How to Choose a Bookkeeper in West Virginia (2026)

The short version for West Virginia: look the firm up on the state's records, search the West Virginia 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 26 West Virginia firms we list, none publish a price.

What a West Virginia bookkeeper keeps track of

A West Virginia bookkeeper keeps the records behind the filings below. Which of them reach your business turns on your entity, your sales, your payroll and the schedule each agency sets, so read this as general information rather than tax advice.

• Sales and use tax. Anyone who collects West Virginia sales and use tax files Form CST-200CU. The return and payment are due by the 20th of each month for the prior month. If your annual aggregate is $3,000 or less you may file quarterly, and at $600 or less annually, due by the 20th after the period ends. Source: West Virginia Tax Division, checked September 26, 2026.
• Income tax withholding. Employers remit state income tax withheld from wages by the 15th of the following month. Quarterly returns are due the last day of the month after the quarter ends. If you withhold less than $600 a year, you file one annual return instead, due January 31. Source: West Virginia Tax Division, checked September 26, 2026.
• Unemployment wage reports. WorkForce West Virginia expects a complete Quarterly Wage and Contribution Report from each liable employer every quarter. Reports are due April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. Source: WorkForce West Virginia, checked September 26, 2026.
• Annual report. Most businesses registered with the Secretary of State file an annual report and pay a $25 fee between January 1 and June 30, starting the year after they registered. Missing it can bring penalties and administrative dissolution or revocation. Source: West Virginia Secretary of State, checked September 26, 2026.
• The CPA title. West Virginia law bars anyone who isn't a certified public accountant, a public accountant or a qualifying out-of-state practitioner from using the title "certified public accountant" or the abbreviation "CPA". Source: West Virginia Legislature, checked September 26, 2026.

How to check a West Virginia firm yourself

The West Virginia Board of Accountancy lookup settles any CPA claim in a minute. For the business itself, search its legal name on the West Virginia entity search. Someone trading under their own name may not be there at all, and that's normal. West Virginia publishes these records as open data, so our lists already carry the checks: we matched an active CPA license or permit for 14 firms of the 26 West Virginia firms we list. Matched CPA records include Suttle & Stalnaker, PLLC, Ovie D Gibson CPA AC, Rollins Cleavenger and Rollins, Gompers Lohri & Associates, PLLC and Adkins and Reynolds.

What West Virginia firms put in writing

Not one of the 26 firms we list in West Virginia publishes a price or a starting price; nationally 10% do. 26 of 26 don't mention fees at all. 3 of 26 say how often reports arrive (12%, against 21% nationally), 2 describe onboarding and none offer catch-up or cleanup work. QuickBooks is the software named most, by 31% of West Virginia firms.

Where to start in West Virginia

• Highest Evidence Scores in the state: Suttle & Stalnaker, PLLC (48), Ovie D Gibson CPA AC (43) and Rollins Cleavenger and Rollins (43).

Questions for the first call

• What does the fee cover, and at what volume does it go up?
• When do I get last month's numbers, and in what form?
• Does the fee include preparing the sales and use tax filing, or only the records behind it?
• How do you keep the records for income tax withholding ready before each due date?
• Will you take on months I'm behind on, and is that priced separately?
• If we stop working together, do I keep the accounting file and its history?