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← Back to Top 15 Bookkeepers in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake Area, VA (2026)Stephen Merritt
Evidence Score 47/100 at 78% evidence coverage 1 of 15 on the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake area list How the score works
What we could verify
- Registered business?
- Registration found: Virginia State Corporation Commission, status Active (SCC corporation table, data to 2024-11), formed 1996
- CPA license or firm permit?
- Not verified
- Publishes prices?
- Not stated on its website
- Local or remote?
- Local
- Software?
- QuickBooks
Who they say they serve: real estate (self-reported, from the firm's own website)
3 of 5 answered from a dated source.
Documents 2 of 5 core services; registered entity verified.
Score breakdown
Dark bar: points earned. Grey bar: the weight we could check.
Evidence
| Claim | What the source shows | Source | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business name | Stephen Merritt | home page | |
| Website | https://stephenmerritt.com/ | home page | |
| Office locality | Virginia Beach, VA | home page | |
| Phone | +17574205778 | home page | |
| Offers bookkeeping | Documented: ...an array of business and individual clients in the preparation of tax returns, bookkeeping, financial statements, and audits. Barbara became Vice-President of Stephen Merritt... | /about-us | |
| Payroll coordination | Documented: ...& Business Tax Planning • Individual & Business Income Tax Return Preparation • Payroll Tax Return Preparation • Non Profit Agency Tax Returns • Estate & Trust Tax Returns •... | home page | 4 pts (max 4) |
| Month-end close + reporting | Documented: ...Accounting & Advisory Services • QuickBooks Service from our Certified Pro-Advisor • Financial Statement Compilations, Reviews & Audits • Existing Business Success Planning • New... | home page | 6 pts (max 6) |
| Industries served (documented) | real estate | home page | 5 pts (max 5) |
| Software supported | QuickBooks | home page | 5 pts (max 5) |
| Local / remote model stated | Local | home page | 3 pts (max 3) |
| What is included / excluded | Documented: ...Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Suffolk areas. Our Accounting & Advisory Services include: Bookkeeping QuickBooks Service from our Certified Pro-Advisor Financial Statement... | /accounting-advisory-services | 5 pts (max 5) |
| Named contact / team | Stephen Merritt, CPA | home page | 3 pts (max 3) |
| Communication channel / process | Documented: ...YMCA Read More Customer Testimonials Previous Next Accounting Services Tax Services Client Portal Established in Virginia Beach in 1995, Stephen Merritt, CPA, PC is a certified... | home page | 3 pts (max 3) |
| Entity found in the state business registry | Business registration found: Stephen Merritt, C.P.A., P.C. · VA SCC ID 04764437 · Virginia State Corporation Commission · Active (SCC corporation table, data to 2024-11) | State business registry Third-party Sep 26, 2026 | 6 pts (max 6) |
| Years operating (registry formation date) | Formed 1996-12-19 (incorporation/formation date of a Virginia-formed entity) | State business registry Third-party Sep 26, 2026 | 5 pts (max 5) |
| Privacy / data-handling page | Documented: Privacy Policy | /privacy-policy | 2 pts (max 2) |
Checked and not found
- Not documented. Checked 7 pages of the firm's own site on 2026-09-26 (Firm's own website): Monthly bookkeeping (0 pts, max 8); Catch-up / cleanup (0 pts, max 5); AP / AR (0 pts, max 4); Pricing approach published (0 pts, max 6); Onboarding described (0 pts, max 4); Reporting cadence stated (0 pts, max 4).
Not verified (not checked yet, so each scores 0 and counts against coverage): Service area; Active CPA firm or individual license (state board) (0 pts, max 8); Current QuickBooks ProAdvisor or Xero advisor listing (0 pts, max 6); Bookkeeping designation (AIPB/NACPB) or IRS directory credential (0 pts, max 6); Working contact route verified (0 pts, max 2).
Check it yourself on the state's own records: Virginia Board of Accountancy license search and business registry search.
- Entity found in the state business registry: Business registration found: Virginia State Corporation Commission entity tables (data.virginia.gov) lists Stephen Merritt, C.P.A., P.C. (VA SCC ID 04764437), status Active (SCC corporation table, data to 2024-11), checked 2026-09-26. It confirms a registered entity, not a license to practice accountancy.
- Years operating (registry formation date): The registry records 1996-12-19 as the incorporation/formation date of a Virginia-formed entity.
Data limitations
- 20 of 22 evidenced items come from Stephen Merritt's own website and are labelled self-reported.
- No ratings or review counts are published here. Why.
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