will contact me to assist with this problem. Sorry for the long post, I know it will take time to read through...but just imagine having to take the same time to read through it twice each time you clicked on something in Wave! ;o)
Before anything else, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to write this out. We understand how little spare time business owners have and really appreciate the opportunity to learn about the issues you face, and about your business. This is the best way for us to improve Wave, so thank you.
For the minor issue, this usually comes up with the bank statement upload system detects that your bank statement is similar to a statement you attempted uploading in the past. I'm not certain what are the triggers for this warning, but it's just a quick safeguard to make sure our users don't upload the same statement twice, by accident.
For the freezing issue, I can tell you that we haven't had widespread reports of freezes when using filters or deleting transactions. I tested it on my end, trying to use as many filters as I could and it only took a few seconds. I can think of a few things that could affect your speed. Using a VPN, for example, might cause some issues.
Can you try completing the same process from a different device, on a different network? It'll give us a better idea of where the issue might lie.
Thanks @Alexia . I'm a big proponent of not just being a user but also a partner to help make a product as best as it can be. That only helps me in the end, right?
I have tried working on multiple networks, without a VPN (shhh, don't tell anyone), but I still get the same issue.
I have not, however, tried on a different device. I'll test that out and get back to you.
Hi @Alexia , I tried a different device and different Network but it still hangs. Would it be helpful to record my screen to show you what happens and when? I could do it on different browsers to demonstrate that it's browser agnostic.
Absolutely! That might provide some insight. it's not necessary to make this video using multiple browsers. If you tell me browser choice doesn't change anything, I trust you.
Just make sure to conceal any personal information that might appear on there.
I know that you're on the older version of Wave as well, which is much slower than the new one. So at the very least, you can expect a speed boost in the next few months as we finish up migrating all Wavers over.
I know that you're on the older version of Wave as well, which is much slower than the new one. So at the very least, you can expect a speed boost in the next few months as we finish up migrating all Wavers over.
@Alexia , I did not know that, that's fantastic news! Fingers crossed that that will do the trick.
Is there a way to send the clip or a link to the clip directly rather than through here?
A link to a youtube video or something along those lines would be the most convenient option, @Palindrome. It'll be easier for me to share it with other folks on my end as needed.
If you want to check out the new version ahead of time, try making a new Wave account from a different email. All new accounts automatically use the new version, so creating one is the easiest way to get a preview!
Hi @Alexia,
I am having the same issue with transactions taking ages to delete, one took over 20mins! I m mnew to Wave so have a fair amount of duplicate transactions having uploaded bank statements and receipts. Yesterday was fine but tonight it has taken approx 1.5hrs to delete just 11 transactions. I'm on Chrome but have also tried IE and Firefox with similar results. Surely it should be quicker than this?
Hey @JamesH, thanks for reaching out! You mentioned that you are using Chrome, can you ensure that you are using the most up to date version? Can you also try disabling any add blockers/browser extensions/VPNs and see if you notice a difference in speed? Can I also ask you to try using Wave in an incognito window to see if you notice a difference there also?
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Here's my issue with the receipts/bank statement reconciliation process.
I have multiple employees with credit cards. Sometimes they get me their receipts, sometimes they don't. I have my credit card connected to Wave, but transactions don't appear automatically, so I have to manually upload statements from each employee. I say I'll do it weekly, but that turns into monthly or longer because there's just too much to keep on top of as a small business owner.
Let me pause here to say that Wave has been a very valuable tool for me, and a great alternative to the likes of Quickbooks, so I don't mind doing things like this reconciliation process. However, there are two problems I do have: one minor, the other major Major MAJOR.
The minor one is that, when I upload my statements, I always get a message saying that Wave has identified what appear to be duplicate transactions, and the message asks if I want Wave to flag them. I always click "Yes" but then I never see a view where these duplicates are flagged. So I sort all the transactions by amount to try to find the dupes (remember, we are talking about over a month's worth of transactions for each employee). This is where the MAJOR problem comes in.
Each and every time I go through this process, for a yet undetermined reason (at least as far as I can tell), uploading these transactions from my bank statement and then going through the sort by amount within a specific date range causes some glitch in Wave which results in interminable freezes and hangs with every action I perform.
