Pet Portrait Artists Service on Wave pay $19/month — $228/year. Over three years, that's $684. Nexa is $279 once. Break-even runs about 14.7 months. The median Pet Portrait Artist earns $32,000/year, so Wave's annual cost is roughly 0.7% of typical revenue — every year, forever.
That's $684 gone. And you don't own anything. Stop paying, lose access.
See the full history of Wave price changes in the SaaS Graveyard →
You're not the only one who's had enough.
Pet Portrait Artists Service face unique challenges: Clients send blurry, badly lit phone photos as the only reference, then expect a perfect likeness of a pet that may have already passed. Capturing the soul in the eyes is the whole job, and a parent who sees their dog every day will spot any tiny miss instantly. Custom work takes many hours per piece, so pricing for the time without scaring off clients is a constant tightrope. Memorial portraits arrive emotionally charged and time-sensitive, and getting the likeness 'wrong' on a grieving client is devastating. On top of all that, Wave charges $19/month ($228/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median Pet Portrait Artist earns $32,000/year. Software at $228/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your Professional watercolor, gouache, or oil paints and sable brushes is yours. You bought it once. Nexa works the same way — $279 once for invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, and full accounting. All connected. All offline-capable. You own it like you own your tools.
Wave is just one piece. What else are you losing money on?
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Your exact Wave cost, full stack total, and what switching saves. 10 seconds.
| Feature | Wave | Nexa |
|---|---|---|
| Invoicing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scheduling | ✗ | ✓ |
| CRM | ✗ | ✓ |
| Time Tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Full Accounting | ✓ | ✓ (SIMPL) |
| Task Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Works offline | ✗ | ✓ |
| Price | $19/mo forever | $279 once or 3 × $99 |
| 3-Year Cost | $684 | $279 |
| Stop paying? | Lose everything | Keep everything forever |
Most pet portrait artists service are fully switched before the weekend.
Go to Settings → Data Export. Download customers, invoices, transactions, and accounts.
15-minute setup. Import your client list and bank transactions from CSV.
Run both for 1-2 weeks. Re-create recurring invoices in Nexa and check your bank imports.
Cancel paid features. Your free account data stays accessible for records.
The morning begins at the easel with a commissioned oil of a golden retriever, working from a folder of reference photos the client sent, most too dark or blurry, one usable, so the artist reconstructs the true coat color and the exact set of the eyes from memory and craft. The eyes are everything; a portrait can be technically flawless and still feel dead if the spark isn't there, so the artist works and reworks the catchlights until the dog looks back. Mid-day is admin and the part artists dread: quoting a new commission, explaining why a hand-painted portrait costs what it does in hours, and managing a memorial piece for a client whose cat just passed, where kindness and timing matter as much as skill. Afternoon is a pencil portrait for a lighter deadline and laying varnish on a finished oil. Throughout, there are progress photos to send for approval, because catching a likeness concern at the sketch stage saves a repaint. The artist juggles three commissions at different stages, tracking who's approved the sketch, who's paid a deposit, and who's waiting on a shipped, framed finish. Evenings are for the quiet detail work and packing a completed portrait carefully for the mail.
Real pet portrait artists service near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a pet portrait artist? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every pet portrait artist on Nexa →
For solo operators and small teams (1-5), yes. Nexa includes invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, task management, and full accounting. Wave may be better if you have a large team (10+) or need enterprise-specific features.
It's $7.75/month over 3 years. Wave is $19/month — that's $684 over 3 years. Which is more? And if you'd rather split it, Nexa is also available as 3 payments of $99.
Yes. Nexa is $279 as a one-time payment, or 3 payments of $99 ($297 total). Either way it's a one-time purchase — no subscription, no recurring fees ever.
30-day money-back guarantee. Full refund. If Nexa doesn't save you $500 in year one, you get every penny back.
Export your data from Wave as CSV, import into Nexa in about 5 minutes.
The average solo operator there spends about $2,112/year on software — and Pet Portrait Artist face their own version of that math. IA state licensing requirements apply.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Cedar Rapids metro. Your situation will vary.
Specific gaps Pet Portrait Artists Service run into with Wave, and what Nexa does instead.
$684 over 3 years. Or $279 once (or 3 × $99). Own your tools.
Get Nexa — $279 Once