HelloBooks Directory

Find a HelloBooks-friendly accountant

Credential-verified CPAs, EAs, and chartered accountants who know HelloBooks inside out. Filter by city, specialty, and language. Free to browse, free to list — contact firms directly, no platform fees, no lead-gen markup.

Accountants in United States

Vetting our first cohort in United States

The directory is rolling out region by region as we credential-verify firms. Applications from accountants are open — invite your firm to apply, or sign up to be notified when listings go live in your area.

List your firm Read partner program

How it works

Credential-verified, not pay-to-play

Every firm is credential-verified against the state board (US) or ICAI portal (India) before listing. We don't sell ranking and listing is free for every firm — no tiers, no paid placement, no lead-gen markup.

Contact directly

No platform fees

When you reach out to a firm, you reach them directly — email, phone, or WhatsApp. HelloBooks isn't in the middle, and we don't take a cut of your engagement. The directory is free for you to browse and free for accountants to be listed in.

HelloBooks-certified

Knows the product

Firms with the certified badge have completed our product certification and run live HelloBooks engagements. They can migrate you from QuickBooks USA, Xero, Wave, or Tally and keep you compliant after.

Partnership ladder

Badges are earned, not bought

Every firm earns badges by working with HelloBooks and their clients. No firm can pay for a higher level — these are the only criteria that move a firm up the ladder.

Elite Partner

Top-tier HelloBooks partner — 25+ active clients, 2+ years certified, sustained client satisfaction.

Premier Partner

HelloBooks Premier — 5+ active clients, 1+ year as a certified partner.

Certified Partner

Passed the HelloBooks product certification and runs live engagements on the platform.

Founding Partner

One of the first 50 firms listed in the HelloBooks directory. Time-bound, never re-issued.

Every level is free. Listing is free. Browsing is free. HelloBooks earns from accountants only through the standard 10% commission when one of their referred clients upgrades — never from the directory itself.

Frequently asked

Common questions

Is the HelloBooks accountant directory free?

Yes — free for everyone. There are no platform fees, no paid placement, and no lead-gen markup. HelloBooks only earns from accountants via the standard 10% commission when one of their referred clients upgrades a paid HelloBooks plan; the directory itself is never billed for.

How are firms verified before being listed?

Every firm is credential-verified before going live. In the United States we check the state board of accountancy for active CPA or Enrolled Agent status; in India we check ICAI for active Chartered Accountant membership. Credentials are revalidated annually.

What do the partnership levels mean?

There are four levels and each one is earned, never bought. Founding Partner is given to the first 50 firms to be listed (time-bound, not re-issued). Certified Partner is awarded after a firm passes the HelloBooks product certification. Premier Partner adds five or more active HelloBooks clients and at least 12 months as Certified. Elite Partner adds 25 or more active clients, at least 24 months as Premier, and sustained client satisfaction. The full ladder is documented on the Find an Accountant page.

Can I leave a review of an accountant?

Not in this version. Reviews are intentionally on hold until we have a fair moderation policy and verified-client gating that won't be gamed. If you want to share feedback about a firm in the meantime, email partners@hellobooks.ai.

Typical US accountant fees in 2026

Ranges below are editorial estimates from public industry surveys (NSA, AICPA). Actual quotes depend on transaction volume, complexity, entity type, and the firm. Every firm in the directory contacts you directly — there are no platform fees on either side.

Service	Typical range	What drives the spread
Bookkeeping (monthly)per month	$200 – $1,500	Transaction volume + bank-account count + whether AP / AR is included. Solo practitioners on the low end; multi-entity ecommerce on the high end.
Individual tax return (1040)per filing	$300 – $1,500	Schedule C, Schedule E rental properties, K-1s, multi-state, and AMT all push toward the top of the band. W-2-only returns sit at the low end.
S-Corp tax return (1120-S)per filing	$500 – $2,500	Number of shareholders, basis tracking, fringe-benefit treatment, and prior-year clean-up scope.
C-Corp tax return (1120)per filing	$1,500 – $5,000+	Multi-state nexus, M-1 / M-3 reconciliation, depreciation schedules, and R&D credit work.
Sales-tax nexus + filingper month	$200 – $1,200	Count of states you have nexus in, marketplace facilitator coverage, and whether you need backfile registration.
Fractional CFOper month	$2,500 – $10,000	Hours per month (10 hr vs 40 hr), board reporting cadence, and fundraise / M&A support.
QuickBooks / Xero clean-up (one-time)one-time project	$1,500 – $10,000+	Months of backlog × transaction volume × reconciliation complexity. The longer you wait, the more it costs.

