How to Choose a Bookkeeper in Texas (2026)

To choose a bookkeeper in Texas, confirm the firm's entity status with the Texas Comptroller, look up any CPA license it claims on the state board's search, and get its fee and monthly close date in writing. Most Texas firms don't publish those last two, so plan to ask.

What a Texas bookkeeper keeps track of

Three state deadlines shape a Texas small business's books. This is general information, not tax advice: what applies to you depends on your entity type, what you sell, whether you have employees and the schedule the agency assigns. The bookkeeper keeps the records. You, or whoever your engagement letter names, file. Figures below were checked September 2026 on the linked official pages.

• Sales and use tax. After approving your permit, the Comptroller tells you by letter whether you file monthly or quarterly, and some businesses file yearly. Monthly reports are due on the 20th of the next month. Quarterly reports are due April 20, July 20, October 20 and January 20. Each late report carries a $50 penalty.
• Franchise tax. The annual report is due May 15. For the 2026 report year, an entity with annualized total revenue at or below $2,650,000 owes no tax and no longer files a No Tax Due Report, but it still files a Public Information Report or an Ownership Information Report. Total revenue is the figure that threshold tests, which is one more reason to keep it clean all year.
• Payroll. Texas has no state income tax, so there's no state withholding. Employers still file wage reports and pay unemployment tax to the Texas Workforce Commission by April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31.

How to check a Texas firm yourself

Start with the Comptroller's Franchise Tax Account Status Search. Our Texas profiles use the same agency's open data on active franchise taxpayers, which carries the charter date the Secretary of State recorded. Sole proprietorships don't file franchise tax, so a firm run under its owner's name may not appear.

Next, the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy's license lookup. It searches individual CPAs and CPA firms separately. We couldn't automate it, because the board blocks automated requests, so every Texas firm on our lists reads "Not verified" for a license, CPA practices included. You can run the search by hand in about a minute.

Last, the software directories. QuickBooks is the most-mentioned software among the Texas firms we list, at 50%, with Xero at 10%. A QuickBooks ProAdvisor or Xero advisor listing shows the firm works with that vendor's program. It isn't a license.

The word "accountant" in Texas

The board's consumer page says that without a license, offering services to the public as an "accountant" or a "CPA", or offering "accounting services", is unauthorized practice. That's why an unlicensed Texas bookkeeping firm should describe itself as a bookkeeping firm, and it's why we call every Texas firm on our lists a bookkeeping firm. A firm whose site offers "accounting services" should turn up in the board's firm search.

One wrinkle: a licensed CPA can offer bookkeeping through a firm that isn't licensed, but that firm has to display "This firm is not a CPA firm and its services are not regulated by the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy." If you see that line, look up the person, not the firm.

Price and reporting questions to ask

Only 7 of 48 Texas firms we list publish a price or a starting price. Ask whether the monthly fee includes preparing the sales tax report, the franchise tax information report and the TWC quarterly report, or whether each is extra. Our pricing guide covers the fee models you'll hear.

On reporting, ask for the day each month's books close. A monthly sales tax filer wants that close finished before the 20th, so the report comes from reconciled numbers. If you're behind on sales tax reports, get the catch-up quoted as its own line, since 19 of 48 firms say they do that work.

Red flags

• The firm offers "accounting services" but has no record in the board's firm search.
• A claimed CPA license shows as inactive, or with an enforcement marker.
• An LLC or corporation you can't find in the Comptroller's search.
• No one will say who files the sales tax and franchise tax reports.
• No price range even after you've described your transaction volume.