I'm talking 5-7 minutes of being unable to do anything in the system even if I choose to delete one transaction line item. It is EXCRUCIATING. This is also a reason why I dread doing this reconciliation and thus wait weeks to do it, resulting in a vicious cycle where the longer I wait to do it means more transactions I have to review which means dealing with this glitch for a longer period of time to complete the task. Each time I go through my reconciliations, it takes over TWO HOURS to get through four bank statements.
I've contacted Wave about this without resolution. Customer support has advised that I use different browsers (I'm on Chrome but have tried with IE, to no avail) as well as trying Incognito. Nothing has solved the problem, and I don't think it's on my end. I think the combo of the transactions pulled from a bank statement CSV file being included in the system coupled with the various filters I use (date range, sort by amount) creates a long hyperlink which Wave uses to access this info in its database, and the browser has to sort through all these conditions to return the desired info. Each time I perform a step, the browser has to go through this rendering process again, causing the long wait times.
I really am hopeful someone at Wave will read this and relay it to the necessary team to get resolution, or if there is a known fix, will contact me to assist with this problem. Sorry for the long post, I know it will take time to read through...but just imagine having to take the same time to read through it twice each time you clicked on something in Wave! ;o)
Hi, @Palindrome.
Before anything else, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to write this out. We understand how little spare time business owners have and really appreciate the opportunity to learn about the issues you face, and about your business. This is the best way for us to improve Wave, so thank you.
For the minor issue, this usually comes up with the bank statement upload system detects that your bank statement is similar to a statement you attempted uploading in the past. I'm not certain what are the triggers for this warning, but it's just a quick safeguard to make sure our users don't upload the same statement twice, by accident.
For the freezing issue, I can tell you that we haven't had widespread reports of freezes when using filters or deleting transactions. I tested it on my end, trying to use as many filters as I could and it only took a few seconds. I can think of a few things that could affect your speed. Using a VPN, for example, might cause some issues.
Can you try completing the same process from a different device, on a different network? It'll give us a better idea of where the issue might lie.
Thanks @Alexia . I'm a big proponent of not just being a user but also a partner to help make a product as best as it can be. That only helps me in the end, right?
I have tried working on multiple networks, without a VPN (shhh, don't tell anyone), but I still get the same issue.
I have not, however, tried on a different device. I'll test that out and get back to you.
I love that attitude, @Palindrome! And you're absolutely right, we all win from all working together.
Let me know how it goes. I'm a little perplexed and would love to find out more.
Hi @Alexia , I tried a different device and different Network but it still hangs. Would it be helpful to record my screen to show you what happens and when? I could do it on different browsers to demonstrate that it's browser agnostic.
Hi, @Palindrome.
Absolutely! That might provide some insight. it's not necessary to make this video using multiple browsers. If you tell me browser choice doesn't change anything, I trust you.
Just make sure to conceal any personal information that might appear on there.
I know that you're on the older version of Wave as well, which is much slower than the new one. So at the very least, you can expect a speed boost in the next few months as we finish up migrating all Wavers over.
@Alexia , I did not know that, that's fantastic news! Fingers crossed that that will do the trick.
Is there a way to send the clip or a link to the clip directly rather than through here?
A link to a youtube video or something along those lines would be the most convenient option, @Palindrome. It'll be easier for me to share it with other folks on my end as needed.
If you want to check out the new version ahead of time, try making a new Wave account from a different email. All new accounts automatically use the new version, so creating one is the easiest way to get a preview!
Hi @Alexia,
I am having the same issue with transactions taking ages to delete, one took over 20mins! I m mnew to Wave so have a fair amount of duplicate transactions having uploaded bank statements and receipts. Yesterday was fine but tonight it has taken approx 1.5hrs to delete just 11 transactions. I'm on Chrome but have also tried IE and Firefox with similar results. Surely it should be quicker than this?
Hey @JamesH, thanks for reaching out! You mentioned that you are using Chrome, can you ensure that you are using the most up to date version? Can you also try disabling any add blockers/browser extensions/VPNs and see if you notice a difference in speed? Can I also ask you to try using Wave in an incognito window to see if you notice a difference there also?