Sources: NSA 2023 Income & Fees survey, AICPA Private Companies Practice Section reports, public fee schedules from Bench / Pilot / Bookkeeper360. Updated 2026-05.

Typical India CA fees in 2026

Ranges below are editorial estimates from ICAI fee guides and public rate cards. Indian CA fees vary widely by metro vs tier-2 city, firm size, and whether the engagement is annual retainer or per-filing. Every firm in the directory quotes directly — no platform commission.

Service	Typical range	What drives the spread
GST return filing (GSTR-1 + GSTR-3B)per month	₹2,500 – ₹15,000	Invoice count, multi-GSTIN scope, e-invoicing volume, and whether GSTR-9 annual return is bundled.
Bookkeeping (monthly)per month	₹5,000 – ₹40,000	Transaction count + cash voucher volume + whether bank reconciliation is included.
ITR — individualper filing	₹2,000 – ₹15,000	Salary-only is fast; capital gains, foreign income (Schedule FA), house property, and presumptive (44ADA/44AD) push up the price.
ITR — business (firm / company)per filing	₹10,000 – ₹50,000+	Turnover, audit applicability (Sec 44AB / Companies Act), and the count of GSTR / TDS workings the CA has to reconcile.
TDS quarterly returns (24Q / 26Q / 27Q)per quarter	₹3,000 – ₹20,000	Deductee count, section spread (192 / 194 series), and Form 16 / 16A generation volume.
Statutory auditper year	₹50,000 – ₹5,00,000+	Turnover band, group structure (subsidiaries, consolidation), and IndAS vs IGAAP applicability.
ROC / MCA filings (annual)per year	₹5,000 – ₹50,000	AOC-4 + MGT-7 baseline; DIR-3 KYC, DPT-3, MSME-1, and event-based filings (board resolutions, charge creation) stack on top.

Sources: ICAI Minimum Recommended Scale of Fees (latest revision), Cleartax / TaxBuddy / Razorpayrize public rate cards. Updated 2026-05.

Hiring an accountant in the US — buyer guide

Plain answers to the questions most US founders, freelancers, and small-business owners ask before reaching out to a firm. None of it is HelloBooks-specific — it's the same information a friend who happens to be a CPA would give you over coffee.

When should I hire an accountant vs do it myself?

Self-prep usually breaks down at one of four trigger points: (1) you hit ~$50K in revenue and a Schedule C is no longer the cleanest way to file, (2) you hire your first contractor and need to issue 1099s, (3) you sell or work across multiple states and have to think about sales-tax nexus, or (4) you're raising capital or selling the business and need GAAP-quality books and a clean audit trail. If any of those describes you, the time saved usually pays for the engagement inside a year.

CPA vs Enrolled Agent vs bookkeeper — what is the difference?

A CPA (Certified Public Accountant) is licensed by a state board and can do everything: bookkeeping, tax prep, attest engagements (audit, review), and represent you before the IRS. An Enrolled Agent (EA) is federally licensed by the IRS specifically for tax preparation and IRS representation — they can't sign attest reports but are often more affordable for tax-only work. A bookkeeper handles day-to-day data entry, categorization, and reconciliation — they typically can't sign tax returns or represent you to the IRS. Many small businesses use a bookkeeper monthly + a CPA at tax time.

What questions should I ask before signing an engagement letter?

Five things: (1) Who exactly will do the work — the partner I am talking to, or a junior I have not met? (2) What is your response SLA — same-day, 24-hour, 48-hour? (3) How do you charge — fixed monthly, hourly with cap, or pure hourly? (4) What is included vs out of scope — IRS notices, payroll filings, sales tax, multi-state? (5) How do we handle scope creep — do you bill for it or absorb it? Get the answers in writing before you sign.

