Tablet, notebook and coffee mug on a clean desk, How to Start a Bookkeeping Business in Nevada

How to Start a Bookkeeping Business in Nevada

Last verified: November 5, 2026

Nevada does not license bookkeepers: NRS chapter 628, the accountancy law, never mentions bookkeeping, and the Nevada State Board of Accountancy regulates certified public accountants and the practice of public accounting. What you do need is a state business license from the Secretary of State, a business name that does not claim you are an accountant, and a plan for the Nevada tax deadlines your clients will hand to you. This guide takes those in the order you will do them.

What You Need Before You Start

  • A business name without accountant wording: see Step 2.
  • A registered agent with a Nevada street address if you form an LLC. Your filing names a commercial or noncommercial agent (Nevada Legislature: NRS chapter 77, registered agents).
  • An EIN: free from the IRS, applied for after your LLC is formed (Step 4).
  • A business bank account: opened once the formation filing is approved (Step 7).
  • An errors and omissions insurance quote: see Step 8.

Step 1: Choose Your Business Structure

Our position: most solo bookkeepers should form an LLC and carry insurance. NRS 86.371 says LLC members and managers are not individually liable for the company's debts or liabilities. It does not speak to a claim against you personally over your own mistakes on a client's books, which is the risk a bookkeeper actually carries, so the LLC and the insurance in Step 8 work as a pair. A Nevada attorney can tell you how the statute applies to your client contracts.

Sole proprietorship: No formation filing, but you still need a state business license unless you qualify for the home-based exclusion in NRS 76.020 (you operate from home and your net earnings are not more than 66 2/3 percent of the average annual wage the statute computes each year; confirm the current dollar figure with the Secretary of State). If you trade under a name other than your own, file a fictitious firm name certificate with the county clerk (NRS 602.010). Clark County charges $25 for a new or renewal certificate (Clark County Clerk fee schedule); other counties set their own fees.

Nevada LLC: The Articles of Organization cost $75 (NRS 86.561), the Initial List of managers or managing members costs $150 (NRS 86.263), and the state business license costs $200 (NRS 76.100). That is $425 in state fees the first year, then $350 a year: the $150 Annual List plus the $200 license renewal. Our Nevada LLC guide covers the full filing.

S corporation: This is a federal tax election made on IRS Form 2553, Election by a Small Business Corporation, not a Nevada entity type. A Nevada corporation organized under NRS chapter 78 pays a $500 state business license against $200 for an LLC (NRS 76.100), so choosing a corporation costs $300 more each year in license fees alone. Whether an S election saves you money depends on your net profit and payroll, a question for a CPA.

Step 2: Choose and Check Your Business Name

An LLC name must contain one of these (NRS 86.171): Limited-Liability Company, Limited Liability Company, Limited Company, Limited, or the abbreviations Ltd., L.L.C., L.C., LLC or LC.

The rest of the name matters more for a bookkeeper than for most businesses. NRS 628.490 bars titles likely to be confused with certified public accountant or public accountant, and NRS 628.510 bars signing a financial statement with wording that says you are an accountant or auditor, or have expert knowledge in accounting or auditing, unless you hold a live permit from the Board. Our reading: keep "accountant," "accounting," "auditor" and "CPA" out of your firm name and your title, and call yourself a bookkeeper. The Nevada State Board of Accountancy decides how the statutes apply to a specific name, so ask it before you file.

You can still hand clients financial statements. NRS 628.510(2)(c) lets a person without a live permit prepare one if it states that the preparer does not hold a live permit issued by the Board and that the statement does not purport to be prepared in compliance with the Board's professional standards. We would put that disclosure on everything you deliver and ask the Board to confirm the wording.

Check availability in the Nevada Secretary of State business entity search. A name can be reserved for 90 days (NRS 86.176) for $25 (NRS 86.561) through the Nevada ORION business portal.

Step 3: File Your Formation Document with the Secretary of State

An LLC files Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State through ORION, the portal that replaced SilverFlume (the old SilverFlume address now redirects there). You will need:

  • The LLC name with its required designation.
  • A registered agent name and Nevada street address.
  • The names and addresses of each manager, or of each managing member if there is no manager. These go on the Initial List (NRS 86.263).

Fees: $75 for the Articles and $150 for the Initial List, which is filed at the same time as the Articles (NRS 86.263). The Secretary of State may charge up to $125 for service within 24 hours, up to $500 within 2 hours and up to $1,000 within 1 hour (NRS 225.140). Current turnaround times are posted by the Secretary of State, so confirm them on ORION before you pay for a rush.

If you would rather pay someone to prepare the filing, see our comparison of LLC formation services in Nevada.

Step 4: Get an EIN from the IRS

The IRS says to form your LLC with the Secretary of State before you apply for an EIN, and that you generally need one to hire employees, operate a partnership or corporation, or pay sales and excise taxes. A solo LLC with none of those may not strictly need one, but applying costs nothing and lets you give clients a business number instead of your Social Security number on the Form W-9 they request.

Apply on the IRS page for getting an EIN. It is free, and the IRS warns about websites that charge for one. An online application is issued immediately.

Step 5: Get the Nevada State Business License

The state business license comes from the Secretary of State, not the Department of Taxation (NRS 76.100). The fee is $200 ($500 for a corporation).

