Des Moines anchors central Iowa’s insurance, agriculture, financial services, and bioscience economy, and the bookkeeping shops that serve Polk County reflect that mix. Independent operators in the metro tend to pair QuickBooks ProAdvisor credentials with familiarity with farm-and-ag accounting cycles, insurance-adjacent professional service workflows, and the small-employer payroll cadence common across central Iowa. The three firms below were selected for owner-led continuity, multi-year history, and a documented bookkeeping focus rather than tax-only positioning.
Quick Comparison
| Firm | Credentials | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| The Bookkeepers, Inc. | IRS-registered tax preparers; long-running QuickBooks-based practice; women-owned and operated | Bookkeeping, payroll, and tax preparation for small businesses across the Des Moines metro since 1982 |
| Clarity Accounting Services, Inc. | Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor (Desktop and Online); Point of Sale and Enterprise certified | QuickBooks setup, training, consulting, bookkeeping, and payroll for small to mid-sized Des Moines-area businesses |
| Owl Accounting Services | QuickBooks Online Advanced Certified; QuickBooks Online Payroll Certified; Intuit Bookkeeping Certified; Gusto Payroll Certified | Remote monthly bookkeeping, cleanup, payroll add-ons, and tax preparation for individuals and small businesses statewide |
1. The Bookkeepers, Inc.
- Address: 3790 Hubbell Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50317
- Phone: (515) 265-8003
- Founder: Kathleen “Kathy” Ermels (President)
- Operating Since: 1982
- Credentials: IRS-registered tax preparer; QuickBooks-based bookkeeping practice; women-owned and operated
- Service area: Des Moines, Pleasant Hill, Altoona, Ankeny, West Des Moines, and the broader Polk County metro
- Industries: Small businesses, sole proprietors, retail, trades, and professional offices
- Website: thebookkeepersinc.net
Forty-Plus Years on Hubbell Avenue
The firm was incorporated on January 1, 1982 and has worked from the same east-side Des Moines corridor along Hubbell Avenue for the bulk of that history. Few bookkeeping shops in the metro can claim continuous independent ownership across that span, which gives long-tenured small-business clients a single point of contact across decades of file history.
Women-Owned and Closely Held
Kathleen Ermels owns and runs the practice, and public business records list it as a women-owned and operated company with a small, stable team. Engagement contact stays with the principal and a tight roster rather than rotating through account managers, which suits owner-operator clients who prefer direct relationships.
Bookkeeping Bundled with Payroll and Tax Prep
Clients can pair monthly bookkeeping with payroll runs and individual or small-business tax preparation under one roof. That bundling matters for sole proprietors and small partnerships who otherwise stitch books, payroll, and 1040/Schedule C work across two or three vendors.
East Des Moines Walk-In Access
The Hubbell Avenue office sits along a primary east-side commercial corridor, easy to reach from Pleasant Hill, Altoona, and the airport-area south side. Walk-in document drop-off remains workable for clients still running paper-heavy receipts and vendor invoices, a real differentiator versus fully remote competitors.
2. Clarity Accounting Services, Inc.
- Address: 100 East Euclid Avenue, Suite D, Des Moines, IA
- Phone: (515) 865-6871
- Founder: Ryan Mills
- Operating Since: April 2012
- Credentials: Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor (Desktop and Online); Point of Sale Certified; Enterprise Certified
- Service area: Des Moines, Urbandale, Johnston, West Des Moines, Ankeny, and surrounding Polk County
- Industries: Small to mid-sized businesses, retail, professional services, and trades
- Website: clarityaccountingservices.com
Advanced ProAdvisor Across Desktop, Online, POS, and Enterprise
Ryan Mills holds Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor status across both Desktop and Online tracks, plus Point of Sale and Enterprise tier certifications. That stack covers the full spread of Intuit products a Des Moines small-business owner is likely to be running, from a single-user Pro install to a multi-user Enterprise deployment with POS hardware.
Founder-Led Since 2012
The firm has been founder-led under Ryan Mills since April 2012, giving more than thirteen years of single-owner continuity. Clients onboarded in the early years still work with the same principal, which is uncommon among bookkeeping practices that turn over staff or sell into rollup platforms.
QuickBooks Training and Consulting Service Line
Beyond recurring bookkeeping and payroll, the firm publishes QuickBooks setup, training, and consulting as a distinct service line. That training capability suits clients who want to keep day-to-day data entry in-house while outsourcing month-end close, reconciliations, and reporting review.
North Des Moines Office on East Euclid
The East Euclid Avenue office is positioned in north Des Moines, accessible from the Highland Park, Beaverdale, and Saylorville-area client base, and within reach of the I-235 and I-35 corridors for clients commuting in from Ankeny, Johnston, and Urbandale.