How do I know if a firm is actually qualified?

Cross-check the firm's claim against the source. For CPAs, every US state board publishes a free license-lookup tool (NASBA's CPAverify is the one-stop). For EAs, the IRS publishes a public directory of preparers with credentials at irs.gov/tax-professionals. Every firm in the HelloBooks directory has been credential-verified before listing — the verification chips on each card link directly to the relevant registry so you can re-check at any time.

Should I pick a local firm or is remote fine?

Remote is fine for almost every accounting and tax engagement now. State income tax and sales-tax filings are jurisdiction-specific, but the firm preparing them does not need to be physically present — they just need to know your states. Where local still matters: in-person audits (rare), state board hearings, and complex estate work where you might want someone who can sit across the table from a probate attorney. Filter the directory by city if you want local; filter by specialty if you do not care.

How long should the engagement take to start producing value?

If the firm asks for view-only access to your books, bank feeds, and prior-year tax returns in the first week, expect a 'state of the union' summary in 2-4 weeks and the first clean monthly close at the end of month one. If month two is also clean, you have picked well. If the firm goes silent for the first six weeks, that is the warning sign.

Hiring a CA in India — buyer guide

Plain answers to the questions most Indian SMB owners, freelancers, and startup founders ask before engaging a Chartered Accountant. None of it is HelloBooks-specific — same information you would get from a CA friend over chai.

When should I hire a CA vs DIY?

Hard trigger points: (1) GST registration is mandatory when your turnover crosses ₹40 lakh (goods) or ₹20 lakh (services) — ₹10 lakh in special-category states, (2) tax audit under Sec 44AB applies above ₹1 crore turnover (₹10 crore if your cash receipts and cash payments are each under 5%), (3) statutory audit under the Companies Act is mandatory for every private limited company from day one, regardless of turnover, (4) e-invoicing kicks in at ₹5 crore turnover. Hit any of these and DIY is no longer realistic.

CA vs CMA vs accountant — what is the difference?

A Chartered Accountant (CA, regulated by ICAI) is the only profession that can sign a tax audit report under Sec 44AB or a statutory audit under the Companies Act — they're the closest analogue to a US CPA. A Cost and Management Accountant (CMA, regulated by ICMAI) specialises in cost audit, internal audit, and management accounting; they can sign GST audits but not tax audits or company statutory audits. An accountant or bookkeeper (no statutory body) handles day-to-day entries, invoicing, GST return data entry, and bank reconciliation — they can't sign any of the statutory reports. Most growing SMBs use an in-house accountant for daily work + an external CA for audits and ITR.

What questions should I ask before engaging a CA?

Five things: (1) Will you handle GST + TDS + ITR + ROC, or only some of them — if only some, who handles the rest? (2) What is the response time on portal notices (CPC, ITBA, GSTN, ROC) — same-day or 48-hour? (3) How are fees structured — annual retainer, per filing, or hourly? (4) Are e-invoicing and e-way bills included or extra? (5) Do you provide working papers and reconciliations or only the signed return? Get answers in writing.

How do I verify a CA is actually registered with ICAI?

ICAI publishes a free member-search tool at icai.org (Member Search → by name or membership number). Every CA listing claim should match an active membership record. Every firm in the HelloBooks directory has been verified against ICAI before listing — the 'ICAI Member Verified' chip on each profile links to the registry so you can re-check.

Should I pick a local CA or is remote fine?

Remote is fine for GST, TDS, ITR, ROC, and most audit prep. Where local still matters: physical document collection (some banks and registrars still want signed hardcopies), in-person meetings with the AO (Assessing Officer) for scrutiny cases, and stamp-duty work that requires presence at the sub-registrar. Filter by city if you want a local CA; otherwise filter by specialty.

How fast should the engagement start producing value?

Expect (1) view-only access to your books, bank statements, and prior ITR/GSTR in the first week, (2) a 'state of compliance' report in 2-4 weeks flagging missed filings, late fees, ITC mismatches, and TDS gaps, (3) the first clean monthly GSTR-3B in month one. If month two is also clean and your GSTR-2B reconciliation is current, you've picked well.