  • LLC: you get the license at the time you file the Initial List and renew it each year when you file the Annual List. The renewal is $200 (NRS 76.130), due by the last day of the month in which your LLC's formation anniversary falls (NRS 86.263).
  • Sole proprietor: get the license before you conduct business, unless the home-based exclusion in Step 1 applies to you.
  • Late or missing: an entity that misses the renewal pays a $100 penalty on top of the fee (NRS 76.130) and risks default and revocation of its charter. Skipping the license before you start carries its own $100 penalty (NRS 76.110).

If you hire employees, register with the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) for unemployment insurance. The Department of Taxation says that registering with DETR also registers you for the Modified Business Tax (Nevada Department of Taxation: start and run a business).

Step 6: Check City and County Licensing

The state license does not replace a city or county business license, and each jurisdiction sets its own home-occupation rules. Start with the Clark County Department of Business License's step-by-step guide to a business license if you are in the Las Vegas area, and with our guides to Clark County and Washoe County licensing. If you work from home, read our Nevada home-based business guide; for the statewide picture, see Nevada business license: what you need.

Step 7: Decide Whether You Need a Sales Tax Permit

Nevada's sales tax is imposed on retail sales of tangible personal property (NRS 372.105), and the Department of Taxation requires a permit from every retailer of such property. Bookkeeping is a service, so our reading is that a service-only bookkeeper does not collect sales tax on fees. If you also resell software, templates or other goods, ask the Department of Taxation first. A permit costs $15 per location (Nevada Department of Taxation: start and run a business), and you register through My Nevada Tax.

Step 8: Open a Bank Account and Get Insured

Open a business checking account with your EIN letter and your approved formation documents, and run every client payment through it from the first day. NRS 86.376 makes an owner liable for the company's debts only if the owner acts as the LLC's alter ego, a test a court decides. Mixing personal and business money is the plainest way to make you and the LLC look inseparable.

Ask a Nevada-licensed insurance agent for errors and omissions coverage, which pays when a client claims your work caused a loss. In the statutes cited on this page we found no rule requiring a bookkeeper to carry it, so the reason to buy it is the contract risk described in Step 1. Because you will hold clients' bank and payroll logins, also ask whether the policy covers a data breach.

Step 9: Write Your Client Terms

Before the first engagement, put the scope in writing: what you will record and reconcile, what you will not do, how often, and what each side owes the other. Two Nevada-specific lines belong in it. First, the financial-statement disclosure from Step 2. Second, a clear statement that you do not give tax advice or sign returns. If you prepare federal returns for pay you need a PTIN: the IRS says anyone who prepares or assists in preparing federal tax returns for compensation must have a valid one (IRS: PTIN requirements for tax return preparers). Our Nevada tax preparation guide covers that path.

Nevada Deadlines Clients Will Expect You to Track

These are four Nevada deadlines a bookkeeper may be asked to calendar. Which ones apply depends on the client.

ItemDueSource
Sales and use tax return (client holds a sales tax permit)The 20th of the monthNevada Department of Taxation: sales and use tax
Modified Business Tax return (client has employees)Quarterly, by the last day of the month after quarter end; every employer files, even with no tax dueNevada Department of Taxation: Modified Business Tax; NRS 363B.110
Commerce Tax return (client has Nevada gross revenue over $4,000,000 in a fiscal year)45 days after the fiscal year ends on June 30Nevada Department of Taxation: Commerce Tax
LLC Annual List and state business license renewalLast day of the formation anniversary monthNevada Legislature: NRS 86.263

The Modified Business Tax rate for most general businesses is 1.17 percent, with the first $50,000 of wages each quarter not taxed, as of the rates effective July 1, 2023. Check the Department's page for the current rate before you quote one to a client.

Costs at a Glance

ItemCostSource
LLC Articles of Organization$75NRS 86.561
Initial List (with the Articles)$150NRS 86.263
State business license$200 ($500 for a corporation)NRS 76.100
Annual List, each year$150NRS 86.263
State business license renewal, each year$200NRS 76.130
Name reservation (90 days)$25NRS 86.561
Fictitious firm name, Clark County$25Clark County Clerk fee schedule
EINFreeIRS: get an EIN
Sales tax permit (only if you sell taxable goods)$15 per locationNevada Department of Taxation

Insurance premiums, software and local city or county license fees are not set by the state, so get quotes and check your jurisdiction. For the full picture across business types, see how much it costs to start a business in Nevada.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Applying for the state license at the Department of Taxation: the Secretary of State issues it (NRS 76.100).
  • Assuming a sole proprietorship skips the state license: only the home-based exclusion in NRS 76.020 does, and only below its earnings limit.
  • Putting "accounting" or "CPA" in the firm name: see NRS 628.490 and the Board contact in Step 2.
  • Missing the anniversary month: a late renewal adds a $100 penalty (NRS 76.130), and a company whose charter is revoked pays a $300 reinstatement fee plus back fees (NRS 86.276).

Disclaimer

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Requirements depend on your structure, your clients and your city or county. Ask the Nevada State Board of Accountancy about titles and financial statements, a Nevada attorney about structure and contracts, and a CPA about tax elections. The Nevada Small Business Development Center takes requests for advising from new business owners.

Sources

Checked on November 5, 2026. Statute text is from the Nevada Legislature; fees that the Secretary of State publishes only on pages we could not read from outside Nevada are taken from the statute instead.

Keep exploring: related Nevada guides