3. Owl Accounting Services
- Address: 3790 Kinsey Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50317 (mailing 666 Walnut Street, Suite 1549, Des Moines, IA 50309)
- Phone: (515) 207-0222
- Founders: Lindsay Schuh (Founder) and Toby Schuh (President)
- Operating Since: 2020
- Credentials: QuickBooks Online Advanced Certified (Level 2); QuickBooks Online Payroll Certified; Intuit Bookkeeping Certified; Gusto Payroll Certified; Professional Tax Preparer
- Service area: Des Moines metro and remote clients across Iowa and the U.S.
- Industries: Individuals, sole proprietors, and small businesses
- Website: owlaccountingservices.com
Husband-and-Wife Team, Family-Owned
Lindsay and Toby Schuh run Owl Accounting as a husband-and-wife team and brand the company openly as family-owned and fully remote. Lindsay carries 20-plus years of accounting and finance background and handles bookkeeping, cleanups, and tax filing; Toby manages sales, payroll, systems setup, and business consulting.
Cleanup and QuickBooks Migration as a Specialty
The practice highlights bookkeeping cleanups and QuickBooks Online migrations as a named service line rather than a side activity. Small-business owners who fell behind during a growth year, a staff transition, or a platform switch can engage on a project basis before moving into recurring monthly bookkeeping.
Gusto-Certified Payroll Add-On
Owl pairs QuickBooks-side bookkeeping with Gusto-certified payroll, giving clients a current cloud payroll path rather than a legacy desktop product. The Gusto certification on the bench keeps payroll questions inside the same firm rather than handing them off to a separate provider.
Remote Delivery from a Des Moines Base
Although the shop holds a Des Moines mailing address on Walnut Street and a Kinsey Avenue location on the east side, delivery is structured as fully remote. Iowa-based clients gain a same-time-zone advisor; out-of-state clients receive the same workflow without geographic constraint.
Reference Notes
Years in business were confirmed against Iowa business registration filings, BBB and chamber profiles for the Greater Des Moines Partnership and the Des Moines West Side Chamber, and each firm’s own public materials. The Bookkeepers, Inc. has worked from the Des Moines metro since incorporation on January 1, 1982; Clarity Accounting Services, Inc. has been founder-led under Ryan Mills since April 2012; Owl Accounting Services was launched by Lindsay and Toby Schuh in 2020 and is registered with the Greater Des Moines Partnership and the Des Moines West Side Chamber.
QuickBooks ProAdvisor credentials were cross-checked against Intuit’s public ProAdvisor directory and each firm’s published certification claims. Industry concentrations and service-line descriptions reflect each firm’s website, LinkedIn presence, and chamber profile as of the editorial date below; readers should confirm current capacity, pricing, and engagement terms directly with each firm before making a selection.
Selection Methodology
Four criteria gated inclusion in this directory:
- Independent ownership. Each firm is privately held, family or founder-led, and not part of a national rollup, private-equity platform, or franchise network. National platforms such as Bench, Pilot, QuickBooks Live, BELAY, Bookkeeper360, Bookminders, Supporting Strategies, Bookkeeper.com, and 1-800Accountant were excluded by design.
- QuickBooks ProAdvisor certification. Each firm holds active Intuit QuickBooks ProAdvisor certification at minimum, with Advanced Certified or multi-product certification preferred.
- Minimum five-year tenure. Each firm has operated continuously under current ownership for at least five years, providing documented continuity through one or more economic cycles.
- Bookkeeping-led practice. Each firm offers bookkeeping as a core service line, not as a loss-leader attached to a tax-only or audit-only CPA practice. Pure tax-prep offices and audit-only CPA firms were excluded.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which firm fits a long-running family business that needs continuity across decades?
The Bookkeepers, Inc. brings 43 years of continuous operation under one ownership structure. Founded in 1982 and women-owned under Kathleen Ermels, the practice has held the same east-side Des Moines location and the same closely held ownership profile across more than four decades, which suits multi-generational small-business clients who value relationship stability.
Which firm covers Advanced QuickBooks Enterprise and Point of Sale workflows?
Clarity Accounting Services, Inc. holds Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor status across Desktop and Online plus Point of Sale and Enterprise certifications. That combination fits Des Moines retail, distribution, and multi-user manufacturing clients running Enterprise or legacy POS installs.
Which firm offers fully remote engagement with cleanup and migration support?
Owl Accounting Services is structured as a remote firm and publishes bookkeeping cleanup and QuickBooks Online migration as a named service line. Clients out of the Des Moines area, or those who prefer cloud-only workflows, can engage Owl without on-site visits.
Are any of these three firms able to handle payroll alongside monthly bookkeeping?
Yes. All three firms package payroll alongside recurring bookkeeping. The Bookkeepers, Inc. runs payroll in-house with bookkeeping and tax prep; Clarity Accounting Services, Inc. offers payroll as part of its Advanced ProAdvisor stack; Owl Accounting Services pairs QuickBooks Online Payroll certification with Gusto certification for cloud payroll delivery.
Editorial Note
Compiled 2026-05-11. Firm details, addresses, phone numbers, and credentials reflect publicly available information at time of writing and should be verified directly with each firm before engagement.