How to Choose a Bookkeeper in Missouri (2026)

The short version for Missouri: look the firm up on the state's records, search the Missouri State Board of Accountancy if it says it's a CPA practice, and don't sign until the fee and the monthly close date are written down. Of the 70 Missouri firms we list, 9 publish a price.

What a Missouri bookkeeper keeps track of

These are the state filings your books feed in Missouri. Which ones apply depends on your entity type, what you sell, whether you have employees and the schedule each agency assigns. It's general information, not tax advice. The bookkeeper keeps the records; you, or whoever your engagement letter names, file.

• Sales and use tax. Missouri bases your sales tax filing frequency on state tax collected. At $500 or more a month you file monthly, due the last day of the next month. Below that, you file quarterly, due the last day of the month after the quarter. Under $200 a quarter means one annual return, due January 31. Source: Missouri Department of Revenue, checked September 26, 2026.
• Income tax withholding. Your withholding filing frequency depends on how much income tax you withhold. Over $9,000 a month means quarter-monthly filing, $500 to $9,000 a month means monthly, $100 a quarter to $499 a month means quarterly, and under $100 a quarter means annual. The Department of Revenue reviews it every year. Source: Missouri Department of Revenue, checked September 26, 2026.
• Unemployment wage reports. The Division of Employment Security expects a quarterly contribution and wage report, filed and paid by the last day of the month after each calendar quarter. Employers can file online through UInteract. Source: Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, checked September 26, 2026.
• Corporation annual report. Every corporation doing business in Missouri files an annual registration report with the Secretary of State. For a corporation formed or qualified on or after July 1, 2003, it's due at the end of the month it was formed or qualified. Filing online costs less. Source: Missouri Secretary of State, checked September 26, 2026.
• CPA title. Only certified public accountants may use the title certified public accountant or the abbreviation CPA in Missouri. Titles likely to be confused with it, such as licensed accountant or chartered accountant, are reserved for license or permit holders too. Source: Missouri Revisor of Statutes, checked September 26, 2026.

How to check a Missouri firm yourself

For the business itself, search its legal name on the Missouri entity search. Someone trading under their own name may not be there at all, and that's normal. Missouri publishes these records as open data, so our lists already carry the checks: we matched an active CPA license or permit for 40 firms of the 70 Missouri firms we list. Matched CPA records include Schermann & Associates, Wade Stables P.C., SEMO CPA Company, Abbott And Angerer and SCH CPAs & Tax Advisors.

What Missouri firms put in writing

59 of the 70 firms we list in Missouri say nothing about fees on their websites, and 9 publish a price or a starting price, 13% against 10% nationally. 14 of 70 say how often reports arrive (20%, against 21% nationally), 10 describe onboarding and 2 offer catch-up or cleanup work. QuickBooks is the software named most, by 33% of Missouri firms.

Where to start in Missouri

• Metro pages: Kansas City (19 firms, ranked), St. Louis (15 firms, ranked), Springfield (13 firms, ranked) and Columbia (8 firms, compared).
• Firms that publish a price or a starting price: Accounting Plus, AM CPA, Mike Mead EA, CTC, Arndt Company CPAs, Rickhoff Accounting, Hilltop Partners and 3 others.
• Firms that say they take on catch-up work: Wild Range Associates and Accounting Solutions Group of St. Louis.
• Highest Evidence Scores in the state: Rickhoff Accounting (57), Hilltop Partners (54) and Wild Range Associates (53).

Questions for the first call

• What is the monthly fee, how many transactions does it assume, and what costs extra?
• When do I get last month's numbers, and in what form?
• Who files the sales and use tax return, you or me, and is it inside the fee?
• How do you keep the records for income tax withholding ready before each due date?
• Can you clean up past months first, and what does that cost?
• Which accounting software do you work in, and who owns the file if we part ways?